How Intrinsic Role Matching© Works

A deeper understanding of the person behind the CV

Intrinsic Role Matching© is an art, not a science. Qualifications, experience and achievements matter, but they do not tell us everything about how a person is naturally motivated, what energises them, or the conditions in which they are most likely to thrive. At WITH-Humanity, we believe that a more human approach to recruitment begins by understanding the relationship between an individual's intrinsic talents and motivations, the requirements of the role, and the environment in which they will work.

Intrinsic Role Matching© brings this perspective into your final hiring decision.

You have already identified two or three candidates who can do the job. We help you look beyond their CVs to understand how each person might contribute, what may energise them, and where the role or working environment may create opportunities or challenges. The aim is to help you make a more informed decision about the person you appoint.

Why?

Organisations with strengths-based cultures experience higher employee engagement, retention, productivity and performance - Gallup

29% increased profit
19% increased sales
72% lower attrition
7% higher customer engagement

How does this work?

1. You provide your final shortlist

Intrinsic Role Matching© is designed to complement your existing recruitment process.

You identify the two or three candidates you consider suitable for the position. We work with you to understand the role, its demands, the team and the wider organisational environment in which the successful candidate will be working.

We do not need to start your recruitment process again.

2. We explore each candidate's intrinsic talents and motivations

Each candidate completes a CliftonStrengths® assessment, which takes approximately 30 minutes online.

The assessment provides a starting point for exploring the candidate's natural patterns of talent. These insights are then considered in context rather than treated as a stand-alone personality label.

Through a structured Strengths Awareness Session, we explore how the candidate's talents may influence their approach to work, what naturally energises them, and how they may contribute to the requirements of the role.

3. We consider the person in the context of the role

Understanding a person's strengths is only part of the picture.

We also consider the relationship between the candidate's motivations, the demands of the position, the working environment, the leadership context and the people with whom they will work.

A person can be highly capable and still find that a particular environment makes it difficult to use their talents constructively. Equally, a candidate whose potential has been overlooked by conventional recruitment criteria may bring valuable capabilities that have not yet been fully recognised.

Our approach helps bring these considerations into the hiring decision.

4. You receive an independent assessment

We bring the findings together to help you understand the relative alignment of your shortlisted candidates.

This provides an additional perspective on their potential contribution, natural talent patterns, motivations and the conditions that may support their success.

It is not a guarantee of future performance, nor does it replace your technical interviews, reference checks or professional judgement.

You retain responsibility for the hiring decision. We help you see more of the person you are considering appointing.

Why look beyond strengths alone?

At WITH-Humanity, we recognise that people do not work in isolation. Our unique talents influence how we approach challenges and contribute to a team, but our ability to work well with others also depends on how we understand and engage with one another. This is where Interdependent Rules of Engagement© becomes relevant. Interdependence recognises that we each bring different talents, needs and perspectives. Rather than expecting everyone to think, work or contribute in the same way, we seek to understand how those differences can complement one another.

For employers, this creates an opportunity to look beyond whether an individual can perform a role and consider how their contribution may work alongside the capabilities of the existing team.

The question becomes:

How can we create the conditions in which this person and the organisation can contribute to one another's success?

More than a strengths assessment

CliftonStrengths® may be one of the tools informing our approach, but the value lies in how the findings are interpreted in relation to the individual, the role and the wider human system

We explore:

Natural talent patterns and potential contributions
What motivates and energises the individual
The relationship between personal strengths and role requirements
How the individual may complement the existing team
Environmental conditions that may support or hinder engagement
Areas where expectations, working preferences or development needs may require attention

We are not looking to place people into predetermined personality categories. We want to understand the individual more fully, so that the employer can make a more considered decision about the relationship between person and role.

A different way of seeing potential

In my recruitment work, I have seen how a different perspective can reveal possibilities that conventional recruitment processes may overlook.

Rehan Christians's experience is one example.

Rehan had studied Information Systems but was struggling to find opportunities that made use of his degree. His experience in bookkeeping did not fully reflect the broader capabilities he could bring to an organisation.

Rather than seeing him only through his existing job title, I explored what he wanted to do, the skills he had developed and the opportunities that might better align with his capabilities.

He subsequently moved into ERP implementation work, where he could bring together his Information Systems background and a broader range of skills.

Reflecting on the experience, Rehan described the approach as holistic and refreshing. He also explained how his Strengths Awareness and coaching helped him become more intentional about working interdependently with others.

His experience illustrates the principle behind Intrinsic Role Matching©: when we look beyond a person's current role and conventional career path, we may recognise potential that would otherwise remain unseen.

What does it cost?

Intrinsic Role Matching™ is commissioned by the employer and is designed to work alongside your existing recruitment process.

The fee structure separates the assessment work from any agreed appointment-related service.

Candidate assessment fee

A fee is payable for each candidate assessed, covering the agreed assessment process, interpretation and role-alignment work.

Appointment-related fee

Where agreed, a separate fee may apply following an appointment, together with a defined period of post-appointment support.

The scope, fee and terms will be confirmed with you before work begins.

[Insert agreed assessment fee per candidate]

[Insert agreed appointment-related fee and support terms, if retained]

Start with your final shortlist

If you are recruiting for a key position and have narrowed your options to two or three credible candidates, consider whether you have enough insight into the people behind the CVs.

Intrinsic Role Matching™ offers an additional perspective before you make that decision.

Make your next hiring decision with a deeper understanding of the people involved

Discuss Intrinsic Role Matching©

WITH-Humanity — making business more human, one hiring decision at a time.

We explore each candidate's intrinsic talents and motivations

Where appropriate, candidate completes the CliftonStrengths® assessment online, which takes approximately 30 minutes, and may

be followed by a two-hour Strengths Awareness Session, an essential part of the process, though not always a requirement in every placement. The assessment results provide a starting point; the session allows us to explore what those results mean for the individual, how their natural talent patterns influence the way they think, feel and contribute, and what motivates and energises them.

We go beyond identifying strengths to develop a deeper understanding of the person behind the profile. This creates the foundation for considering how their intrinsic talents and motivations relate to the demands of the role, the team and the organisational environment and potential challenges.

The assessment alone is not the service. The value lies in the interpretation, exploration and application of the findings to the real-world hiring decision.

For organisations, the practical implication is clear:

Better-informed hiring begins with understanding both the person and the system they are entering

Evidence from practice

"In my Intrinsic Role Matching© process I have seen how a different perspective can reveal possibilities that conventional recruitment processes may overlook, possibilities that can emerge when someone is considered for what they can contribute, rather than being judged only against a conventional career path or a narrow interpretation of their experience. One candidate I worked with, Rehan Christians, described how a different approach helped move him into ERP implementation work that brought together his Information Systems degree (which as a mature student had been overlooked), his strengths and broader capabilities. Rehan had studied Information Systems but was struggling to find opportunities that made use of his degree. His experience in bookkeeping did not fully reflect the broader capabilities he could bring to an organisation.

Rather than seeing him only through his existing job title, I explored his work history, what he wanted to do, the skills he had developed and the opportunities that might better align with his capabilities and Intrinsic Identity©. He subsequently moved into ERP implementation work, where he could bring together his Information Systems background and a broader range of skills. Reflecting on the experience, Rehan described the approach as holistic and refreshing. He also explained how his Strengths Awareness and coaching helped him become more intentional about working interdependently with others." Samantha McDonald

when we look beyond a person's current role and conventional career path, we may recognise potential that would otherwise remain unseen.

Read Rehan's testimony

We look forward to you walking this journey with you ...

Testimony

Read what others have to say about unlocking their Potential ...

Rehan Christians July 2019 South Africa

I first met Sam in January 2018. The company I was working for was looking for an Accounts Assistant but I was in the final stages of interviewing for a lecturer position, which I mentioned to Sam. She decided to interview me anyway to find out more about what I wanted to do with my life. In the end I turned down the opportunity she was offering and decided to try the lecturer position.

I thought that would be the end of it when in November 2018 Sam called again out of the blue and asked if I would be interested in a junior Implementation Consultant Position which had come up. Sam had remembered I was searching for new challenges and had applied for the lecturer position because I wanted something different from the Book-keeping.

I’d also been getting no responses from organisations relating to what I had studied towards, being Information Systems. No one was prepared to take a chance on me. I was a mature student and had my degree in Information Systems, but it took someone with a completely different outlook to take a chance and look at what I had to offer in a new way.

Sam put me forward again for the available position and after some interviews and tests, including my Strengths Assessment, I was offered a position doing ERP Implementations. This is also the first time I am actually utilising my Strengths and the many skills I obtained throughout my degree, at the same time.

I think it was the way Sam chose to look at me as a candidate, as well as what my needs were as an employee, together with the requirement of the organisation. Her approach was holistic and just plain refreshing. This is just not something one encounters in most organisations. I am finally using such a broad skill set.

I have always known my strengths, but the Coaching Sessions, which are part of the recruitment process, have made me aware of how I use my Strengths, and not to let these overpower someone else’s, but rather to become intentional about trying to be interdependent.

Also, not to be over reliant on only my dominant Strengths but to recognise and develop my secondary talents. I feel developing these will make me more complete as an individual and employee and as a partner and father. I feel the benefits could be far reaching beyond just being successful in my current position. All things are interconnected after all, as nothing acts in isolation.

Through the Strengths Awareness I have stopped only concentrating on my own Strengths and now look to others to bring their Strengths too, to assist me in tasks and/or to compliment my own Strengths. I am still relatively new at this, but I do feel I am moving in the right direction.

Become a Strengths Recruitment Candidate