The Weak Link in Predicting Business Success

/in , , , , , , /by

Talent decision analytics pay off across every business metric!

weaklinkbusinessclimberBy Sheryl Dawson, CEO Dawson Consulting Group

No function is more disciplined in analyzing data relevant to business success than business development. Their financial, operational and market analyses are comprehensive and rigorous to ensure the best investment decisions for their investors. On the other hand, evaluation of leadership, organization and culture is subjective at best.

While many case studies demonstrate that the health of an organization’s culture and quality of leadership are top predictors of success, measuring those critical factors has been more an art than a science. Korn Ferry’s July, 2016 Briefings includes the article, Why Boards Make Bad Decisions, which emphasizes the importance of having a sound succession plan and the right team in place for ongoing success. Yet, measuring leadership fit and cultural health has been the weak link in predicting success for businesses across industries!
Read more

Crowd Pleasers

/in , , , /by

Crowd Pleaser

Crowd Pleasers- How to Spot them!

Employees whose personality types are disruptive at work and typically put a wrench in productivity exist in every organization and can be “walking liabilities”.

One type is the “Crowd Pleaser”.

Characteristics: Plays the populist role naturally, likeable, affable, humorous, a live wire and life of the party; knows what and how to say it to the right crowd at the right time and place.

Read more

Three Keys to Work Satisfaction

/in , , , , , /by

three keys to work satisfactionIt seems basic. If you like what you are doing it doesn’t feel so much like work. If you enjoy doing something you are more likely to continue doing it and do it well. So shouldn’t a personality assessment being used to measure job suitability include measuring work satisfaction?

Measuring work satisfaction is essential to determine motivation and forecast whether an individual will prosper, succeed and stay with the organization. Most behavioral and personality assessments fail to measure work satisfaction and are therefore limited to predicting personality.

Harrison Assessments’ twenty five plus years of research prove that employees who enjoy at least 75% or more of their job are three times more likely to succeed than employees who enjoy less than 75% of their job. Measuring factors related to work satisfaction makes it possible to predict job success and therefore hire, motivate and retain top talent.

Read more

Incessant Complainers

/in , , , /by

incessant complainer

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.
Read more

Ego Almighty

/in , , , /by

Huge Ego

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?

Read more

Just DO it!

/in , , , /by

just do it

“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!

Read more

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

/in , , , , , /by

what do gen x and gen y want

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.

Read more

How Do You Teach Delegation?

/in , , , , /by

Delegation

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.

Read more

How a Personality Trait Assessment Helps Improve Communication

/in , , , , /by

Blunt, Non-Diplomatic Communication

“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.

Read more

Improving Accountability within the Workplace

/in , , , , , /by

Accountability

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.
Read more

Paradox Theory and Team Dynamics

/in , , , , /by

paradox theory and team management

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.

Read more

The Verbal Caustic

/in , , , /by

verbal caustic

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).

Read more

Mini Napoleon

/in , , , /by

Napoleon Cartoon

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”.

Read more

Suitability and Eligibility- The Win Win Candidate

/in , , , /by

Winning CandidateSuitability AND Eligibility.. The winning combination in HR that can help you find the win/win candidate.

Choosing the best candidate to recruit and hire is not an easy task. However, hiring right the first time can save you a lot of time and your company a lot of money. Today forward thinking companies are using HSM’s and new tools to choose the best candidates. A successful HR manager will use tools that focus on both “suitability AND eligibility” to attract and retain good candidates.

Some recruiters make the mistake of hiring people only for their qualifications, resulting in bad hires related to behavioral weaknesses.

Other recruiters make the mistake of over-emphasizing behavioral factors by eliminating people only on the basis of their behavioral assessments. Sometimes they even unfairly eliminate candidates based on a single behavioral factor. Behavioral assessments should be part of the overall assessment that includes qualifications such as experience, education, and skills. That’s why the Harrison system provides a unique eligibility assessment that complements the suitability assessment, providing an overall score for better hiring and succession planning.

Read more

Emotional Moody

/in , , , /by

emotional moody

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.

Read more

Psychological Traits of a Good White Collar Worker

/in , , , , /by

psychological traits of a good white collar worker

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.
Read more

Zealous Extremist

/in , , , /by

zealous extremist

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.
Read more

Robo Advising HR

/in , , , , /by

Robo Advising HRCylon Centurion
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?

Read more

Missing a Step in the Hiring Process

/in , , , /by

missing a step in hiring process

Missing a Step in the Hiring Process

You place an opening on a job board to find the professional employee. This is considered time and money well spent since the position you are filling takes skill and requires a substantial amount of training and investment.

But what do you do with the applicants? How do you know from the resume and their references that they are the right fit for your job? Many past employers are afraid of the legal ramifications of indicating that a person did not work out in the job. Or, they may have an incentive to have you take this bad hire off their hands so they may stretch the truth in order to push the exit.

One of the next steps is typically to choose the top 5-10 and then interview. However, you are “missing a step” in the process.
Read more

A Good Weapon to Use in the War for Talent

/in , , , /by

War for Talent

A Good Weapon to Use in the War for Talent

Companies today are constantly in a war for talent. Identifying the right targets and having the ability to capture them is essential to winning. We are looking for the innovative leaders of tomorrow and the competition is stiff.

Gone are the days of high unemployment and applicants banging down your door just to get an application. Job boards and matching sites are furiously searching for qualified candidates to post their resumes. Companies are competing against each other to find and attract good candidates.

It is imperative for hiring managers and recruiters to fully understand what truly appeals to the candidates in order to attract and retain the best people.
Read more