Organizational Behavior

Hiring Adaptable Individuals is Crucial for Firms, According to a Study

Hiring Adaptable Individuals is Crucial for Firms, According to a Study

Potential candidates will need to demonstrate that they have the abilities to adapt to the needs of the organization as more employers nationally look to fill vacancies.

According to a recent University of Michigan study, workers who possess the traits cognition, motivation, action, and connection are able to meet project demands and adapt to change.

Because of the numerous factors that cause turbulence, including technological advancements, economic changes, and unanticipated events (pandemic, recession), employees and businesses are required to effectively respond to a more uncertain and competitive work environment, the research suggests that the type of employee skills matters.

“To be nimble and adaptive, organizations now more than ever need their building blocks the employees who are at the heart of the transformation process to be adaptive,” said study author Oscar Ybarra, professor emeritus of psychology and management and organizations.

Being involved in and sensitive to change across a variety of jobs distributed across several projects that may entail a variety of collaborators, technology, and time constraints is a requirement for adaptability.

To be nimble and adaptive, organizations now more than ever need their building blocks the employees who are at the heart of the transformation process to be adaptive.

Oscar Ybarra

This requires that individuals possess and use various broad skills. But frequently, businesses place more emphasis on specialized knowledge and abilities that are best suited for a particular activity or position than on broad, adaptable skills, which are tougher to define.

Over 230 participants in two experiments were asked to consider 24 different abilities that someone could have as part of the research by Ybarra. He was interested in finding out if participants could comprehend what the talents signified and how they interacted with one another.

By using their responses, Ybarra was able to group the talents into a four-category framework that made it easier to comprehend how people interact with one another inside organizations to complete their work, or how adaptable they are.