Did you know? Technical skills and job experience alone are not sufficient to predict performance on the job. Here are 4 strong predictors of job performance.

1. HOW TO PREDICT
PERFORMANCE
ON THE JOB

2. ARE SKILLS & PREVIOUS
EXPERIENCES SUFFICIENT TO
PREDICT PERFORMANCE?

3. The goal is
to really
maximize
the green
decisions
and also
minimize
the red
decisions
EVER HEARD OF TAYLOR RUSSELL’S
FRAMEWORK?
Our prediction
ActualPerformance
Correct decisions Incorrect decisions

4. MUST
AVOID
WHEN
HIRING
DISCRIMINATION
HARD SKILLS ONLY
UNDEVELOPABLE
Undevelopable : unable or unwilling to learn and train

5. HOW TO PREDICT PERFORMANCE?
COGNITIVE
ABILITY

6. DID YOU
KNOW?
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND
JOB PERFORMANCE
Frank Schmidt and John Hunter
They found that cognitive ability was the single
strongest predictor of performance in a very
broad range of jobs.

7. Cognitive ability, AKA “intelligence” is what determines our reasoning
power and problem solving power.
COGNITIVE ABILITY
The capacity to learn, reason,
problem solve, plan, think
abstractly, and comprehend
complex ideas.
Arvey & alii, 1995

8. COMMON
MYTHS
DEBUNKED
___
COGNITIVE
ABILITY
IN THE
WORKPLACE
COGNITIVE ABILITY
AND
JOB PERFORMANCE
MYTHS ABOUT
COGNITIVE ABILITY
Cognitive ability only
matters in complex jobs
All you need is a certain
amount – any more does
not help

9. HOW TO PREDICT
PERFORMANCE?
THE ROLE OF SKILLS

10. DID YOU
KNOW?
JOB PERFORMANCE REQUIRES
4 CATEGORIES OF SKILLS
1) KNOWLEDGE
2) TECHNICAL SKILLS
3) SOFT SKILLS
4) SELF-UPGRADING

11. Hire for
personal
abilities,
and
train for
skills
JOB PERFORMANCE :
HARD SKILLS ARE NOT ENOUGH
• Hard skills alone are not good predictors
of performance on the job.
• Idem for years of job experience (Schmidt
& Hunter, 1998).
• Performance on the job requires
the WHOLE SKILLSET: comprising
Soft Skills, and Self-Upgrading Skills.

12. JOB PERFORMANCE REQUIRES 4 CATEGORIES OF SKILLS :
SOFT SKILLS
TOP 10 SKILLS in 2020 (link)
SOFT SKILLS ARE:
Personal and interpersonal
behaviours and characteristics
that develop and maximize
human performance
• Experience-based
• People-related
• Attitudinal
• Behavioural
• Non-domain-specific
• Trans-situational
• Non-technical
• Intangible

13. SOFT SKILLS : EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
The EQ-i 2.0® Model, based on the Bar-On
(1997) model of EI - Source: MHS (link)
The 5 Domains of Emotional Intelligence
in Goleman’s Model of EI
EMOTIONAL
INTELLIGENCE

14. • Learning to learn.
• Equipping with new skills.
• Making oneself more knowledgeable.
• Lifelong learning, learning agility,
personal adaptability.
JOB PERFORMANCE REQUIRES 4 CATEGORIES OF SKILLS :
SELF-UPGRADING SKILLS

15. HOW TO PREDICT PERFORMANCE?
THE ROLE OF
PERSONALITY

16. Cognitive ability, AKA “intelligence” is what determines our reasoning
power and problem solving power.
PERSONALITY
Our unique and relatively
stable patterns of behavior,
thoughts, and emotions.
Funder, 2011

17. An evolution of the Big Five model of personality,
the HEXACO model (and behaviour-based
questionnaire), measures 6 dimensions of personality
to predict performance on the job.
JOB PERFORMANCE AND PERSONALITY
HEXACO
H
E
X
A
C
O
“Moral character is described by the honesty-humility personality
dimension, a factor that had been overlooked in the famous “big
five” model of personality.” (T. Cohen, Scientific American Mind – Link)
Whereas
Cognitive
Ability tells us
a lot about
what a person
can do,
Personality
tells us about
what a person
is willing to
do and how
they might
go about
doing it.
P. Dunlop

18. Source : sacsconsult.com.au
IMPACT OF PERSONALITY ON JOB PERFORMANCE
HEXACO
Personality traits evaluated in Ashton & alii’s HEXACO Model

19. KEY
FINDINGS
JOB PERFORMANCE AND PERSONALITY
HEXACO
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
has been shown to predict performance across many
jobs.
HONESTY-HUMILITY
along with conscientiousness and guilt proneness,
predicts positive job performance and ethical
leadership.
EXTRAVERSION
has been shown to predict performance in sales jobs.
Personality can also be used to predict negative work
outcomes. For example :
• people who are less agreeable seem to be more
inclined to withdraw from their work.
• people who are less honest tend to engage in
activities like counterproductive work behaviours,
stealing or taking longer breaks. (Source: P. Dunlop)

20. PERSONALITY AND JOB PERFORMANCE
IMPORTANCE OF SITUATIONS
WEAK SITUATIONS
Our personality is likely to be most important in
situations where we have the freedom to
choose how we behave.
STRONG SITUATIONS
Quite often, personality does not determine
our behavior so much : it is the situation that
determines how we behave.
SITUATION
PERSONALITY
BEHAVIOUR
PERSONALITY
BEHAVIOUR
SITUATION
Strong situations : when the boss is watching, the least conscientious person will try to work hard;
the most extroverted person will probably stay quiet when in a library.

21. HOW TO PREDICT PERFORMANCE?
THE ROLE OF
MOTIVATION

22. Without the
will to do
the tasks,
skills and
knowledge
alone won't
lead to
performancePERFORMANCE ON THE JOB
Personality
SKILLS
Cognitive
ability
Motivation
Both ability (cognitive & physical ability, knowledge,
necessary skills), and motivation are essential for a
person to perform well on a job.
JOB PERFORMANCE AND MOTIVATION
M.Gagne

23. MOTIVATION IS DESCRIBED AS :
THE DIRECTION, INTENSITY,
AND DURATION OF BEHAVIOUR.
The direction of behavior :
• is indicated by the choices a person
makes (e.g. : between two activities).
Intensity of behaviour :
• is another indicator of motivation
considering the efforts a person is
willing to put into an activity.
The duration of a behaviour :
• the longer a person spends on an
activity, or the more they persist in
the face of obstacles indicates high
motivation for this activity.

24. DIFFERENT
WAYS TO
MEASURE
MOTIVATION
• Evaluating people’s behaviours
Measure how much time people persist on a task
Do they persist or give up in the face of obstacles?
Measure reaction time (faster reaction times
indicate more motivation).
• Non-verbal signs
Observe facial expressions and body posture
Do people look happy, focused and attentive? (hi-M)
Observe eye movements : pupil dilatation indicates
interest; blinks indicate shifts of attention.
Observe body language : Leaning the body in
conversation and keeping an open posture indicates
interest; crossing one’s arms and turning one’s body
away indicate lack of interest or motivation to avoid.
• Asking people to report on it
Engagement surveys, pulse surveys, feedback, eNPS.
PERFORMANCE ON THE JOB
HOW TO MEASURE MOTIVATION?

25. WHAT KIND OF
MOTIVATION
PREDICTS BEST
PERFORMANCE
ON THE JOB?
Different types of motivation affect performance and
well being. Deci and Ryan developed a motivation
model (Self-determination theory), which distinguishes
between 2 types of motivation :
MOTIVATION PREDICTING
PERFORMANCE ON THE JOB

26. MOTIVATION AND JOB PERFORMANCE
SELF-DETERMINATION CONTINUUM
Self-Determination Theory : Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation,
Ryan & Deci, 2000. ( Source : Researchgate)

27. WHAT KIND OF MOTIVATION PREDICTS
BEST PERFORMANCE ON THE JOB?
Two types of motivation lead to the best
performance and well-being outcomes:
• Intrinsic motivation
the person finds interest, enjoyment,
inherent satisfaction in the task.
• Extrinsic autonomous motivation
the person finds the task important,
meaningful, or has a strong sense of duty.
People with these 2 types of motivation put
more energy into their work.
MOTIVATION
AS A
PREDICTOR OF
PERFORMANCE
ON THE JOB

28. HOW TO PREDICT PERFORMANCE?
SYNTHESIS

29. 4 STRONG
PREDICTORS OF
PERFORMANCE
ON THE JOB
HOW TO PREDICT PERFORMANCE
ON THE JOB

30. RESOURCES & REFERENCES
• The Validity and Utility of Selection Methods, Schmidt &
Hunter (Researchgate – link).
• HEXACO Personality Inventory : http://hexaco.org/
• Individual Differences and Personality, Ashton, Elsevier.
• Daniel Goleman : Emotional Intelligence (link).
• MHS : The EQ-i 2.0 Model and The Science Behind It (link).
• Self-Determination Theory, Deci & Ryan, Guilford (link).