Improving selection : the design of a value based questionnaire.

Person-Job fit is essential in the evaluation of the candidate in selection, however Person-Organisation fit also plays an important role in selection decisions. It refers to the congruence between the values of an individual and the values of an organization (Kristof, 1996). POfit is related to several post-entry outcomes, such as satisfaction, motivation and turnover (Bretz & Judge, 1994; Chatman, 1989; Edwards & Cable, 2009; Meglino, Ravlin & Adkins, 1989). Employees sharing the values of the organization are found to be more committed, more satisfied, more motivated and less likely to quit. To identify if there is a good P-O fit, the values of the candidate have to be identified first. « Values are affect laden beliefs that refer to a person’s desirable goals and guide the selection or evaluation of actions, policies, people and events. » (Schwartz, 2012). The Belgian Defence has decided to develop a questionnaire for use in selection and measuring the values of a candidate. The tool was built based on the model of the values of the Belgian Defence, based on the model of Schwartz (2012) and based on the tool developed by Johansen, Laberg and Martinussen (2013) on military identity. It was then validated in a population of candidate officers in training and correlated with self-reported measures of POfit. The procedure and the results of the analyses are presented. Implications and recommendations for selection are discussed