Correctly assigning new employees to positions they can excel in is critical for most organizations. Legend has it, years ago local governments had a unique system they relied on to assign newly hired personnel.
Though not used as much today as in the past, the system had some value that your HR departments or personnel selection committees might find interesting. The system is simple to apply and relatively cost-effective to implement. Best of all, it generates outcomes that are easily understood.
To understand the system, just follow the five steps below:
1. Place 400 "new" bricks in the center of a large room.
2. Invite potential new hires into the room.
3. Once all the potential new hires are in the room, excuse
yourself, tell them you will return, then walk out.
4. Leave all the employment candidates alone in the room
4. Leave all the employment candidates alone in the room
for at least four hours.
5. When you return, analyze the situation:
********* If any of the individuals:
a. Took the initiative to count the bricks, offer them
an accounting or bookkeeper type position.
b. Counted, then recounted, the bricks, offer them a job
b. Counted, then recounted, the bricks, offer them a job
in auditing.
c. Scattered several of the bricks around the room
c. Scattered several of the bricks around the room
making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to walk
around the room, consider them for a position in
your highway department or public works department.
d. Arranged a large sampling of bricks in some strange
d. Arranged a large sampling of bricks in some strange
order that no one can understand, consider them for a
position in your planning department.
e. Got frustrated while waiting for your return and threw
e. Got frustrated while waiting for your return and threw
bricks and shouted obscenities, they could be ideal
candidates for openings in your operations or
administration centers.
f. Are sleeping in a chair in the corner when you return,
f. Are sleeping in a chair in the corner when you return,
they might work out extremely well in a law
enforcement position.
g. Have broken a few bricks into smaller pieces and are
g. Have broken a few bricks into smaller pieces and are
now attempting to put them back together, consider
them for positions in either information technology,
system information, or the budget office.
h. Are sitting idle and are not engaged in any visible
h. Are sitting idle and are not engaged in any visible
activity you can see, offer them a position in human
resources or facility maintenance.
i. Have taken the initiative to stack several bricks neatly
i. Have taken the initiative to stack several bricks neatly
into different combinations and are now deep in thought
contemplating even more ways to stack the bricks
differently, put them in community development.
j. Have left the room and cannot be found anywhere in the
j. Have left the room and cannot be found anywhere in the
building, make sure they are placed in either parks and
rec, land and water conservation, environmental
services, or forestry.
k. Are sitting quietly and staring intently out the windows
k. Are sitting quietly and staring intently out the windows
tapping a pen or pencil on their desk, consider them for a
position in strategic planning.
l. Have not touched a single brick but are desperately
l. Have not touched a single brick but are desperately
circulating around the room engaging others in pleasant
conversations, definitely place them in economic
development.
m. Have surrounded themselves with bricks in such a way
m. Have surrounded themselves with bricks in such a way
as to create a wall barricade which makes it difficult for
others to see or hear them, you may have found ideal
candidates to fill top level management positions or
senior level administration.
