It is not only technical knowledge, such as qualifications, professional experience, and industry expertise, that is crucial for successfully performing a job. Above all, soft skills, professional interest, motives, values, and social behavior must be taken into account.
The thesis was put forward that successful members of a professional group are almost identical in terms of their personality traits and soft skills. Each standard or best practice profile forms its own specific image that is typical for the respective professional group.
The following phenomenon was observed when defining personality traits for typical area managers:
A well-known car manufacturer had staffing needs in its sales department. This raised the question of how to fill the vacant positions.
Contrary to the usual procedure for personality tests, which involves comparing new candidates with a demographic group or focusing on specific characteristics desired by supervisors, a reference profile of people in the same profession was created here. This allows for a comparison that yields far more meaningful conclusions.
For further optimization, a best practice profile has been created so that it is not only possible to determine whether a candidate has the characteristics required for the position, but also whether they are highly likely to be successful in the role.
To verify this revolutionary approach, HR Consult Group AG tested the top 10 percent of 1,400 salespeople from the same premium car manufacturer and created a best practice profile (BPP). Surprisingly, this BPP was also very clear. The characteristics of the key competencies and thus the profiles of the best salespeople are identical, regardless of age, region, ethnic origin, or nationality.
To obtain further evidence of the accuracy and success of this approach, the most successful salespeople at another premium car manufacturer were surveyed. The corresponding BPP shows that even the best salespeople at this manufacturer were almost identical.
An example of an almost identical match in terms of key criteria can be seen in the following figure:
Therefore, there is a conviction—and evidence has been provided to support this—that successful members of a professional group exhibit personality traits that are highly consistent in terms of key competencies. These traits are further crystallized in the best practice profiles. They represent the personality traits that are actually decisive for professional success.
The differences between candidate profiles and standard profiles can be used to identify and implement personnel development requirements in the form of training or further education.
The key finding is that successful members of a professional group are almost identical in terms of their personality traits and soft skills. Each standard or best practice profile forms its own specific image that is typical for the respective professional group.
The next article in this series will describe how to create a best practice profile.
About the author
After completing his studies in automotive engineering and industrial engineering, he began his professional career in the automotive industry in the areas of sales, development, and marketing, and also spent a year in Japan with one of the largest automotive suppliers.
He then moved to a world-renowned premium car manufacturer, where he was responsible for product marketing for Japan and South America as well as marketing strategy for North and South America.
In 1994, he decided to become self-employed and founded a personnel consulting firm in Munich, where he has been driving development and expansion for over 20 years. As managing director, his industry focus is naturally on the automotive world as well as mechanical and plant engineering.
His doctorate in the field of aptitude diagnostics ideally complements his areas of expertise, particularly in relation to human resources and management consulting. His dissertation deals with the identification and verification of typical personality traits of engineers and the definition of areas of development for a successful career.
These are scientifically derived and presented in the book "Eignungsdiagnostik im Praxiseinsatz" (Aptitude Diagnostics in Practical Use).
At the same time, he focuses on establishing networks and cooperation models as well as the continuous development of systems and processes in HR consulting.
Over the past 20 years in HR consulting, he has developed several brands that continue to operate successfully on the market today.
