This week, I had the opportunity to work with a coworker on two different projects. The first was within her area of expertise, and I needed her help to complete my responsibilities. The second was in my area of expertise, and she came to me for assistance.  It occurred to me that in my job, I rarely accomplish goals by myself. I nearly always rely on others to help me get the job done, even if it is just bouncing ideas off of my boss before implementing a solution for a client.

In a previous posting, I wrote about the importance of developing employees to help make them productive team members. However, it is also important to look at an individual’s propensity for teamwork during the selection process. Assuming the job for which you are hiring does, in fact, require teamwork, you may benefit from using selection assessments and behavioral interview questions to identify job candidates’ tendencies towards collaboration and cooperation. Job candidates whose assessment results or interview performance indicate high levels of traits, such as extroversion and agreeableness may be more effective on the job-- simply because they are more likely to work with others to accomplish organizational goals.

Jocelyn Courtney-Hays