Henrik Sørlie is an army officer and PhD candidate in industrial and organizational psychology at the University of Bergen and the Norwegian Defence Command and Staff College. His research interests includes personnel selection, leadership, and Person-Organization fit. Before his PhD project he worked with developing and validating selection processes in the Norwegian Army and before that he served several years as infantry officer at company level.
Use of Person-Organization Fit for practical selection purposes in military organizations
This presentation focuses on Person-Organization Fit (P-O Fit), which is the value congruence between people and the organizations in which they work, and the possibilities for use of P-O Fit for personnel selection. Intelligence and personality are commonly used for personnel selection since they consistently predict job performance. P-O Fit also relate positively to job performance, but research on practical use for selection purposes is scarce. Two recent studies that address this gap will be presented. In the first study (published), the utility of indirectly measured P-O Fit was examined in a military selection context. P-O Fit yielded incremental predictive validity, beyond that of Intelligence and Big Five, on Work Engagement and Task Performance. In the second study (submitted), multilevel modelling was applied to daily measures from naval cadets. In view of the Job-Demands Resources framework, findings suggest P-O Fit as a key resource that facilitates activation of the situational job resource Autonomy, thus enhancing performance. Further practical, methodological and theoretical issues will be discussed at the seminar.