The biggest asset of a company is the Human Resource. It is the very lifeblood of the company because if there are no competent people to run the business, it will surely fail. That is why it is essential to get people who fit the job perfectly.

There have been a number of ways to determine if a person is fit for the job. There are psychological tests done on applicants to establish the personality of the person and if he is the kind of person that totally matches the job.

Jung’s theory of Psychological types theorizes that there are fundamental differences in the way people process information or act based on their personality. In this theory, people are classified as either extroverts or introverts; thinking vs. feeling; perceiving types or judging types; and others. These classifications enable human resource practitioners to determine if a person is fit for a particular job. As an example, a sales job usually requires an extrovert. These personality tests also aid the human resource practitioner in motivating the worker. Motivation is a tricky thing. What motivates one worker may not necessarily motivate the whole team. Because different personalities process information differently and they handle situations differently, they do not have the same response to motivational factors. It is impossible to create personalized motivational schemes for each individual in a large organization but putting the person in a position that fits his personality helps. When a person’s personality fits the job, there are intrinsic characteristics of the job that will more or less motivate the person. If a person’s personality does not fit the kind of work he does, it will be more difficult to motivate the person to perform. Often, when people are unproductive at work, it is not because they are incompetent but because the kind of work they do is not the kind of work that fits their personality. They might perform well at the beginning but their productivity might slip later on.

Abraham Maslow a behavioural scientist, published Motivation and Personality, his theory on how people fill their personal needs in the work place. These needs are ranked in 5 levels starting from the baser needs at level 1. According to Maslow’s theory the baser needs at the bottom of the pyramid must be met first before the other higher needs can be met. The five types of needs according to Maslow are: physiological, safety, love and belongingness, esteem and self-actualization. Human resource practitioners and managers often tailor their incentive and motivational scheme on Maslow’s theory.

Motivators may also be referred to as satisfiers. When a worker’s needs are satisfied then he becomes motivated to work. What satisfies one worker may not satisfy another because people with different personalities also have different needs. This is apparent not just in the workplace but in society in general. We all want different things and different things satisfy us.

by Kava