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“I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day you bet on people and not on strategies ”

Lawrence Bossidy, former COO of GE

Recruiting employees is a time consuming, expensive and sometimes frustrating process. Ultimately, the aim is to employ someone who will fit in well with the team and execute their role to a high standard, and the quicker the better!

Turnover is costly, the longer you keep someone in their job the better it is – right? Well, Yes and No. Yes, it’s good for the bottom line but No, if for some reason they don’t fit! Poor Fit can mean many things – unable do their job; is disruptive; doesn’t communicate with the team or a variety of other reasons.

Sadly, during economic downturns, training dollars for existing staff are usually a tempting item to cut. You know the purpose of the cut backs is to save money but unfortunately we often don’t consider the longer term impact and what it will have on the quality and service delivered to the customer, whether external or internal.

Businesses who use this time to think about re-training, up-skilling and retaining their talent can and will have a productive workforce when things turn around.

Staff may already have a fragile morale, especially when everything around them is seemingly negative. A little training can go a long way to reassure them they are a valued asset.

Having employees in the right role is the number one key to increased productivity and productivity at work. Putting staff in roles they love (and are usually good at) is the smart thing to do, they often don’t even know what they excel in because they just do it naturally.

I’ve been doing a lot of behavioural profiling in conjunction with my coaching and training in recent times. I have to say I’m pretty passionate about the results we’re seeing with increased communication, productivity, clear development plans and a general understanding of why you do what you do.

Knowing this information helps ensure everyone is sitting in the right seat and doing the right job. It ensures success in individual & team roles and ultimately company outcomes.

Sadly, we tend to focus on the more challenging traits in people rather than looking at the great things they bring to a task, a team and to relationships.

This graphic may help you identify some of the people in your team.

After looking at the picture, let me ask you these questions. Who should be the:

• Change Facilitator or Supervisor
• Receptionist
• Customer Service Rep or Administrator
• IT or Accounts person

So, if you notice a staff member is showing some of the Low Emotional Intelligence traits, check to see if they’re in the correct role which matches their natural style.

As Jim Collins says “ensure everyone is in the right seat on the bus”. Do that and your bus is on the right road to increased productivity and happiness at work.

If you need assistance in placing your key people in the right seats on your bus, give me a call.
I’d like to leave you with a short movie (copy and paste the link into your internet browser if you have any problems) – http://play.simpletruths.com/movie/212-the-extra-degree/