The emergence of “personality hires” has been a growing trend in workplaces across the Middle East. These employees are prized for their charisma, charm, and ability to build relationships, often overshadowing their technical skills. 

While personality hires can be invaluable in smoothing over conflicts and fostering positive work environments, they can also pose challenges if not balanced with adequate technical expertise.

THE RISE OF PERSONALITY HIRING

Agreeing that personality-based hiring is becoming increasingly prevalent in workplaces, Ola Elkelany, people and culture expert and HR consultant, attributes this trend to organizations’ focus on company culture and team dynamics, particularly the belief that personality can predict job performance and the desire to build cohesive teams.  

This type of hiring is more prevalent in leadership roles as personalities play a critical role in shaping company culture and driving performance, adds Elkelany. They also must align with an organization’s vision, mission, and values.

“Companies seek leaders who possess the necessary skills and experience and embody the core values and cultural attributes the organization aims to promote. This approach helps ensure that leaders can inspire their teams, foster a positive work environment, and drive the organization towards its strategic goals.”

Although personality tests have been around for quite some time, recruitment expert and leadership coach Jihane Najjar says they are becoming a significant part of the hiring process for employers looking to reduce costly and lengthy hiring processes.

“Companies want to streamline the recruitment process and select the most skilled candidates while ensuring personality fit to the team and alignment with company values such as teamwork, adaptability, and creativity,” adds Najjar.

“Instead of assessing the skills first, employers prefer to assess personality through online tests that are affordable and easily administered and integrated in the recruitment and selection process.”

However, hiring based on personality can also enhance team dynamics and collaboration. When a team leader understands each member’s personality, they can manage tasks more effectively, says Najjar. 

“An organized team member might be assigned responsibilities like maintaining calendars, developing tracking sheets, and ensuring task follow-ups. Meanwhile, a team member with strong leadership qualities could be given roles such as negotiating with clients or suppliers or leading a project.”

Mariam Tarek, 25, a social media professional, believes personality assessments are valuable tools in the hiring process, though they come with the risk of leading to personality hires. She suggests that these assessments can help determine whether a candidate, in addition to their qualifications, is a good fit for the company culture and team dynamics.

THE PITFALLS OF PERSONALITY HIRING 

However, Zeina Abdulrahman, a 28-year-old media production professional, believes hiring based on personality does more harm than good. “It’s often clear who was hired for their personality, but unfortunately, this isn’t a positive distinction.”

She mentions experiencing uneven workloads and favoritism in the workplace due to the excessive focus on personality and likability. “While personality is important in content creation and media, an overemphasis on it leads to overlooking essential technical skills — a mistake that employees typically end up paying for.”

Abdulrahman also notes personality significantly influences how employees are treated by their managers. The consequences for mistakes can vary, with outgoing and likable employees often receiving more leniency.

“In my experience, those hired based on personality are often not expected to handle much of the heavy workload, leading to other team members becoming overburdened,” she says.

This dynamic can stifle employee development: the personality hire isn’t challenged enough to grow, while the overworked employee risks burnout, ultimately lowering overall team productivity. Additionally, it can lead to animosity among team members due to perceptions of unfair treatment. 

“If a personality hire ends up being just a charming front to an unqualified person, this can bring down the morale of team progress as well as affect workflow. Suppose every team had to carry the burden of a personality hire. In that case, you’ll probably end up with burnt-out employees who either end up quitting or dropping in productivity,” says Tarek.

Tarek says that if not addressed properly, these conflicts can lead to the breakdown of teams and even entire companies.

“The only sensible solution for dealing with a disruption in a company is to remove the source of the problem— like removing a bad weed from a garden so as not to poison the rest of it. Another way would be through HR. However, that might take months, which would exacerbate the issue.”

It’s common for organizations to often succumb to biases like the similarity-attraction effect, favoring candidates with personalities similar to those of existing team members or decision-makers, regardless of their technical skills or the current business needs.

Candidates might also tailor their responses to fit the desired profile, leading to false positives and higher turnover if their abilities don’t match the job requirements.

“Personality-based hiring may lead to a lack of diversity, stifling innovation and problem-solving by creating a homogenous workforce. This approach can also introduce bias and discrimination, favoring certain personality traits and marginalizing candidates from different backgrounds,“ says Elkelany.

Recruiters tend to hire those with personality traits similar to theirs, which limits diversity over time. Najjar says recruiters can also become overly reliant on personality tests, making hiring decisions solely based on those reports instead of using them to gain additional insights.

She adds that managers may make the mistake of confining employees to roles that align with their personalities, neglecting to assign tasks that challenge them and push them out of their comfort zones, which is crucial for their development.

FINDING A GOOD BALANCE

The selection process should be a balance between hiring for personality and competence. Najjar recommends starting with a personality assessment and then conducting a competency-based or behavioral interview to evaluate skills. 

“Depending on the job, you may also include skills assessments. This approach helps hire individuals who fit well with the team and possess the necessary competencies.”

Elkelany says a comprehensive competency framework is needed to strike a balance between hiring for personality and competence and better define the specific skills needed for each role.

Utilizing methods like Competency-Based Interviewing (CBI) and incorporating both behavioral and situational questions can help assess personality and competence, mitigating the risks associated with personality-based hiring.

Training and development are key to achieving this balance. For example, onboarding programs can include training that strengthens the necessary competencies while encouraging behaviors that align with the company’s culture.

“Regular professional development opportunities ensure employees continuously improve their skills and adapt to evolving job requirements, while personality-based training, such as emotional intelligence workshops, can enhance interpersonal skills and team fit.”