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Troels Majlund Kirkegaard – TK79980
MA in Corporate Communication; Aarhus Business & Social Sciences, Aarhus University.
Supervisor: Henrik Søgaard Hansen
Title: “A Contemporary Analysis of Person-Organisation Fit in the Management Recruitment Process, with
Specific Focus on Personality Testing & Job Interviews.” - Characters, excluding blanks: 129.495
Executive Summary
Because of managers’ personality inadequacies, or lack of Person-Organisation fit (P-O fit),
organisations could face several problems, including e.g. intangible complications in regards to
building a strong culture and teamwork, and also difficulties in motivating subordinates. These
problems could as a consequence lead to concrete tangible expenses for the organisation in
relation to a potential layoff, retention of employees and performance.
On these premises, the overall academic purpose of this master thesis was to gain knowledge
about the recruitment process of managers in a number of larger innovative and knowledge
intensive organisations based in Denmark. The specific aim was to study in what way a
candidate’s personality is playing a particular role in the external recruitment process.
Furthermore, the aim was to get insights into, whether and how professional recruiters are
using the HRM best-practices of personality tests, and job interviews in the selection process,
and which value they attach to these tools in relation to obtaining what HRM scholars label P-O
fit. The theoretical perspective was grounded in phenomenology, and the methodological
research process depicts the process of “the wheel of research”. Firstly, theory on P-O fit,
personality tests, and job interviews were presented. Afterwards, qualitative empirical
material was collected from four experienced recruiting professionals on the basis of a semistructured interview guide. Subsequently, the empirical material was validated by the use of
respondent validation, and analysed via a variation of thematic analysis method.
What the empirical findings suggest was the notion of P-O fit, from the perspectives of the
interviewed samples, that organisational values and behaviours are important aspects of P-O
fit. However, the way different people and organisations work with values are different. One
very important aspect of the P-O fit phenomenon is a shared point of view that the context is
highly relevant. The context is of the uttermost importance when looking for P-O fit, the
wanted behaviour, and personality type of a potential new employee. The argument is that the
notion of P-O fit should be highly context based, in order to be consistent with the micro
environment in which the employee should interact in. The notion of P-O fit should address
considerations such as, how the employee would, on different parameters, match e.g. the
personality of the immediate superior, a specific team and colleagues, job function, and the
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Troels Majlund Kirkegaard – TK79980
MA in Corporate Communication; Aarhus Business & Social Sciences, Aarhus University.
Supervisor: Henrik Søgaard Hansen
Title: “A Contemporary Analysis of Person-Organisation Fit in the Management Recruitment Process, with
Specific Focus on Personality Testing & Job Interviews.” - Characters, excluding blanks: 129.495
appertaining culture. The common denominator for the samples regarding the personality trait
most appreciated, or indicative of a successful manager, is that there isn’t one. Again, the
shared conviction among the samples was that it is very context based. The wanted personality
traits depends on the function and tasks of the manager, whether it is e.g. a people/team
manager, who has to motivate and communicate with the surroundings as the primary
function, or a more technical manager, who should be more detail-oriented, and have more of a
technical/RD function. Hence, the samples often put forward functional skills as the
competencies that have first priority, when searching for a candidate, and secondly the
personality comes into consideration. The empirical material portrays the necessity of a HR
function that deals with recruiting on a daily basis in order to select the best suited candidate
for the position, and ensure P-O fit. Every sample organisation uses experienced recruiting
consultants to facilitate the hiring process.
The different personality tests, and the samples’ view of the validity, are different. But,
common ground is found in the understanding of personality tests as something guiding, and
as a general framework for the person’s preferred behaviors in different contexts, but by no
means a definite list of the personality. Also, a shared belief is that almost every personality
test can, to some degree, be manipulated by the candidate. However, it is assumed that an
experienced recruiter can rather quickly evaluate whether the candidate has been honest in
answering the personality test at the job interview. As already revealed, the personality test is
used as the foundation of a thorough personality assessment, and different areas are selected
to go into depth with at the subsequent interview. Therefore, the outcome of a personality test
is always under scrutiny. The job interview is applied to assess the P-O fit, and the credibility of
the personality test. The context and the fit between the management candidate and the
management team, colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders are under scrutiny. It is
furthermore suggested, that the better you are at probing, and analysing the answers you get,
the better you can get an assumption of the personality. In this connection it is put forward,
that different approaches of interview panels are a very reliable interview strategy in order to
make a comprehensive assessment of the candidate, and as a minimum, and common main
rule, at least two persons should be present and involved in interviewing a candidate to assess
the P-O fit.