Incessant Complainers

June 27, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

Incessant Complainers. Do you have this type of employee in your organization?

Characteristics: Non-stop complaining about the company, the working environment, colleagues and customers; does not see problems as opportunities to improve a situation. Complains about things but walks away when called to take up the challenge to change things for better.

Traits to look out for: Low willingness to take up challenges. Has a very strong mindset of what things “ought to be”. Low or moderate technical competencies to perform the job and has a weak desire to improve oneself by taking the necessary actions to learn new skills and adopt a mindset shift to address issues constructively.
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Ego Almighty

June 20, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

There are typically all sorts of various personalities working in an organization. In previous blogs we have reviewed a few. The Drama King/Queen, The Incessant Complainer, etc. Do you have a few “ego almighty’s” working in your company?

Just DO it!

June 15, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

“I HATE my work!” How successful do you think someone will be at a job who says this? “I don’t care if you hate it, just do it”. How long will this company be operating if this is the most often said comment from the team leader?

The Harrison Assessment’s Paradox Theory predicates that performance and enjoyment are closely linked, because when one enjoys doing something in particular, one tends to do it more willingly and often. This in turn makes one very competent in that task and thereby makes one an effective exponent of that particular job. Workers who have a great time doing whatever it is that captivates them, will be effective performers and ultimately add to the company’s success rate!

The key is to ﬁnd what turns on a particular worker and provide an environment where this is readily found and you’ll have a recipe for employee success for sure!

What do Gen X and Gen Y want in a job?

June 8, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, for Recruitment, Generational Differences, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

Harrison Assessments International recognizes that as the population ages, the competition for attracting good, skilled Gen X and Gen Y employees heats up. Employers are finding that monetary rewards are not enough to attract and retain younger workers.

Jamie Gutfreund of the Intelligence Group spends a great deal of time examining the differing motivations and preferences of the generations. Gutfreund (herself a member of Generation X) says it’s important to bear in mind that Xers were culturally different from the Baby Boom Generation that preceded them.

While boomers insisted on being heard by the world, “we [Xers] were a smaller generation [less than half the size of the boomer generation] who felt no one was listening to us,” she says. “We felt we had to fight” to have a voice, to make an impact, to earn a seat at the table of power.

How Do You Teach Delegation?

May 31, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, Delegation, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

One of the fundamental learning objectives in most leadership development training programs is delegation. But how exactly do you go about teaching delegation? Most emerging leaders are identified as top prospects because they excel at performing specific tasks. Their competence is what fuels their success; but when promoted, they are suppose to let go and stop doing the very tasks they have been rewarded for performing well. For some, delegating those tasks to others is is easy; and for others, it is a perpetual struggle.

The challenge for HR and training professional is determining how easily someone will learn to delegate tasks, especially under a stressful environment.

How a Personality Trait Assessment Helps Improve Communication

May 24, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, Communication, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

“According to a recent Harris Poll … a stunning majority (69%) of the managers said that they’re often uncomfortable communicating with employees. Over a third (37%) of the managers said that they’re uncomfortable having to give direct feedback about their employees’ performance if they think the employee might respond negatively to the feedback.”

Effective communication is a core trait of leadership and there is an abundance of training materials, books, and articles designed to help leaders improve critical communication skills. Although communication training is a core emphasis within almost every leadership development program, the recent Harris Poll shows that a focus on effective communication skills alone is not enough to help managers and leaders learn how to effectively communicate. What is not provided in the training is the understanding and awareness of how different people react to critical feedback.

By knowing in advance how employees are likely to respond to critical feedback, managers are better able to prepare themselves and develop a plan that allows them to effectively utilize their communication training. Personality Trait Assessments are a valuable tool that can provide managers the insight they need to feel more comfortable communicating with employees and providing critical feedback.

Improving Accountability within the Workplace

May 12, 2016/in Accountability, Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments, Job Fit/by Harrison Assessments

Forbes Magazine published an article on Accountability titled, “7 Ways to Build Accountable Organizations”. Within the article, the author posses the question:

Where do you need to invest your time and attention to build an environment of accountability?

This is a question many organizations ask themselves and consistently struggle to find the answer. A significant reason so many organizations are struggling to answer the question on accountability is because their primary focus is on process and they do not consider job fit.

The Forbes’ article on accountability effectively covers the core procedural elements necessary to be able to monitor and report on accountability: clearly defined job roles, mutually agreed upon tasks, positive incentives, consistent reviews, etc. However, the article like many other periodicals on accountability overlooks the significance of job fit.
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Paradox Theory and Team Dynamics

May 11, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments, Team Development/by Harrison Assessments

In today’s specialized work environment, talent is not enough. Talented people must effectively work together in order for the organization to succeed. HR budgets are tight and finding the right combination of talented people who can work together day in and day out to achieve positive results is difficult. As any good sports team knows, getting the right talent on the team in the right positions working together is imperative.

Harrison Assessments Paradox Theory reveals team dynamics in a way that has never before been possible, enabling individual team members to easily identify how their own behaviors contribute or obstruct the team objectives.

The Verbal Caustic

May 9, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

The Verbal Caustic- another Toxic Employee

Almost every organization has experienced some form or another of a Toxic Employee; someone who, whether consciously or subconsciously, disrupts or hinders the advancement of productivity in the workplace.

Also known as “walking liabilities”, they say things and they do things that make them a huge liability. Just because you haven’t been sued for it doesn’t mean they aren’t walking around creating liability for you.

One of those types is the VERBAL CAUSTIC.

Characteristics: Steps on others without even realizing it; blunt and caustic; laser-tongued. Thinks he/she is just being honest, does not know when he/she hurts others’ feelings or doesn’t sufficiently consider others needs while pushing for his/her own (this is certainly not always the case and is less likely).

Mini Napoleon

May 4, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

Do you have a Mini Napoleon employee in your midst?

Almost every organization has experienced some form or another of a Toxic Employee; someone who, whether consciously or subconsciously, disrupts or hinders the advancement of productivity in the workplace.

Also known as “walking liabilities”, they say things and they do things that make them a huge liability. Just because you haven’t been sued for it doesn’t mean they aren’t walking around creating liability for you. One type of toxic employee is the “Mini Napoleon”.

Emotional Moody

April 27, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

Do you have an “Emotionally Moody” type person working for you?

Almost every organization today has experienced a “Bad Apple” employee; someone who, whether consciously or subconsciously, disrupts or hinders the advancement of productivity in the workplace. One type of bad apple is the “Emotionally Moody”.

Characteristics: Temperamental and goes through mood swings; difﬁcult to predict the best time to communicate with such employees. Appears distant and can be rather cold towards others; unable to control emotions and ﬁnds it diffcult to maintain self-composure.

Traits to look out for: Introverted, low self-esteem, easily tensed and poor stress management techniques, intolerant to bluntness, pessimistic, weak in interpersonal skills and display low comfort with conﬂict.

Psychological Traits of a Good White Collar Worker

April 25, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, for Recruitment, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

Psychological Traits of a Good White Collar Worker

Baby Boomers remember the old days that had set working hours. You went to work and then around five p.m., you packed up your stuff and went home. If there were an emergency you might stay until five-thirty.

Those days are gone! White-collar work, sometimes called Knowledge Work, is never done. Your immediate To Do list might have twenty items on it, but right behind the immediate To Do list is a supplemental To Do list with another forty action items on it and after that list is done, there’s a third one waiting.

Most white collar workers today need to be able to work autonomously (that big college word for trusted to work on your own and get it done without supervision). And yet, they also need to be able to work cohesively as part of a team when the need arises.

But not all white collar jobs are created equal.
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Zealous Extremist

April 20, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

Do you have a Zealous Extremist working for you?

Characteristics: Strong personal values and life principles; completely passionate and committed to his own belief system. Can be overzealous in preaching or inﬂuencing others towards one’s belief system.

Traits to look out for: High inﬂuencing power, highly cause-motivated, highly certain and enjoys teaching and/or making presentations.

Negative side: Can either work with the organization or against the organization, depending on whether their values are aligned or different.

How to assess when you hire: If the interviewer ﬁnds the above tendencies through proﬁling, it is critical to takes the time to fully explore the individual’s values as well as the alignment with the organization’s value and direction.

You may even have a “Zealous Extremist” as an employee.
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Robo Advising HR

April 15, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, for Recruitment, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

Robo Advising HR

Algorithms seem to be the hot topic and “Robo Advising” is one of the newest fads. Algorithms are used for predicting everything from the weather, sports, economic indicators, and financial data to who is the best person to date? Trying to predict behavior is nothing new, people in ancient times used oracles, fortune tellers and crystal balls. Today’s technology uses algorithms and the new age of “robo advising” has begun.

According to dictionary.com an Algorithm is: a set of rules for solving a problem in a finite number of steps, as for finding the greatest common divisor.

Even though Algorithm’s are sometimes used in place of a human being, hence the term “robo advisor”, they are ultimately just a very powerful tool that needs to be used with care by human beings in order to accurately predict successful outcomes.

So is there a Robo Advising HR that can choose the right person to hire?

The Best Kept Secret in Talent Management!

April 7, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, for Recruitment, Harrison Assessments, Sheryl Dawson, Talent Analytics, Talent Management/by DCG

Harrison Assessments

Is improving engagement and retention a top priority in your organization? An analytics system that facilitates better hiring and promotion decisions at every level and enables leaders to more effectively onboard, coach and mentor their employees can dramatically impact your results. At the same time, preparing your talent to advance requires effective behavioral assessment. The best kept secret in talent management is that now one system can meet each of these crucial needs!
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Blind Optimist

April 1, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

Blind Optimist

Do you have a Blind Optimist at work? The kind of person who sees good in everything, no matter what the situation? That ever so cheery person who never seems to be living in reality? A little ray of sunshine in the workplace is good right? The sprinkler alarms could be raining water down on desks and they would smile and say… “at least the plants are getting watered”. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point.

Having optimism is good, but it is also possible to have too much optimism to the point that it is “blinding”. An optimistic attitude is good, especially if you are in a position that requires a little extra positive energy, such as sales or customer service, however if the optimism gets in the way of making accurate strategy analysis or executing or performing a tasks with attention to the possible fail factors the increased level of optimism could become a hindrance to success.

Walkway Strollers (or Web Browsers)

March 30, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

Walkway Strollers (or Web Browsers)

Do you have a Walkway/Web Stroller at your office? You may recognize the type:

Characteristics: Highly mobile around the ofﬁce complex and loves peeping into others’ cubicle (workstation) ﬁnding out how others are managing their work and life.

This behavior may manifest itself virtually. The walkway stroller may not cruise the actual hallways, they may cruise the web instead. They may take it upon themselves to police the social media sites, peeping into the personal posts of their co-workers.

This person typically thinks s/he is practicing management by walkabout except that s/he forgets to manage his or her own work, deliverables and KPIs ﬁrst.

PhD Org. Psych 24.7.365 – Harrison

March 21, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, for Recruitment, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

PHD Org 24.7.365

Dr. Dan Harrison

PhD Org. Psych 24.7.365- Harrison

It’s been a long time since I took a Psych class. I know there is a lot of good stuff there that can help me lead my organization forward.

I wear a lot of hats and one of them is the HR one. People and people processes are typically on my mind. Making sure I have the best people in the positions that they are best suited for is a challenge.

But going back to school to learn more about psychology so I can figure out what is really going on inside an employee or a potential hire is not going to happen. Something else that is not going to happen is hiring a PhD to figure it out for me. That is a major expenditure that I cannot afford.

However, there are relatively low cost alternatives that can help me wear this hat well. Job Fit Assessments. The Harrison Assessment Talent Solution is like having a PhD Org. Psych with me 24/7/365.

Bad Egg or Humpty Dumpty

March 13, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

Bad Egg or Humpty Dumpty

You have that employee that doesn’t quite fit or is not quite up to performance standards. Some refer to them as “toxic” or “pains.” In previous blogs we have referred to them by different stereotypes…. Mini Napoleon, Crowd Pleaser, Emotional Moody, Ego Almighty, Verbal Caustic…. Etc. These employees are disrupters in the work place often hindering productivity and considered to be liabilities.

Don’t throw the Baby out with the Bathwater

March 10, 2016/in Assessments, Blog, for Development, Harrison Assessments/by Harrison Assessments

Don’t throw the Baby out with the Bathwater

Sam works in Accounting. He has pretty good business sense and is very good with numbers. However, every place that Sam goes to work, within two years he gets pushed out. Now Sam is working for you. Unfortunately, nowhere during his reviews from his past employers or during his interview was it mentioned that Sam had any problem. And now he is yours.

He’s a talker. Some would even call him a Walkway Stroller or a Crowd Pleaser. He likes social interaction so much that if he doesn’t get it, he will find a way to get it. This usually ends up with him not completing some of his assigned tasks.

Harrison Assessments guesses that in this case, although Sam’s skill level for the job may be proficient, his suitability may not. If you have a Sam, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. What if there is another job within your organization in which Sam can do better and prosper?