
This triggers a lot of adapting of behaviors and that means there's still a lot of stress. Chris Young, CEO of the Rainmaker Group gets the work world we are in and how to get higher performance anyway. He is also a TTI Value Added Associate, and leverages the same tools, processes and procedures we do to grow powerful teams in the real world. In one of his recent blog posts, he defines the role leaders play in these difficult times:
"As the CEO or senior leader of your company, you have finite resources - particularly human capital to deliver the desired results. The more you get done with the resources you have, the better off you and your organization will be."
People are busy, even leaders. But you can't be too busy to lead if you need high performance. When was the last time you rewarded your employees AND they knew you did? As Chris writes:
"If you want to improve productivity, employee retention, and improve employee engagement, you must effectively reward your employees. The key to properly rewarding employees is to match their reward with who they are - what they value."
Chris goes on to share the following three critical factors:
Realize that the job itself can be an incredible employee reward. Get clear about the job.
Create a Job Benchmark (Trimetrix HD), Behaviors(DISC) and Motivators(WPM) to identify the needs of the job and find the best person to do it. Use a validated (read 'legal') Talent Report to match every candidate to ensure job fit and to clearly understand what motivates for career planning.
For more info on these assessments visit http://preview.tinyurl.com/9z97hre or contact info@russellmartin.com to try a free assessment.
Here's a story to illustrate a mismatch of motivators, with this one a "high Social" sales person in a "bottom-line oriented sales environment":
A company hired two sales people who were motivated to be "helpful". Both new hires were very, very nice people. They were so helpful to the Customer that they often give away services that should have been paid for. The new sales people work in an environment where their sales are monitored daily. After a few months, the nice new guys are dead last in practically every metric. Sales management increases scrutiny, reporting, training and coaching. They try very hard and they're even nicer to customers. But the competitive work environment does not motivate them. In fact, it demotivates them. In the meantime, management is doing their best to "save" these people. They are plowing hours into these people and it won't work because, although these two are nice, they aren't right for this sales job at this company culture. For those who are motivated to make money, a sales position will often be its own reward. They'll be gone soon.
So, how can you best reward your employees to continue to grow their productivity? It starts with the right people in the right job. Here are Chris' ideas:
- Realize that the job itself can be an incredible employee reward. Get clear about the job.
- Create a Job Benchmark (Trimetrix HD), Behaviors(DISC) and Motivators(WPM) to identify the needs of the job and find the best person to do it. Use a validated (read 'legal') Talent Report to match every candidate to ensure job fit and to clearly understand what motivates for career planning.
For more info on these assessments visit http://preview.tinyurl.com/9z97hre or contact info@russellmartin.com to try a free assessment.
When a hiring mistake is made, quickly own it and take action to reverse it immediately. People tend to hire for competencies, but fire for motivators and EQ. You can't motivate the wrong person in the wrong job.
Join us on 10/11 for our webinar "Reboot: Successful Organizational Evolution" on this very topic. Join Scott Kincaid, CIO, Butler University (go Dawgs!) and Mary Cook, RMA facilitator to learn how they have worked together to re-define an organization. Register here: http://www.trainingmagnetwork.com/welcome/lourussell_oct11
Chris Young can be reached at The Rainmaker Group Inc. ,116 N 5th Street Suite 102, Bismarck, ND 58501