We are our Brains

So, why is this all important? Well, just as the title of Dick Swaab’s book suggests, we are our brains, our brain is fundamental to us. Therefore, the brain is also important during work, here we too use it constantly. Keeping this in mind will make it clear why BrainsFirst focuses on grasping how the brain works, by means of the NeurOlympics. And the focus on the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex and its executive functions, allows BrainsFirst to assess ability and drive, two of the markers of performance. Even better, social skills, which are a third marker of performance, have recently been suggested to be supported by executive functions too. Therefore, BrainsFirst allows for an all encompassing insight into potential performance.

Biases are everywhere

Whether you are a woman or part of a minority, most hiring decisions are not favoring you. Unfortunately, rather the opposite is true, women in the Netherlands are paid 6-20% less than men and individuals with a Turkish, Moroccan, or Antillian Heritage are 40% less likely to be invited to an interview. Thus, basing hiring decisions on the brain enables to omit these and any other potential sources of bias. BrainsFirst is continuously working on remaining bias-free, to allow talent to be recognized outside of biased preconceptions. BrainsFirst allows, by means of the NeurOlympics and actively correcting for age, gender, and educational background, to largely eliminate the subconscious biases which otherwise cloud decisions based on unwarranted factors. Being bias-free allows to include all talent, moving toward zero talent waste. This is especially important for ethical reasons, but being bias-free also largens an organization's applicant pool and thereby heightens the chance to find the right talent. Hence, being bias-free can maximize an organization’s returns by investing into the right people.

Working in Times of High Job-Mobility

High job mobility can be detrimental to companies, for example due to its negative impact on employees job satisfaction in the long term. A potential way to combat this is relying on a job-brain match. Then, this can allow for an enduring job satisfaction, extending beyond the ‘Honeymoon Effect’ as a job which matches your brain fits your way of thinking and working, lowering your need to adapt and operate in unfamiliar ways, which may cause stress and similar adverse outcomes. Thus, a successful job-brain match allows not only the company to secure their growth, but also has a positive impact on employees. Job demands are associated with the perception of work-related psychosocial factors, which are important for overall well-being. Examples of such factors are time pressure, too demanding tasks, and role ambiguity. A job-brain match can lower the adverse impact of those factors, by ensuring that the candidate who is selected can adapt to them. Therefore, as an employee, you are likely to end up being more satisfied with your job and remain in this job if the match is based on the brain. NeurOlympics allows for a better job-brain match by matching the expected brain skills from a given company to the potential candidate’s brain skills.