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How to Take Advantage of the The 4th Industrial Revolution

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The 4th Industrial Revolution

The technical advancements of the last 3 or 4 decades have brought society an explosion of gadgets and different types of software and hardware that continuously shape the way people live their lives. The business world hasn’t escaped these changes. Nowadays, in a hyper-connected social environment, robots and people share the same workplace and HR has a lot of things to reassess. Machines depend upon regular updates and maintenance services, people still need to be paid and attracting the best possible talent to the company is still a priority.

The 4th Industrial Revolution is still in full swing with emerging technologies such as: autonomous cars, virtual reality (VR), 3D printing and the most intriguing of all, artificial intelligence (AI). Professor Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, has stated that technology is still an industry that is going through continuous changes and developments and has the unique potential of connecting people from all around the world and, at the same time, enhance the efficiency of organisations worldwide. The developments we are all experiencing are not occurring within one industry or discipline, but actually all of them, changing and challenging us as humans to better understand ourselves.

Due to the Industrial Revolution 4.0, the work environment has become faster than ever before. With the introduction of robots in the workplace, employees are facing more frequent training and retraining programmes in order to be brought up to speed with the technology that revolves around the robots.

As mentioned above, HR will have to change and update their processes in order to handle all the challenges that occur with all the developments that are taking place at the moment.

Agile organisational structure

The structure of the company must reflect the way in which the organisation is willing to do business. Structure should represent the foundation from which managers build their teams and offering them all the necessary data and resources in achieving their goals. Traditional models of structure are becoming obsolete and change is incremental to positive outcomes. These old structures do not offer any kind of flexibility or clearance desired to make fast decisions thus inhibiting change altogether.

The Flexible Workforce

Companies nowadays wish to have employees on their roster that have numerous abilities and can easily manage change. Managers are recommended to break the usual stigma and stop thinking in terms such as positions or jobs, but more towards capabilities. The entire recruitment process should be focused on discovering adaptability and eagerness to change in their candidates.

Continuous Learning and Assessment

Companies cannot expect transformations to just happen within their organisations. Training programmes are becoming increasingly popular and for a good reason. Employees have the chance to further develop their skills and also learn new ones. Furthermore, thanks to technology, tracking improvements can be easily done in order to confirm individual development.

The World Economic Forum has stated that “By 2020, more than one-third of workers will need skills they don’t now have. While necessary talents can vary, 36% of business jobs will require “complex problem solving” as a core skill”. To put things into perspective, young adults nowadays cannot recall a time when they did not have internet or a smartphone. Growing up in a society where communication and interaction is basically instant, they are well informed in regards to emerging technologies and how it can make their lives easier than previous generations.

This young generation is fully aware of the necessity of proper education in order to have a strong foundation from which they can build strong professional careers and succeed in the continuously evolving workforce. They do not shy away from emerging technologies; they embrace everything that is new in a very positive and optimistic way. A survey conducted by Infosys on 1,000 16 to 25 year-olds from industrialised and developing countries, has uncovered the fact that 70% of those surveyed are more than willing of learning a whole new set of skills in order to land a job if mandatory.

Young people do not get flustered by rapid change. They welcome any challenge that comes their way and are more than happy to acquire skills that they may be of good use in their personal lives as well. Also, over 50% of young adults have stated their preference for working within medium-sized companies where they believe they could experience proper training.

In any given era in history, young people have always proven that they embrace change. The current generation is no different and is more than willing to continuously learn and be flexible in their demands as long as the companies they work for keep their end of the bargain; coming up with innovative ways for their employees to apprehend knowledge, experience and skills that will drive them and the business forward.

Great People Inside provides easy-to-use tools and processes to attract, assess, match, select, onboard, manage, develop, benchmark and maintain workforces anywhere in the world.

Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation, can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

Request a free demo:

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 Sources:

https://www.asug.com/news/transform-hr-to-meet-the-needs-of-the-fourth-industrial-revolution

https://www.cornerstoneondemand.co.uk/blog/what-does-%25E2%2580%2598fourth-industrial-revolution%25E2%2580%2599-mean-hr#.WRHB0FWGPIU

http://www.hrzone.com/community/blogs/infosys/talent-in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution

How Transparent an Organisation Ought to Be?

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One of the most important aspects of any business nowadays revolves around customer service. It is still difficult to identify the exact moment a customer or a business decides to work with your company, but everyone can agree that in that moment the client has decided to trust your brand. In the age of social media and the added need for assurance; transparency and sincerity are critical to a good customer service. If this service is in tip-top shape, every company can expect long-term partnerships with their clients, and who doesn’t want that? In order to achieve such a good relationship with your customers, your company and employees must be adequately equipped to offer the best treatment to all clients. How can employees have this desire for great customer service? Here a few tips into how you can achieve this.

Transparency within the organisation

The culture that is within your company will greatly reflect on how your coworkers will interact with clients. It is very important managers and leaders instill transparency within teams in the organisation. In order for this to work, employees should find themselves in a work environment where part of the daily routine is to share information and knowledge valuable for the company’s activity. Doing so will create a good atmosphere and will lead to business growth, while also helping employees learn how to cooperate effectively in dealing with distributors, possible coworkers and most importantly, clients.

A great business is characterised by great customer service

Everyone enjoys a brand where they come back for the same top quality products or services over and over again. Loyalty can be easily won when the company manages to meet or even exceed clients’ expectations through an integrated system of customer service, with the option of personalisation. It makes the customer feel special and not just a number. An example of going the extra mile is remembering a client’s birthday and giving them a call, or sending them a small gesture of your appreciation for their business with you.

Customer feedback – best source for insight

Whether we are talking about a startup or a multinational company, direct customer feedback is quintessential for business development. It shows that the company listened to their suggestions and acted accordingly. Actively listening to the feedback you receive could represent the company’s competitive advantage, especially in an industry where the competition offers a product or service similar or slightly better than yours. The difference is in the little details; being the best just doesn’t cut it anymore. Companies that are able to listen to their customers are the ones that manage to expand on a global scale.

Although many companies claim transparency is part of their culture, in the majority of circumstances that is not the case. It is quite difficult to put this process into fruition straight away. People need to know that transparency represents the glue that keeps them together through good and bad times. Facilitating a transparent communication, not only with the clients, but also internally, leads to critical thinking in solving even the most difficult issues.

Clearly stated job functions and responsibilities

 Something that helps transparency in the beginning is having an established order in the workplace where everyone knows what their responsibilities are. Automatically, this will lead to a better and more direct communication process between workers. Awareness will also see a rise in numbers, due to the fact that employees know who to talk to in order to ensure tasks and deadlines are being completed on time. Just to be clear, transparency doesn’t mean every member of the staff requires information about everything the company does. Some examples in this area are: performance reviews, salaries, marital status and so on. Employees need information in order to perform to the best of their abilities, too much transparency and information may damage internal affairs.

Hiring the right people

Every manager and entrepreneur around the world knows that hiring people in accordance with the company’s culture is pretty much the Holy Grail. It is recommended that recruiters ask candidates early in the interview whether they resonate with open communication and transparency. If the candidate is right for the company he or she will become even more willing to join your ranks. A proper company mission and culture is imperative to attract talented candidates, besides the product or service the company offers to the general public.

The Great People Inside employee assessment solutions and technology can be tailored to your company’s specific needs and organisational culture and can help you to boost the levels of job-fit and skill-use in your employees, generating job satisfaction, improved motivation, health and happiness, and boost employee retention.

Try out our assessment in order to measure the level of wellbeing in your organisation and find out the best approach to improve it.

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Sources:

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246567

http://fortune.com/2016/05/21/trust-employees-corporate-culture/

https://wavelength.asana.com/workstyle-transparency/#close

How Will Technology Shape HR in the Future

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In our present times, there is an increasingly high interest for investment in HR technology. According to a study done by CB Insights, in 2016, there have been over $1.96 billion invested in start-ups that exclusively dealt with HR tech. Workplaces around the world are continuously changing due to technology. The tech revolving around HR is there to automate and streamline practices in order for the department and company to become the definition of efficiency, high performance and cost-effectiveness.

The biggest challenges for HR stem from recruiting and hiring, thus, applications have come to life in order to save the employer and employee’s lives.

Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment

In today’s competitive job market, around 75% of CV’s are being screened out. Furthermore, the HR department loses numerous hours on resumes from unqualified people. Losing so much precious time represents one of the biggest challenges for HR. This is one area where technology may solve the problem. Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the front foot in regards to developing specific HR tech. Recruiting and AI fit perfectly together due to the simple fact that AI demands huge amounts of data and multi-national companies have resumes by the millions in their databases. Going through such a large database is exhausting for a person, but with the help of AI the process of screening can be done rapidly and offer a compelling list of candidates based on job requirements by means of simply grading them from best to worst. By using AI for the screening process, you might save the company up to 75% of screening costs.

Schedule and outreach automation

The interest in automating the recruiting process is continuously rising. On average, it takes 41 days for a company to fill in an available role in their ranks. On LinkedIn, there is a reported 11% rise in the volume of hirings this year; however, only 26% of recruiters have a positive headcount. Discovering top talent in today’s world is hard enough and recruiters require automation to intelligently pick their candidates.

Automation can be helpful in many ways. Recruiters can automate their calendars and email to send requests to candidates that have been identified as good matches through the use of the AI screening tool, so recruiters don’t have to deal with B-list candidates.

Training and Testing through Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality simulates the environment surrounding us which can be controlled through our body movements. In a survey organised by Universum, employees working at various companies believe that in the next 10 years VR will become an integral part of their workplace. VR will be of tremendous help with testing and training. Recruiters can use this technology in order to assess a candidate’s skills and abilities.

In a survey conducted by Korn Ferry, it has been discovered that 39% of employers deal with high employee turnover rates in the first year due to mismatch. VR could be massive for the HR industry, because it could help reduce turnover by providing candidates with a realistic view of what the job actually consists of and get to understand the company culture as well. The medical industry could greatly benefit from VR. Onboarding and training could be completed by residents in the trauma and emergency sections of the hospital, where the stakes are always high.

Productivity and Engagement through Wearables

As mentioned in a previous article, one of the biggest HR trends from 2017 is employee engagement. In order to nurture it in employees, employers have started tracking their behaviours so that they can interact and communicate better at work. For example, at Microsoft, there are digital employee badges that monitor employees’ movements, who they spend their time with at and many more. This type of tech collects data which is processed and then given to employers in order to understand their coworkers and how they communicate, how to better optimise the office space and manage the dynamics of the team. This could potentially lead to a better organisation and collaboration within the company.

There are also rumours that in the not so distant future, wearable technology could lead to insights in emotions and personality during screening or interviewing.

Great People Inside provides easy-to-use tools and processes to attract, assess, match, select, onboard, manage, develop, benchmark and maintain workforces anywhere in the world.

Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation, can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

Request a free demo:

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Sources:
https://blog.hrtechweekly.com/

 

Excessive Collaboration leads to Mediocrity

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Collaboration has always been sought out in order to resolve problems, improve efficiency and even raise the office’s level of engagement. It is often seen like the perfect ingredient which transforms a group of people into a team. Collaboration offers people the possibility to explore various ideas and perspectives and share their views and experiences with the others. Nonetheless, besides all these obvious benefits, there are also downsides to over-collaborating. It usually leads to all the work being completed by the more productive workers. And a study conducted by Applied Psychology has come to aid this idea.

A work environment where there is a whole lot of collaboration will make your top performers, innovators and hard-workers who will undoubtedly feel used, miserable and socially isolated. The vast majority of average employees do not regard top performers as mentors or role models, but perceive them as threats, because they feel that they might be replaced by them or that they are the reason why their work might not be appreciated. Instead of focusing on their own efficiency, mediocre employees may also start spreading hurtful rumours about top performers, try and sabotage them, or even attempt at stealing their work and get credit for it.

Social isolation is one of the most used techniques that occur at the workplace. It is especially hard for introverted top performers who operate in open-plan environment. Given this situation, introverts are better off working from home, deepening the gap between themselves and their colleagues. Naturally, this leads to more backstabbing and gossip. Obviously, this represents the number 1 reason for top talents leaving companies. They simply cannot accept an organisation which embraces mediocrity.

This shouldn’t be considered as a jab taken towards teamwork; complex projects require a team in order for it to be a success. But for teams to be successful, they require a leader, a leader who can thwart any attempt of separating and slandering a top performer. More often than not, teams require formally ranked leadership rather than more collaboration opportunities. And maybe it is time for more private spaces to appear in order to encourage better social interaction.

There are a few tell-tale signs that reveal that your coworkers are over-collaborating. Here are the most important signs you should keep an eye on:

 

  1. Consensus is achieved but time-loss is immense

This is one of the most common problems when people are over-collaborating. Every important decision requires too much input and buy-in, meaning it takes way too long to happen, and even longer to implement. The size of the team can depend, but there are some areas of the project that must have rules that are intangible. People understand that some rules or ideas cannot be changed and if they have a certain degree of input on a few ideas, automatically they will feel ownership.

  1. Compromising as a solution

This represents the single most tremendous problem with excessive collaboration. When too many people are involved, this situation could potentially lead to the feeling that everyone at the table should have their opinions included in the decision making process and afterwards reach a consensus. The conclusion of collaboration is to reach the best possible outcome. People tend to compromise that outcome when too many ideas and opinions are being introduced in order to make people feel that their opinion is being valued. Managers need to realise that the majority of people crave to be heard and validated and that is not the target of collaboration. In this scenario, managers have to listen and offer a concrete reason why people’s opinions won’t be part of outcome.

  1. Involving people in every possible decision

This represents another problem that arises from excessive collaboration. When managers are involving too many people in absolutely every single decision, the final outcome will suffer due to the fact that if people are not involved in the decision making process they feel cheated and underappreciated. The truth is: not every decision requires the entire be department be present for debate. Some decisions are urgent and crucial, and collaboration would just take too long. Some decisions cannot include other members of staff because they do not possess the necessary information, due to confidentiality agreements, lack of resources or experience.

Ideally, people should start understanding the fact that collaboration is useful, but the world we live is far from perfect. Decisions need to be made, but collaboration will still be useful where the situation affords it. This is what people need to understand…

Great People Inside provides easy-to-use tools and processes to attract, assess, match, select, onboard, manage, develop, benchmark and maintain workforces anywhere in the world.

We help you find the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. The GR8 Productivity Gap tool is excellent at showcasing the evolution of any given employee over time. By contrasting two assessments made before and after training, it allows you to analyse both your employees’ development and their involvement in the process as well.

Sources:

https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/collaboration-creates-mediocrity-not-excellence-according-to-science.html?cid=hmmore

http://hr.toolbox.com/blogs/performance/three-signs-youre-collaborating-too-much-74191

 

Entrepreneurial Potential all over the World

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People who are naturally drawn towards entrepreneurship have a different mind-set altogether. These are people are willing to break the established business models and transform the way we do business through futuristic and a more enhanced approach to commerce. This type of ethos leads to relentless energy in being creative, taking risks and stimulating more critical analyses of the situations at hand.

But before starting up as an entrepreneur, there should be entrepreneurial potential whether we talk about innovation within a company or in a community. And this requires people with potential.

It is a well-known fact that every country and culture around the world has a specific set of skills and abilities that make them stand out from the crowd. So, which country has the highest number of potential entrepreneurs? It may come as a surprise to everyone that it is not the United States, but rather Vietnam. They rank the highest from 45 countries in the Amway Entrepreneurial Spirit Index (AESI). Other examples include U.S. in 12th and Japan in 45th. AESI have based their rankings on 3 factors in order to determine the entrepreneurial spirit:

  • Desire to start a business
  • Willingness to engage in sustained effort
  • The social impact of friends and family in discouraging them to participate in the business.

These rankings are just a small fraction of the many incredible discoveries the 2016 Amway Global Entrepreneurship Report has made. Their annual survey is designed for the sole purpose of identifying the various entrepreneurial attitudes and potential the participating countries have. Being in its 7th year, this report now comprises of approximately 51,000 people spanned across 45 countries. The responses given have been arranged through numerous demographic factors such as education, gender and age.

Attitude and positiveness

Nearly 77% of the people interviewed have given a positive outlook about entrepreneurship. The percentage is relatively higher than the one in 2015 (76%) and 2014 (74%), underlining the fact that this trend is going to grow even more in the future. The top 3 countries in positive attitudes are: Norway (96%), Vietnam (95%) and Denmark (94%). Why is Vietnam so high up in entrepreneurial spirit? According to Amway’s research, both men and women in Vietnam wish to start their own business due to their desire of self-fulfilment. Vietnamese are also confident in their skills of acquiring customers adding, of course, to their desire to branch out on their own.

Although many people will agree with the idea that change is not easy, there is a general tendency towards positive attitudes when referring to new ideas and concepts. This concept is closely related to age given the fact that 82% of people under 35 share this positive outlook, in comparison to 70% of respondents over 50. The other factor taken into account is the level of education. 84% of university graduates have a positive view on entrepreneurship, but also people without a college degree (74%) are pretty positive themselves. Last but not least, gender is not a defining factor, 78% of men and 76% of women display the same positive attitude.

Entrepreneurial potential

As mentioned above, there are 45 countries that have participated in Amway’s survey. Among the countries with a high score in entrepreneurial potential include: Colombia (80%), Mexico (73%) and Thailand (70%). The potential was measured based on the participants’ responses to the statement: “I can imagine starting my own business.” Interestingly enough, older respondents felt less inclined to start their own company with people 50 or over having a potential of just 33% in contrast with 35 or under who had a potential of 52%.

Gender also constitutes a determining factor of the willingness to start a business. Across the globe, 48% of men are more willing to start a business in comparison to 38% of women, the widest gap is present in North America: 56% men – 39% women. In the number one ranked country, Vietnam, women have the same positive approach as men towards entrepreneurship: 95% and 96%, respectively – this seems to be the primary reason why Vietnam shows such good statistics when it comes to entrepreneurship.

Another interesting  fact discovered in Amway’s survey is that the economic context, whether it’s local or global, does not have an impact on entrepreneurial desire. This comes from the ambition of people being their own bosses and having the independence that comes along with it. Entrepreneurship is on a rising trend all around the world. The desire, innovation and eagerness of people offer a positive sign to many economies which are looking to continue their development.

We help you find the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. The GR8 360° tool is excellent at developing managerial competencies, skills and behaviours. When using this assessment, you will find over 50 dimensions that come along with suggestions for future improvement and development. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

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Sources:

Forbes.com

Inc.com

The Search for Emotional Intelligence (E.Q.)

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The global workforce is continuously changing. Managers and entrepreneurs are finding it harder and harder to find the right candidates for their roles. Normally, when searching for a new employee, they look at candidates’ skills, prior experience and professional goals. Of course these are important factors that need to be taken into account, but it somehow makes managers forget about a key ability which is quintessential to a successful hiring: emotional intelligence (EQ).

In order to understand how overlooked this factor is, you should know that many job descriptions do not even list this ability as one of the reasons for a successful candidacy. Building a team of emotionally intelligent people can have a positive effect on the company’s performance.

What is emotional intelligence? There are many interpretations surrounding this phrase, but how exactly can we define it? Psychology Today defines it as: “the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others.” In other words, a person is considered to have a strong emotional intelligence when they are able to keep their emotions in check, whilst also empathising with coworkers and understanding why and how their feelings can impact the quality of their work.

People with high emotional intelligence are more capable of working in teams, are more flexible and they adjust easily to change. A person with a high level of EQ is more likely to succeed than one with degrees and qualifications who lacks EQ.

 

But how can we find emotionally intelligent employees? Here a few tips and tricks in order to identify them easier:

 

  1. Enquiries about past actions and professional relationships

During the interview, the recruiter can ask how well the candidate interacted with his former co-workers, if they got on well. This is where recruiters should be able to find out how in touch with their emotions the candidates really are and whether they are capable of describing them. The answers received during these questions offer you a good start regarding candidates’ emotional abilities.

  1. Hypothetical scenarios

To get even more in-depth information about the candidate, present them with a hypothetical situation like this one: “A client is mad due to a delivery mix-up and your company is not at fault. How would you deal with that situation?” EQ people will always remain calm and will try to figure out what happened to the client and try and sort things out in a calm and polite manner.

  1. Candidate self-awareness analysis

Candidates with a strong sense of self-awareness can easily detect their own strengths and weaknesses and how their actions can influence or affect others. Self-awareness also goes hand-in-hand when a person learns a lesson through constructive criticism. People such as this can also control their emotions when the situation asks for it. They understand, but don’t let anything control their actions. Candidates with a high level of EQ do not require motivation, because they are self-motivated. Even when disappointment occurs, they pick themselves up quite fast given their inner ambition. Last but not least, these type of people can easily trust and work within a new team. They do not favour backstabbing and avoid power struggles at all costs.

In their search for EQ people, many companies have started using behavioural assessments and analysing their internal data. Although the tactics mentioned above are great, you may be surprised, but you can find the necessary emotionally intelligent people in your organisation. Besides the usual qualities required for a successful employee, some recruiters consider emotional intelligence to be a hassle in their search, but it is worth the extra work. Having more and more people with a high level of EQ can radically transform the workplace, given the fact that your employees will be more engaged and committed to steer the organisation into the right direction.

Great People Inside provides easy-to-use tools and processes to attract, assess, match, select, onboard, manage, develop, benchmark and maintain workforces anywhere in the world.

Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation, can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

Request a free demo:

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Sources:

Entrepreneur.com

FastCompany.com

Reducing Employee Turnover

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In the majority of cases, a high employee turnover is not regarded as ideal for a company’s reputation, performance and goals. The costs themselves are high due to the fact that people are leaving, thus leading to numerous hirings and training programs for the constant flow of new employees. If your company has experienced high turnover in recent times, it might be time to think about effective retention strategies.

A high employee turnover is bad for any organisation’s bottom line. It has been estimated that the cost of replacing an employee is nearly double their salary for a year. Morale can also go down if too many people come and go through the office doors.

There are a number of ways in which you can reduce employee turnover and they are not as difficult as you might think. When employees feel their work environment offers them the necessary support for them to achieve their goals that is when they thrive the most.

There are many ways in which you can make your employees feel that their work is appreciated enough so they don’t leave or you are not forced to fire them. Let’s go through these ideas step-by-step:

  1. Flexibility – Work flexibility is all about the possibility of working either from home, a café or even while on vacation, as long as employees have a good internet connection (and that is not hard to find nowadays). People are more motivated to produce great results when they have the opportunity to work in the environment they’re most productive. This idea works best on the new generation i.e. millennials.
  2. Honest job expectations – Many companies suffer from high employee turnover due to the fact that employees are assigned something different from what they have seen in the initial job description. When employees are given responsibilities that do not suit their interests and strengths, their drive to perform goes to ground.
  3. Promote a healthy work-life balance – The work-life balance has become extremely important to employees, but many managers fail to realise that. The managers should take care of their team in order for them to avoid employee burnout. Regular check-ups help, because if you observe something is not right with one of your staff you can give them a day off to decompress. It is key you do not bombard your employees with one too many projects at once.
  4. The possibility of professional growth – It is as clear as day that people are more interested in jobs where professional development is one of the advantages. In order to boost your company’s performance, (internal) growth has to be one of the core principles. Whether we are talking about a promotion or a simple salary raise, this will motivate your employees to achieve the organisation’s goals/objectives. Provide the opportunity for career and personal growth through training and education, challenging assignments and more responsibility. Welfare is important to people, undermining their value and pay would be a fatal mistake. Managers and CEOs should work hand in hand with the HR department in order to devise to most appropriate pay plan possible for their employees.
  5. Finding the best candidate from the beginning – It may seem like a pretty obvious idea, but many companies fail to realise the importance of the recruiting process. Besides the necessary skills any employee should have, try and find out if that person identifies with the company culture and gets along with the co-workers and managers.

This is where Great People Inside comes to your aid. Our online platform offers the best solutions and tools for your company to thrive in every type of industry and any possible situation your organisation may find itself. In terms of lowering your employee turnover rates we recommend our GR8 Full Spectrum assessment for hiring and 360° Survey for retention. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation, can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

 

Request a free demo:

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Sources:

Theculture.com

Guides.wsj.com

Thebalance.com

Hyperconnectivity – The New Imperative?

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Society has reached a stage in which it is impossible for people not to be connected to their devices all the time. Staying in touch has apparently become a social norm due to constant social media updates, imessaging, regular texting, especially for millennials. Maintaining relationships is easier as well with the help of technology such as Skype, Facetime, Google Handouts etc.

In terms of business, technology connectedness has helped people from around the world form companies and makes transactions around the clock. We are walking with powerful “PC’s” in our pockets, almost oblivious about the capabilities we have at our disposal. Large databases are now online through the cloud and that means wherever there is internet, you could access a huge amount of information. News nowadays are being broadcasted on social media as well, while television is slowly losing its credibility and fanbase. All these examples and much more lead to hyperconnectivity. This term not only encompasses the multitude of communication channels and interactions, but it also reveals the impact on a personal and organisational behaviour level.

This has helped create new opportunities and ways of working for companies; regular working hours and locations are now a thing of the past. In the 21st century, everything is digital so it’s absolutely imperative that organisations  stay as connected to technology as possible, because every day new techniques and tools are being released in order to improve everything from productivity to employee engagement.  HR plays an important role here. Learning about these tools and implement them as naturally and effectively as possible so that they create an advantage for the company.

Although the benefits of hyperconnectivity are more than obvious, HR directors and managers must be able to make employees cope better and better with the new levels of stress and pressure due to this “always on” environment. The best solution for this is the simplest solution, an Occam’s razor really: the real human contact. That is why large corporations always organise team activities and social events, in order to encourage face-to-face human interaction. Although very useful, these types of events fail to create a bond between co-workers from departments which are not directly linked together.

Hyperconnectivity also disrupted the usual flow of a company’s life-span. If back in the 1920s, an organisation had  on average 67 years “to live”, nowadays they are around for about 15. The social media industry is the perfect example: first there was Bebo which paved the way for MySpace which was ultimately dethroned by Facebook.

This type of business environment can allow businesses to grow fast and easily find customers, but at the same time, their competitors have access to the same information and ideas, which can prove to be tough to deal with.

It is pretty clear by now that hyperconnectivity is bringing both positives and negatives. Companies can go from rapid development and great productivity to people struggling to understand all these changes and not misuse the information they have acquired. As mentioned above, hyperconnectivity is not only changing the way us people communicate and interact, but also has a continuous involvement in our personal and professional lives.  Furthermore, hyperconnectivity has a strong impact on various industries, research foundations, academic organisations, neo-urbanisation, education and healthcare, so it is our duty to understand and make the best out of it.

Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation, can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

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 Sources:
-HR Weekly
-nhrdnmumb.caiom
-www.itproportal.com

 

The Effectiveness of High-Potential Employee Programs

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High-potential (HIPO) employees find themselves in the top 5% within an organisation, based on their individual performances. They are considered the company’s most prized assets and are being tipped-off to go into leadership positions. But this is easier said than done. In most cases, organisations develop HIPO programs in order to train their best employees in becoming future leaders.

Although high-potential employee programs might seem like the perfect solution, over 40% of the people participating do not belong there, according to the data analysed by the Harvard Business Review (HBR). The information gathered by HBR consists of 1,964 high potential employees, from 3 distinct companies, who have measured their leadership abilities through 360° assessments. Feedback is immediate, with analysis reports being developed almost instantly. This type of assessment is done when organisations wish to measure capabilities such as low turnover, employee engagement and high productivity. Obviously, the better the score, the better the outcome.

When looking at the data gathered from the participants in the HIPO programs, the results were outlandish. 12% of them found themselves in the lowest quadrant in leadership effectiveness; resulting in an overall 42% below average. They’re not in the top 5% anymore, not by a mile.

What about the quality of the HIPO programs that are running in your company? There are a couple of mistakes that may come along the way in regards to these programs:

  1. Performance doesn’t equal potential: HIPO programs tend to focus too much on performance and that generally leads to problems in today’s ever changing business climate. First of all, most companies do not know how to measure performance given the fact that if subjective ratings are eliminated, there are very few metrics left to count on. Secondly, even if the right parameters are chosen to measure performance, most top performers cannot handle or are simply not prepared for the next level. The transition from being a simple employee to a manager, or from a manager to a leader, requires abilities most people haven’t been trained for before. Plus, there is always the possibility that HIPO employees focus on solving problems or an all-round team player. Unfortunately, this leads to people placed in jobs they are not able or do not want to perform. It is absolutely vital to understand that performance represents what you do and potential is simply what you COULD do. If you are really good at doing X this doesn’t mean you will be great at doing Y – X and Y here being two distinct activities.
  2. HIPO’s have their weaknesses: Here, the Pareto principle fits the bill quite perfectly. If you don’t know what the Pareto principle is, here is the explanation: 20% of employees make up for 80% of the company’s revenues and profits. Based on this idea, it is clear that 20% of employees cause 80% of the problems within an organisation. Coincidentally or not, they are most often than not, the same employees. HIPO personnel, who generally know their worth, are frequently more difficult to manage. Nevertheless, no matter how astute these people are, they tend to have a dark side as well. In this scenario, the HR department has to intervene. Unfortunately, when it does intervene, the focus is on improving their existing qualities which leaves out their other personality problems to roam free. Overworked strengths have a tendency to become weaknesses and that is not good news for any organisation.

It is a well-known fact that a top performer may start having difficulties at his job when he is placed in a leadership role. It is clear he may perform well in one company but he cannot have the same impact and results in another organisation. It all depends on his vision and leadership, and these qualities are not easy to find.

Great People Inside provides easy-to-use tools and processes to attract, assess, match, select, onboard, manage, develop, benchmark and maintain workforces anywhere in the world.

We help you find the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. The GR8 360° tool is excellent at developing managerial competencies, skills and behaviours. When using this assessment, you will find over 50 dimensions that come along with suggestions for future improvement and development. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

 

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Sources:

www.hbr.org

www.dcebglobal.com

www.forbes.com

Productivity vs. Efficiency – What Are the Differences?

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In any given organisation, productivity and efficiency are highly regarded. Most managers and employees get their feedback based on these two factors. But what exactly do we mean when we say productivity or efficiency? Apparently there are some questions around this topic that haven’t been answered yet.

In order to explain the differences between productivity and efficiency, we must first understand what they exactly mean. To put it in simpler terms, we are talking about differences between quantity and quality. It is nearly impossible to obtain 100% quality, while having productivity levels up at maximum. There should be a middle ground in order to optimise your results.

Both productivity and efficiency are absolutely crucial for building a fantastic work ethic. If you manage to learn how to handle both of them and what makes them distinctly important, you and your business will thrive. As a beginner, you may be tempted to focus too much on efficiency and although this isn’t a bad thing to do, understanding the key variables between efficiency and productivity is imperative.

Given the complexity of this issue, insight is required on what these two factors actually are.

Productivity

At its very core, productivity shows you the rate at which products are being developed or a task is being completed.  When you are measuring productivity things get a little more complex than that. You have to take into account whether it’s physical or office work, if the job requires a certain quality factor or the impact a specific industry’s requirements may have on its workers. Nonetheless, productivity is an integral part of any successful company.

Efficiency

Efficiency is all about the comparison between what is really being produced or performed with what can be produced taking into account the same amount of resources, such as: money, time and labour. In simpler terms, efficiency measures whether there is any waste in your company. Depending on the industry you work in, efficiency may be more desirable than productivity, but usually their importance is proportionate.

Efficiency vs. Productivity

Everyone wants to be as productive as possible, but there are always problems of various sorts that keep us from getting the job done. Firstly, don’t waste more time than necessary when completing a task. Try and set your own rhythm and pace and stick to it. Try and write down every step necessary in order to complete a certain task and follow that process religiously. Once you have the whole process set in stone, you will see that the amount of time you require will steadily decrease.

Many people ask if it is possible to be productive and efficient at the same time and the answer is yes. All you have to do is analyse the task at hand and try and find out what it requires more; whether it is quantity or quality.

It all comes down to the importance of the task. As an example, let’s talk about employee enquiries towards the HR department. We all know they must be dealt with in a respectable amount of time. This type of task is considered to be more on the productive side, due to the fact that it is the same process over and over again, with the same forms and documentation that need to be filled out every time. You can finish all the enquiries quickly and with complete certainty that their quality is top notch as long as you deal with them in the correct manner.

With efficiency tasks, most often than not they do not have a precise and by the book approach. These tasks obviously require more time and a high level of due diligence. In this scenario, quality trumps quantity. Of course, every task has a deadline. But if you happen to have the misfortune of dealing with it poorly, it doesn’t necessarily matter too much. You should always work at your full potential, but given the fact that the assignment doesn’t have a methodological way of dealing with it, you have some wiggle room and the possibility to improve it.

As mentioned earlier in the article, it is very important for both productivity and efficiency to be part of your workflow. It provides you with time, expertise and discipline in order to handle distinct assignments. Balancing productivity and efficiency may seem troublesome at first, but once you find it, certain tasks will stop being such a burden on you.

In conclusion, one more idea that is important to remember is this: never sacrifice your work. If you need to do good, solid work then don’t rush it by any means, and when you are looking for quantity don’t get yourself lost in too many details. With this in mind, you can accomplish anything you want. Do the work you have to do the way it was meant to be done and never compromise. It is essential you know and understand the differences between these two practices in order to ensure your work never has to suffer again.

Great People Inside provides easy-to-use tools and processes to attract, assess, match, select, onboard, manage, develop, benchmark and maintain workforces anywhere in the world.

We help you find the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. The GR8 Productivity Gap tool is excellent at showcasing the evolution of any given employee over time. By contrasting two assessments made before and after training, it allows you to analyse both your employees’ development and their involvement in the process as well.

 

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Sources:

www.smallbusiness.chron.com

www.doityourself.com

www.differencebetween.info

www.selfthrive.com