The theory of psychometric profiling is based on the premise that there are certain combinations of personality traits that make a candidate more suited to a specific position or career path than others. Within the marketing environment, you would typically seek an individual who is outgoing, self-motivated, action-orientated, resourceful, insightful, and has good people skills - but can you really apply this generic model of the perfect marketer to any environment or industry? What about, for example, gaming - a relatively new industry in South Africa, characterised by a 24-hour, fast-paced, highly competitive environment?
According to Tsogo Sun Gaming, based on its experience of operating five casino and entertainment destinations in South Africa over the last 11 years, there is a more specific personality type required for marketing positions within the gaming industry. While all the traditional marketing traits would certainly still apply, according to Noëleen Bruton, the company's director of marketing, the demands of casino marketing are unique and call for a very specific type of person.
The challenge, however, is that - while you might ideally be looking for marketing staff with gaming experience - there is a relatively small traditional knowledge base because the industry is in its infancy.
“What makes the marketing job requirement unique in the gaming environment is that, whereas in other industries a great deal of the operational duties are handled by agencies, in the gaming environment, the integration between strategic and operational marketing is seamless, requiring multi-disciplined individuals,” she says.
The solution to this dilemma, according to Tsogo Sun Gaming, is to hire good marketers with the right psychological profile for the industry. In an effort to create the perfect profile for marketing positions within the gaming industry, the company initiated a pilot profiling project, which began by hand-picking marketing people within its organisation who exemplified the behaviour that the marketing department was looking for and were functioning optimally. Essentially, these were people who were able to multitask, could handle extreme pressure, were able to work through people to achieve results, learn on their feet, quick to get going and able to handle stress and change.
Having identified a sample group of six individuals, the second step was to conduct a series of psychometric tests, including both behavioural analysis and emotional analysis, on these “ideal” casino marketing individuals. Through this process, a number of non-negotiable attributes, both inter-personal and intra-personal, were identified. “It was fascinating to see a common profile - and common weaknesses - emerge. Obviously, the profile will vary slightly, according to the individual job, but there is undoubtedly a common set of qualities and traits that define the ideal casino marketing person,” says Sandra Falkner, the company's HR manager. It was clear that the non-negotiable attributes were a strong “I” profile, namely the ability to work through people, and a strong “D” profile, being the ability to achieve results.
This process created a Human Job Analysis (HJA) profile, which is now attached to the Tsogo Sun marketing job description and applied to all marketing management positions. Potential candidates undertake a series of tests to determine learning potential, personal value profiles as compared to the company's Tsogo Way values, and emotional intelligence. This creates a distinct personality profile for the candidate, which is then overlaid with the HJA - the ideal personality profile for the position. “It's essentially a person-to-profile comparison, which identifies the candidate's developmental comparison and enables us to determine whether, if their attitude is good but they fall short on certain behavioural components, it is still feasible that we hire the person.”
“It's an expensive process, but its value in ensuring that we appoint right the first time is immeasurable. The marketing positions are extremely pressurised, working long hours in a highly competitive and volatile industry and we simply can't afford to put the wrong people into these positions,” says Bruton.
All management appointments are now screened and tested according to this stringent recruitment process, both at head office and within each of the company's five properties.
