In a nation obsessed with competitiveness, human resources departments are looking to a startling array of psychological tools to fit the person to the job – and vice versa.  These measures go beyond the assessment of skills or personality, attempting to predict how a new employee will behave in the work force, whether he or she will display qualities that drive a particular company's success, and what career path may lie ahead.

At Shawmut Design and Construction, Boston, management has built a company around another tool that provides very detailed behavioral portraits of each employee – including top managers.

Derived from the psychological and sociological studies of such noted theorists as B.F. Skinner, and David Riesman, the Predictive Index, or PI, was developed by Arnold S. Daniels over 3 decades ago to provide companies with an organizational development tool. 

While not linked in any direct way to compensation issues, the PI, offered in an online version by Praendex Inc. of Wellesley, is used by Shawmut starting with recruitment and throughout an employee's tenure. According to Bill Hughes, vice president of marketing and development, it helps enhance the quality and effectiveness of interpersonal relations and fits the strengths of individuals to the most appropriate job challenges.

Hughes said PI doesn't replace traditional evaluation and recruitment tools such as resumes, references and interviews but it does help give them a sharper focus when viewed by a hiring manager. He cites what he calls a "classic example" – hiring a construction project manger. It is a type of position that generally demands strong orientation toward details. "If a potential project manager shows strong skills and ability but a low score on handling details, he or she could still get the job but we would definitely make a more careful assessment, "said Hughes.

Once people come aboard at Shawmut, their PI score follows them – not as a hindrance but as a kind of avatar to help the manager and other employees function as a team, right from the start.

Hughes credits PI with helping him to work more effectively with Shawmut's president and CEO, Tom Goemaat. It seems the two men's PI scores are quite different, particularly in terms of how they use and process information. Hughes said he likes to take information and turn it into action as soon as possible while Goemaat prefers to have time to think things over. "With PI, I was able to finally figure out that telling Tom what I wanted to talk about a day ahead allowed him to prepare and be ready to respond to me," says Hughes.

Now, said Hughes, "Whenever we have an employee conflict, the first thing we do is put out the PI scores to try to zero in on the source – it has become part of our corporate culture.

This is an excerpt from an article by Alan R Earls of The Boston Globe, 30 March 2003