The Importance of Talent!

To remain competitive in the current business climate, you must attract, develop, nurture and inspire talented employees to ensure they remain within your company to meet current and future demands.

It is no longer enough to identify talent once they have been hired and worked for your company for a period of time.   

Identifying talent must begin with the detailed assessment of applicants during the selection and recruitment phase. It is at this time that desirable competencies and skills such as the ability to influence, divergent thinking, problem solving abilities and a strong motivation to learn and be successful will become apparent.

Talented individuals are driven. They want to achieve the best results in the most efficient way possible and often view challenges as opportunities to think more innovatively. Top performers are motivated by others like them, leading to stronger collaboration and higher-functioning teams. This fosters a bolder vision for your organisation and will impact the bottom line in a beneficial way.  Imaginative ideas which facilitate business growth and customer satisfaction will create enhanced productivity and profitability. This underscores the importance of attracting talent. If you can match such desirable qualities with the right position and align a team of like-minded thinkers, business outcomes will improve exponentially. 

First step! Discover what engages high performers so you can create an environment that is aligned to their needs and elicits their best qualities.

Research has found the factors which impact high performers the most are:

•             Employee autonomy
•             Risk Taking
•             Tolerance of mistakes
•             Open Communication
•             Good supervisory relationships
•             Education and training opportunities

Second step! Identify the organisational factors which influence an organisations ability to retain top performers. Research has highlighted that factors associated with retaining talent are:

•             A change driven organisation culture

•             High degree of organisational flexibility

•             Agile and innovative work culture

•             Strong leadership and vision

A final remark! It is possible to train an employee on any product or service. You cannot train someone to have integrity, resilience, self-confidence and work ethic!  So consider how you might assess the presence of such attributes reliably and objectively during the recruitment process. 

The two most favoured approaches are via interview or personality assessment, but with them emphasis on reliably and objectively, it may be more defensible to gather such data as strong hypotheses via a personality assessment and then validate these competencies via structured interviewdo yourself and your business a favour and start incorporating personality assessment into your recruitment strategy. The benefits of gaining talented employees will help your organisation stay aligned and to the organisations strategic mission!  

As in the organisation may well have decided what competence achieve success and set it apart from competitors, whilst the HR strategy might be to align a competency based HR approach with the corporate strategy.

Understanding Motivation at Work

Motivation in a work context is defined as the internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to their job, tasks and to the organisations vision and mission.

It is beneficial to become aware of the conditions which enable you to demonstrate your full potential and perform at your very best. Understanding yourself and the key driving forces behind what makes you tick will help clarify what positions you would be most suited for and what kind of work may lead to greater job satisfaction and engagement. 

Motivation and your career

Knowing what motivates you is important to being employable:

• You are more likely to be motivated in an environment which matches your personal values.
• You are more likely to be motivated by what you prefer doing, feel energised by or are good at.
• It gives employers clues to your attitude, character and how to get the best from you.
• Employers want to know your ‘why’ because motivation is one of the ingredients essential to performance

Internal Motivation

Motivation is internal, it is an energy that comes from within and it sets out why you do the things you do and what you choose to do. If you are preparing for an interview or perhaps making a career change, ask yourself these questions to narrow down what motivates you.

• When am I at my best? How do I behave when I am at my best? What mindset do I have?
• What is my natural disposition? Am I more optimistic or pessimistic? How does it help me?
• When have my personal values helped drive me to successfully achieve something?
• When have I gone beyond what is expected of me? What would I do for free?
• What have I done of my own volition to improve myself?
• What demotivates me? How do I feel? How do I behave? How do I cope?

External Motivation

Motivation is also external and it also influences your behaviour. You find things motivating when that energy and commitment is released by the conditions or environment you’re in. From the examples below, identify which factors motivate you the most. Add to the list as necessary and this will help give you the blueprint when deciding on a new job or career pathway.

• Enough income (to pay the bills, pursue outside work interests)
• Stability and security
• Belonging, acceptance, being part of a group, team spirit
• Recognition from others, reputation, prestige, appreciation
• Belief in your potential, investment in your growth, personal support
• Development and advancement opportunities
• Having responsibility, authority, power
• Able to participate, voice your views, be heard
• A culture of learning, discovery, creativity, possibility, empowerment, trust

 

Did you know?!

In a study focusing on employee motivation, over 600 managers identified money, safety, security and pressure as the driving force behind why employees work. Guess what? 95% of them were incorrect!

The most important motivator for employees at work is referred to as ‘the power of small wins’ and what this mean is that employees are highly productive and driven to perform at their best when they feel as if they’re making progress every day toward a meaningful goal.

Get to know what matters to you - your interests, values, desires, work objectives and career aspirations. Then be sure to balance this with what matters to others - very few objectives are achieved without taking others into account. That is usually a good way to make sure that you are not only valuable but also invaluable.

SURVIVOR: The Game of One Foot in Front of the Other During December

During Christmas, it is not uncommon to experience financial pressures from debts, gifts and celebrations; family pressures due to hosting or attending gatherings (or a lack thereof). To add to the mounting social pressures, work pressures accumulate as New Year deadlines approach.

Protecting your mental health (and general wellbeing) is vital to your employer to ensure you are able to contribute creatively and productively; and, to ensure that you have the resources to get through the difficult times where your efforts and output (and let’s not forget satisfaction) may suffer.

Here are 3 tips to motivate you and safeguard your general mental health at this time of year:

1. Keep an eye out for red flags

While it is normal to experience a degree of pressure and frustration at this time of year, it’s important to note when this may become a larger problem. If you or a colleague feels sleep deprived, easily angered, anti-social, or generally and uncharacteristically negative, this may be a sign that the stress is becoming overwhelming. If people are reacting to you as if you are acting out of character, seek support and look for resources around you that you can use to your advantage. It’s normal to feel the need to seek support at these times so don’t hesitate in speaking up and finding help where you can if you feel overwhelmed.

2. Review workloads

Stress occurs when our demands exceed our resources. Quite simply, you may not have enough time or the resources to get the job done. Pay close attention to whether your efforts are sloppy or are being completed late, as this may occur due to under-staffing and over-loading rather than a lack of enthusiasm or your competence levels. Communicate these concerns with the team and where necessary, give clients advance notice that deadlines may alter during a resource-restricted period.

3. Seek feedback 

Seeking feedback is a great way to establish how you are performing. Even if you are sure that things are going well, it never hurts to ask and hear it from your managers. A simple word of appreciation can motivate and encourage anyone and, even constructive feedback can be positive for clarifying your role and tasks that are important. You don’t need to organise a long, formal feedback session, even just asking how you went on a project or task that you have just completed is enough. Feel free to talk with your employer about your concerns and inform then that their candid feedback and support could really help.

While Christmas is a stressful time of year for many, effective management through communicating with and supporting those around you can have a snowball effective to put the peace, love and joy (and put your productivity and satisfaction) back into the festive season!

Predictors of job performance: How important is Personality?

It is considered that experience and skill are important predictors of job performance, and traditionally the hiring process has been based on these qualities. In recent years, however, personality has increasingly been recognised as an equally important predictor of job performance. 

Business mogul and entrepreneur Richard Branson is known to place more value on personality than skill set when hiring. Branson maintains that most jobs can be taught relatively quickly, and suggests “if you can find people who are fun, friendly, caring and love helping others, you are on to a winner”. Indeed, more and more businesses are incorporating personality testing into their hiring processes.

Attributes that make up Personality

Motivation, resilience, flexibility, and the ability to take initiative are examples of personality characteristics that strongly affect individual job performance. When planning your next workforce addition/s, it is important to underline which mix of these attributes equals ‘getting the job done effectively’ for the short and long term in your unique setting.

For example, the way individuals approach and complete tasks, adapt to change, and deal with stress are strongly influenced by personality and can have various connotations to performance depending on the environment and culture, not just the role at hand. A receptionist at a health clinic may have to be far more open to sudden adaptation and change than a law firm receptionist.

Predicting environment match 

Personality may also determine the workplace environment in which an individual is most likely to be successful. For example, introverted individuals are more likely to perform well in a job involving independent work, whereas extroverted or outgoing individuals are generally better suited to jobs involving more human interaction. 

Matching personality types together

Employers should also keep in mind how the workplace dynamic is influenced by the personalities of employees, who are more likely to stick around if they are happy in their workplace and get along with their co-workers. Matching younger up and coming employees to more experienced mentors can have great benefits for both parties, but be sure that there isn't a large clash in flexibility or openness.

Recruiting based on personality therefore has a noticeable effect on your organisational goals. Being sure that your chance of turnover is significantly reduced is ultimately going to save costs, knowing that your staff members are adaptive to change will allow larger changes to become successful more quickly, and knowing that your staff are resilient during times of stress will reduce complaints and increase openness to job rotation and potential promotion.

Whilst experience certainly counts for something, the role personality plays in predicting job performance should not be discounted. Businesses can benefit from including an aspect of personality testing early in the recruitment process.

Want to learn more about testing personality directly related to your role and company?

Talent assessment and development Psychologists, Psych Press have a large selection of in-house and customisable assessment tools that link personality to performance prediction for a variety of companies. One such tool, Business Personality Reflections (BPR) has been used for a multitude of roles to ascertain a strong fit for recruiting decisions. Based on a wide field of research and multiple industry norms, this assessment provides a full report for your informed decision. To find out more visit the Psych Press Business Personality Reflections page.

Predictors of job performance: How important is Personality?

It is considered that experience and skill are important predictors of job performance, and traditionally the hiring process has been based on these qualities. In recent years, however, personality has increasingly been recognised as an equally important predictor of job performance. 

Business mogul and entrepreneur Richard Branson is known to place more value on personality than skill set when hiring. Branson maintains that most jobs can be taught relatively quickly, and suggests “if you can find people who are fun, friendly, caring and love helping others, you are on to a winner”. Indeed, more and more businesses are incorporating personality testing into their hiring processes.

Attributes that make up Personality

Motivation, resilience, flexibility, and the ability to take initiative are examples of personality characteristics that strongly affect individual job performance. When planning your next workforce addition/s, it is important to underline which mix of these attributes equals ‘getting the job done effectively’ for the short and long term in your unique setting.

For example, the way individuals approach and complete tasks, adapt to change, and deal with stress are strongly influenced by personality and can have various connotations to performance depending on the environment and culture, not just the role at hand. A receptionist at a health clinic may have to be far more open to sudden adaptation and change than a law firm receptionist.

Predicting environment match 

Personality may also determine the workplace environment in which an individual is most likely to be successful. For example, introverted individuals are more likely to perform well in a job involving independent work, whereas extroverted or outgoing individuals are generally better suited to jobs involving more human interaction. 

Matching personality types together

Employers should also keep in mind how the workplace dynamic is influenced by the personalities of employees, who are more likely to stick around if they are happy in their workplace and get along with their co-workers. Matching younger up and coming employees to more experienced mentors can have great benefits for both parties, but be sure that there isn’t a large clash in flexibility or openness.

Recruiting based on personality therefore has a noticeable effect on your organisational goals. Being sure that your chance of turnover is significantly reduced is ultimately going to save costs, knowing that your staff members are adaptive to change will allow larger changes to become successful more quickly, and knowing that your staff are resilient during times of stress will reduce complaints and increase openness to job rotation and potential promotion.

Whilst experience certainly counts for something, the role personality plays in predicting job performance should not be discounted. Businesses can benefit from including an aspect of personality testing early in the recruitment process.

Want to learn more about testing personality directly related to your role and company?

Talent assessment and development Psychologists, Psych Press have a large selection of in-house and customisable assessment tools that link personality to performance prediction for a variety of companies. One such tool, Business Personality Reflections (BPR) has been used for a multitude of roles to ascertain a strong fit for recruiting decisions. Based on a wide field of research and multiple industry norms, this assessment provides a full report for your informed decision. To find out more visit the Psych Press Business Personality Reflections page.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com.au/richard-branson-hires-for-personality-2013-9