In this case we share a recruitment story about how digging deeper in the recruitment journey, using the right tools, can yield powerful insights and support you to make the right decision.

We work with a group of veterinary clinics and shops and support their recruitment and team coaching activities. In South Africa, there is a massive shortage of vets, due in part to their high emigration to New Zealand and Canada. It is also the profession with one of the highest suicide rates, which is also worth bearing in mind.

The heart of the contribution

At one clinic a position was up for recruitment, and we identified that we needed a Connector Contribution Compass profile to support the balance of natural energy within the team and for the role at hand. We used the Contribution Compass Identifier tool to explore how this role would create value for the team and highlighted that a Connector would likely be the best fit from a natural energy perspective. This free tool is incredibly powerful in getting crystal clear on contribution, rather than getting stuck in a purely skills-based approach. We then crafted the position advertisement with Connector language to inspire Connectors to step forward more so than any other profile.

In this case, Liesl (name changed) applied for this position. She had previously applied for another clinic position within the group and had turned the offer down as there was a better career opportunity closer to where she stayed. For this role, she completed her Contribution Compass profile and was identified as a Cultivator, with high Sustaining and Refining natural energy.

When values and behaviour don’t add up

Next in the process we conducted a Demartini Value Determination, which aims to highlight the core values of the candidate to ensure that there is synergy between the company, candidate and role. In Liesl’s case, her core values were career, family and health. However, even though she said her career was very important to her, her life did not demonstrate this as a priority. In speaking to former colleagues, there was evidence that she did not attend all the CPD opportunities or take advantage of the one-on-one training available to her.

In the interview process, her language was different depending on who she was speaking to. When chatting to the vet group team, her language was all about connection and long-term bridge building, which was the language communicated in the recruitment materials. With our Team Dynamics interviewers, it was very focused on finance.

The Leadership Landscape perspective

After careful reflection, using our Leadership Landscape methodology, we came to the following conclusions: (1) Focus, there was a disconnect between Liesl’s stated values and her lived values, which is a challenge to alignment and highlighted the need for self-awareness; (2) Connection, the difference in language between the vet group conversations and with our team highlighted a concern about integrity, authenticity and transparency; (3) Competency, with the vet group having a very strong culture of learning, the resistance to growth opportunities was a concern; and (4) Flow, she would not be in flow in the position, being a Cultivator and not a Connector, and had not matured her flow as she could not demonstrate experience in developing long-term growth and value accumulation despite having a focus on finance, which is in flow.

As such, we recommended that our client not appoint Liesl to the position. Despite our recommendation the client offered Liesl the post, given the shortage and critical business need. Liesl accepted the offer and, 24 hours later, declined as she was counter-offered by her current employer for a higher salary. Her reason for doing so was also contradictory – due to relationships and not finance, which would further be out of her flow. This once again confirmed Liesl’s underlying values of finance, and language to us about finance, despite her stated values of career growth and connection.

Cases such as this really serve to reinforce the immense value of using a team methodology, like Contribution Compass, and being willing to dig deeply into values and flow alignment. This, in our view, is the only path to long-lasting, sustainable working partnerships that deliver growth, contribution and engagement.

If you need support in making the right recruitment decisions, let’s book a time to chat through your recruitment challenges and explore how our approach could accelerate value for you in this area.

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