How To Hire For Job Fit To Increase Employee Wellbeing

Employee wellbeing is not a new concept. In fact, we can trace wellbeing initiatives in the workplace back as far as the 1980s. It has however become far more of a priority in recent years, particularly in the wake of COVID-19 - an event that forced many employers to recognize the importance of a healthy, happy workforce.

At the same time as becoming one of the top priorities for HR, employee wellbeing has also evolved in its scope. In the early days it was very much focused on physical health, but today it extends to emotional, mental, career and financial wellbeing.

With that in mind, a successful wellness program must be multi-faceted and incorporate various initiatives that contribute to employee wellbeing in all its forms. One such initiative is to hire for job fit. This ensures a strong match between an individual’s needs and the reality of the role they’ll be working in.

In this article, we take a closer look at employee wellbeing, and how pre-employment testing can assist by informing better recruitment.

Why employee wellbeing matters

As we are all unique in our specific needs, employee wellbeing means different things to different people. When we refer to it from the perspective of HR, however, employee wellbeing involves promoting a healthy workplace that allows individuals to flourish and an organization to grow as a result.

It‘s about championing practices that support all aspects of wellbeing to create better working conditions and better working lives. The main factors that contribute to employee wellbeing include:

Employee health - this covers everything from physical safety in the workplace to physical and mental health support. It's not just about benefits like private health care, but also workplace practices like wellbeing training and open communication.

Working culture - this involves things like considerately designed workspaces, workload and working hours, job satisfaction and effective people management.

Business values - inclusion and diversity, organizational governance and objectives, ethics, corporate social responsibility and community based initiatives can all contribute to employee wellbeing.

Financial assistance - this refers not only to fair pay and benefits, but also access to advice on things like debt consolidation and retirement planning.

Relationships - the social aspect of wellbeing has become more of a focus in light of the rise of the hybrid working model. With less physical interaction now taking place, more effort must be made to foster healthy working relationships.

Development - opportunities for both personal and professional growth should be given, and designed to suit the specific needs of the individual.

Lifestyle - though not the central focus they once were, the promotion of healthy eating, physical activity and all round good lifestyle choices still has a role to play in employee wellbeing.

For employees themselves, the importance of wellbeing is fairly self-evident.

It leads to lower levels of stress, a better work-life balance and increased job satisfaction. But there are also many benefits to the employer, including:

Less absenteeism - organizations that focus on employee wellbeing can minimize sick days resulting from things like occupational stress and burnout. With wellbeing contributing to overall health, the workforce is also more resilient to physical illness.

Increased engagement and productivity - though not the only contributing factor, employee wellbeing does impact engagement, with staff more connected and committed to their jobs. This in turn leads to higher levels of productivity.

Improved morale - when an individual’s wellbeing needs are met they are happier both within themselves and in their employment. So when you focus on the needs of an entire workforce you can significantly boost morale.

Better talent acquisition and retention - six in ten workers say wellbeing initiatives are a key factor when considering new employment. Employees are also far less likely to leave when their wellbeing is considered, so it’s critical to a good retention strategy.

Now we’ve established a better definition of employee wellbeing, let's look at how to encourage it by hiring for job fit.

Measuring for fit when hiring

To measure for job fit is to take a holistic approach to recruitment, assessing candidates against a broad spectrum of criteria.

Crucially, they must be able to do the job itself, so the necessary skills and knowledge are essential. So too are the correct behaviors, values that match those of the hiring organization, and a well-suited personality.

In return, the job must meet a candidate's emotional and psychological needs - particularly if they are to experience a positive level of wellbeing. There are tools you can use to determine this fit, like the Drives test.

This is a quick-fire online assessment that asks a candidate to assign 20 points across nine motivational influences - or drives - such as purpose, innovation, recognition, learning and security. How the candidate responds will give you deeper insight as to what wellbeing means to them.

You can use the results of a Drives test in several ways:

For candidate shortlisting - the test can be administered at scale along with relevant skills and aptitude assessments. The results of these combined will help you make objective shortlisting decisions, and give a far more reliable screening method than resumes alone.

For interview preparation - you can use a candidate’s Drives test to explore their needs in more depth at interview, and so better determine if the job on offer will fulfill them.

For employee development - if the candidate is successful, their test results can be kept on file to inform future development specifically tailored to their ambitions, which as we’ve discussed is a contributing factor to employee wellbeing.

Drives alignment and employee wellbeing

To encourage employee wellbeing, organizations should take a proactive approach that begins with well-considered recruitment. When you hire based on overall job fit - rather than skills and experience alone - you can ensure the best possible alignment between a candidate’s needs and the job role, promoting health and happiness.

Evidence from our recent study on Person-Job Fit shows that employees are 5x more likely to report a sense of wellbeing and optimism about work when their drives align with what their job offers.

As a scientifically designed assessment, the Drives test helps better determine job fit, and can also be used for development purposes to ensure long-term employee wellbeing.