I have already outlined the first need of 2020 to be staff retention, giving the obvious reasons for this.
I have suggested that the first step on the road to maintaining staffing levels without internal losses to be the act of “benchmarking” and have laid out the basics of the exercise.
We are now able to consider the resulting factors that empower teams to become more and more successful over time giving rise to increased job satisfaction thus ensuring longevity within the staffing across the company overall.
If we are unsure of our present position within the business as far as job satisfaction is concerned then the first step of benchmarking should give us some clues. These will come from the changes that individuals are having to make to their approach to their job roles within a team which will only show up in the softskills profiles provided by “the PROFILE PEOPLE”
This is not strictly 100 percent accurate as some profiling systems do show these changes but most do not. Add to this that the majority of “profile readers” do not understand the value of these changes and you can begin to understand why soft skills management is not always taken seriously.
The profiles carried out by us will highlight areas where individuals within a given team, or even a whole business have to spend time modifying their preferred behaviours.
Why is this important?
Behaviour modification comes about when a person has no option but to adapt to circumstances that are out of their control resulting in them modifying the way they approach that challenge. When this happens on a regular basis, that person is moving out of their comfort zone into areas that cause them to try to change who they want to be.
NOTE: Over 80% of teams reviewed have this problem to some degree
Have you ever been forced into a situation at work where management styles cause you to react in ways that are “normal for you”? The obvious example is where time becomes the overriding factor in reaching a conclusion. Your preferred style is to work to a plan that you have worked out for yourself and one which you know will allow you to finish your tasks successfully. If your boss keeps changing this focus for you – how do you feel about the job you are being asked to do?
Having been involved in literally hundreds of team reviews – it has become obvious that the more the individuals within the team are “forced” to modify the way they need to work – the less effective that team becomes at producing high level results.
Conversely when a team operates in harmony – that team is generally seen as a happy team whose performance levels appear above average to others.
This then is the beginning of a much longer journey. There is a warning that must come with this review and that is one of managing positivity over a more negative style of management.
With this comes a responsibility that management needs to be willing to assess themselves first and be willing to create a change movement if found to be necessary. If team harmony appears out of kilter, then attempting to manage individuals out of their functionality will not be the way forward. The team manager must look deeper before jumping to conclusions and team members do not need to be involved at this early stage.
The second stage of the review is to look at the job descriptions.
A job description must be designed to be specific about the use of available skills that allow team members to perform well.
We have all heard about the difference between hard skills and soft skills and the types of measurement that can be applied to gauge the level of NEED within the job functions.
This gives rise to our understanding of competencies and the describable level of competence needed to do a job well.
When we bring these elements together, we begin to more fully understand why one team works well and another struggles.
We also begin to understand that hard skills blended with soft skills and competencies spread across a team can be used more effectively when all members of that team share a complete understanding of working strengths within the team members capabilities.
When I hear someone say that we should not recruit a potential candidate because their soft profile does not meet with a “pre agreed shape” – I worry that the business as a whole might be closing its mind to a bigger picture thus limiting the potential of the business to make the most of all the resources available.
If you feel comfortable that your business is making the most of this information, why not test one team to find out just how well it really is working.The Power of a successful team is greater than the sum of the individuals in that team.
If you are prepared to acknowledge that things could be better – pick a team of about twelve people who do not appear to be on top of their game, all of the time.
Give John Shenton a call and ask for a review project– for management level only.
- He will ask you for 12 job descriptions as they are available today without modification.
- A simple review of the individuals performance ratings from their last assessments in the form of 1 to 10 low poor/ to 10 high. Very good.
- A review of the team measurements in simple terms – what must they do on a daily monthly basis and how close to they get to any given targets applied.
- A soft skills profile to be completed by every team member and the team manager(s).
You will get a report for open discussion with however many managers are involved with this team, that will result in a conclusion about what to do next to improve the performance of the team.
What will this cost your business?
The cost of soft profiles with individual feedback to each team member for this project only could be:
The individual cost for each profile plus the feedback time for each one plus any day rates on sight required to achieve this which will be agreed before the project starts and will include travel and subsistence agreements. Day rates will reflect the complexity of the business overall and take into account expenses.
Management and staff time is something you must take into consideration against any potential for team output improvements. Ask yourselves how you might value performance improvement in measurable terms. No measurement – no improvement – just guesswork?
Just as a thought – if the project were to cost your business £4500, what performance increase would pay for this over what period of time?
When you have the answer – call John on 07946 577521 to discuss step one.
This call will cost you nothing so what have you got to lose?
Call today for an immediate appreciation of the challenges and potential rewards for your business.
