HOW TO TAKE THE GUESSWORK OUT OF HIRING

Behavior profiling can help your department target the best candidates.

By Josh Blum

B Shifter Buckslip, Jan. 30, 2024

Originally appeared in B Shifter Volume 9, Issue 2, 2019

Fire departments test and vet potential employees in a variety of ways. Some give a basic civil-service type of exam and require the candidate to pass a physical-agility test of some sort, followed by a medical physical. Others simply hire based on reviewing applications and interviewing potential employees. The results of our hiring processes often work out, and we end up with a physically capable candidate whom we can train to perform the manual part of the job. Are we missing something? What about the candidates’ traits and behavior?

During the recruitment process, do we:

Gauge how a candidate will interact with the customers we serve?
Think about how to get the best performance out of the candidate?
Consider the types of people the candidate will work best with?
Determine whether the candidate will be a self-starter or someone who needs constant direction?
Assess the candidates’ integrity?

It Takes More than Muscle

Behavior profiling has been used for more than 100 years, and it can help fire departments hire the best person for any position based on qualifications beyond physical ability and health. (Profiling is a tool that continually evolves as we learn more about ourselves.) Understanding a candidate’s personality and traits also allows us to better support them as an employee, allowing us to provide better service to our communities.

Many public and private organizations use personality profiling, and several companies now offer personality assessments geared toward recruit firefighters, company officers and chief officers. (Pradco is just one of the many companies providing personality profiling tools.) Departments can adjust the assessments based on their needs. In this article, I discuss profile testing for firefighters.

The firefighter profile in our example is an online test divided into four sections (Motivation, Work Approach, Interpersonal and Decision-Making), each with several subsections that help us better understand a potential hire, e.g., how they should be managed, who should manage them, what motivates them and their integrity. The assessment can also identify whether a candidate’s vision and values align with the organization’s. The evaluation rates candidates on a scale of 1 to 100 for each subsection and generates questions to ask during an interview. (For a sample of personality profile results/interpretations, see the next page.)

Note: Personality profiling and other behavior evaluations are just one part of the hiring process. These evaluations are not true tests, as there is no pass or fail. And because most of the assessments rely on self-reporting (input from the candidate or employee), they are not necessarily bulletproof. Based on the candidate’s answers, the program produces a score, provides comments and suggestions based on how the assessment was completed and, hopefully, offers some useful insight. Think of these assessments as a size-up performed on an employee or candidate. It is important to look at the entire evaluation, not just one segment. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Consider the balance of traits when making hiring decisions.

Understanding Results

Results reflect how people are likely to behave in a variety of areas. Scores shown in the examples are percentiles. For example, a score of 70 means the person scored higher than 70 out of 100 people on that behavior. Everyone will have high, moderate and low scores due to the assessment’s forced-choice format, but no one can pass or fail the evaluation. High scores result from picking many statements for a given behavior. Choosing fewer statements in any subsection results in lower scores.

High scores (71–99) indicate probable strengths and represent behaviors that the person frequently demonstrates on the job.
Moderate scores (30–70) are typically positive and represent behaviors the person occasionally demonstrates on the job.
Low scores (1-29) may indicate developmental needs or behaviors less relevant to the person’s current job.

The employee or candidate should receive a copy of their results. It is often difficult for people to see their weaknesses, but these profiles are a straightforward evaluation that provides not only a score for each area but also developmental suggestions for future improvement.

Sample Personality Profile Results

Motivation

People are motivated by various factors depending on where they are in their careers and what they want for themselves in the future. Interpreting scores on these motivating factors should be based on what a job requires and what people find most satisfying.

Ambition (96)—Highly motivated to get ahead and looks for challenging assignments.
Service (58)—Takes the time and makes the effort to satisfy people’s needs.
Improvement (23)—Does not make improving or developing new skills a priority.

Work Approach

Demonstrating a good work ethic is critical to job success, and dynamic environments require a good deal of effort and flexibility. Moderate scores or higher within Work Approach are desired to ensure the person will perform the job’s basic requirements.

Dependability (48)—Is usually at work on time and has few unexcused absences.
Proactive (12)—Tends to be reactive to what comes along.
Quality (88)—Sets high standards for work and eliminates mistakes.
Safety (72)—Follows safety procedures and reminds others to do so.

Interpersonal

A person’s success depends largely on their ability to get along with others. When people can relate to and communicate effectively with others, they can contribute significantly to achieving desired results. Being courteous and open-minded also helps build good relationships in the community. Lower scores in this section point to modest abilities in getting along with others.

Attitude (84)—Positive attitude toward people is apparent and admirable.
Teamwork (18)—Prefers acting alone over teamwork and input.
Courtesy (87)—Enjoys dealing with people and tries to be polite.
Even Tempered (34)—Composed in most trying situations, but may be pressured and lose sight of the end goal.
Compassion (91)—Sensitive and understanding when people have problems.

Decision-Making

The best decisions are usually made after some analysis of facts, the scenario and future implications. Being objective and transparent are important qualities, as is the practice of making decisions based on facts and logic. Taking these factors into account and applying good judgment can result in high-quality decisions.

Integrity (62)—Usually candid and direct with order, even in tough situations.
Judgment (29)—May analyze some situations too quickly.
Resourceful (56)—Solves most problems by using a logical approach.

Start with a Baseline

Candidates and employees with similar behavior profiles tend to act and perform similarly. Therefore, to begin using personality profiling for hiring purposes, a department should first assess high-performing employees who consistently support the agency’s mission, vision and values to create a baseline. (The organization might also choose to evaluate employees who do not align with these standards.) We are not hoping to clone the best employees, only to hire employees who will likely exhibit behaviors similar to our highest-performing and most-valued staff members. (Agencies should consider putting all personnel through these behavior assessments, as more data improves the assessments’ function.)

Positive Effects

My experience with behavior profiling has been enlightening; its use has helped move our organization forward. Creating a baseline profile and trying to hire employees that match it closely has positively impacted our ability to deliver service. For example, employees who score high in integrity and interpersonal skills tend to figure out how they fit in with other personnel, and we see them do a good job in the field when providing service and communicating with customers.

The cost of these assessments can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands, depending on how far a department wants to delve into personality profiling. When determining the value of such tests, consider their uses beyond hiring. They are also helpful when conducting evaluations. (If the behavior evaluation indicates an employee has dependability issues, the supervisor should not be surprised if the employee is tardy or misses work regularly.) In addition, they provide a practical way to support current employees’ growth, as the assessments identify weaknesses we can work to improve. They can also be great tools for promotional purposes. I will discuss each of these topics in upcoming issues.

Josh Blum has been in the fire service since 1993. He began his service as a volunteer firefighter before accepting a full-time career position. Josh has served in several roles, from firefighter to ops chief. He currently holds the rank of assistant chief, where he began his career. Josh is a graduate of the Ohio Fire Executive Program. He has been engaged with Blue Card since its inception and currently serves as program manager handling all day-to-day operations. Josh has a focus to make every day better than the day before.