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The Basics of Nonverbal Communication (Part Two)

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There are many recruiters who decide whether or not a candidate is worthy due to their body language while they waiting in the lobby or walking towards the conference room where the interview takes place.

It is common knowledge that the recruitment process and employee turnover represent challenges in today’s global environment. There are many cases when nonverbal communication is more revealing than what a candidate says their previous experience or their references. It is that vital. Recruiters will pay close attention to a candidate’s nonverbal communication.

As a recruiter, your focus points are the signals regarding the candidate’s attitude, interests, hobbies, outlook and approach. As actions speak louder than words, so do nonverbal signals during an interview, due to the fact that an employer can determine a candidate’s references in regards to: the necessary skills to perform well at the job, cultural fit in the organisation and behavioural characteristics that may determine how successful a candidate is for the job.

Here are a few examples in which recruiters are as observant as possible in terms of nonverbal communication:

First Impressions

The first minutes of an interview are very important so much so that almost nothing else matters. Recruiters take a look at the candidate and note all of the nonverbal messages they are exhibiting. They form impressions ranging from a candidate’s posture, handshake, outfit, attentiveness, facial expressions and eye contact.

Handshake

Notice whether the candidate displays a firm and solid handshake. A confident, comfortable person uses the handshake as a positive nonverbal interaction. The handshake should assure the employer of the candidate’s desire for a positive first interaction and impression. Consequently, a limp handshake reveals low confidence and self-esteem. Last but not least, an excessively strong handshake tells the recruiter the candidate is overly aggressive or even trying to steamroll him or her.

 Posture and Space Usage

If the candidate is sitting comfortably and upright in his chair that means he’s most likely confident and comfortable with whom he or she is.  If their posture is slouchy it may very well mean that they do sloppy work and have a low self-esteem.  In general, posture which allows the individual to use an appropriate amount of space in the room reveals the security the applicant holds in his or hers abilities.

Clothing and general appearance

No matter how formal or informal the work environment is, it is adamant for a job applicant to wear a suit to the meeting. The accessories that accompany the candidate are equally important. If they show up with a briefcase, shined shoes, a leather-bound portfolio and so on, demonstrates the professionalism that lies within that person. It also reveals the fact that they wanted to make a proper first impression.

If the candidate sought out to look professional for the interview and it did not happen chances are that is as good as it’s ever going to get. In this scenario, the recruiter has to decide whether that person is a good fit for the company and hope at a change for the better in the near future.

Facial Expressions and Body Language

Nothing says more about a candidate than their facial expressions and body language.

Numerous books and research has been done on the science of facial expressions and body language. The key here is to discover whether a person’s facial expressions and body language match the words that are being said.

Facial expressions that do not match the spoken words clearly indicate discomfort or lying and these are not desired traits in any candidate. There are candidates who never make eye contact and stare at a spot behind the employer’s shoulder. This exhibits that they are uncomfortable and show a serious lack of confidence. Consistency between facial expressions and the words spoken is crucial.

Body language is similarly important. If the job applicant is leaning back in his seat and has his legs crossed, he’s too relaxed for an interview setting and may deal with costumers the same way. If they have occupied the entire table with their arms and various accessories, that displays aggressiveness and may turn out to be a difficult employee to manage after being hired.  Another good example is, if during a statement, the candidate looks away from the recruiter or is generally nervous, then he or she is probably not telling the truth. If candidates practically stare into the employer’s eyes as they’re talking that most likely means that what they are saying is 100% fabricated.

It is always going to be difficult to tell whether a candidate is being truthful or not, but the key here is “listen” carefully at what they are not saying.

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.thebalance.com/nonverbal-communication-in-the-workplace-1918470

https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-use-nonverbal-communication-in-hiring-1919137

http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/nonverbal-communications-important-manager-17543.html

The Basics of Nonverbal Communication (Part One)

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Peter F. Drucker once said that “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said” and the phrase couldn’t have been truer. In essence, nonverbal communication represents the information a person delivers besides verbal communication. But how exactly do people communicate in a nonverbal matter? Let’s explore the possibilities:

  • Body language: The manner in which a person moves either his hands, arms, legs, sits, stands and other slight movements.
  • Facial expressions: The human face is tremendously expressive, especially the mouth, eyebrows and eyes. As the research done by Dan Hill and other worldwide researchers; emotions such as disgust, confusion, pain, anger and happiness can be easily depicted on a person’s facial expressions or “micro-expressions” as they are known as.
  • Posture: The manner in which you present yourself in public can be used by others to determine your state of mind. For example, if you’re sitting rigidly in your chair, people will, consciously or not, determine that you’re anxious or afraid. On the other hand, if you lean back in a relaxed manner people will assume you’re confident.
  • Eye contact: The majority of people believe that, when eye contact is being made, that person is trustworthy. This is not always the case. Even though eye contact can be used to transmit emotions and to create a bond between speakers, it can also be used to simulate interest and mislead people.
  • Gestures: In particular, hand gestures are obvious communication carriers. The movement of one’s hands can help emphasise an idea or an argument.

If used effectively, nonverbal communication can be a powerful complementary agent to the spoken word and can help people get their message across language and cultural barriers, due to the fact that it’s pretty much universal. In other words, nonverbal communication creates a special bond with verbal communication and adds profound meaning to it.

However, this form of communication must be dealt with great care. Due to its subconscious level, you may express something verbally, but non-verbally you may pass on a totally different idea and that confuses the receiver of the message.

When Nonverbal and Verbal Communication Don’t Match

There are numerous circumstances when this type of situation can occur. For instance, when a manager asks his employee if everything is alright, he might get a positive response, but everything related to that employee’s posture, lack of smile, facial expression and tone will give out the exact opposite response.

Nonverbal communication represents a powerful tool in day-to-day activities such as meetings, hallway interactions and even outside business hours when people are gathering together for a meal. It can also be tremendously helpful when dealing with stakeholders, customers, associates, partners due to the fact that it adds gravitas and trust to the spoken words.

Although it may seem unlikely, nonverbal communication can be taught if carefully practiced and managed. Clear improvements can be observed when delivering your messages across to people. If this skill is not well-trained you may look sloppy and ineffective damaging office relations, thus resulting into low job performances all across your department or company.

A strong business education can take you so far, but without the necessary people and communication skills, there is a chance for mishaps to occur, stammering your professional growth along the way.

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.thebalance.com/nonverbal-communication-in-the-workplace-1918470

https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-use-nonverbal-communication-in-hiring-1919137

http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/nonverbal-communications-important-manager-17543.html

Workplace Harassment

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Workplace harassment is something people experience on a daily basis, but are too afraid to speak out about it… By law, harassment is described as any unwanted verbal or physical behaviour which are based on ideas such as colour, race, sex, religion, nationality, age, either physical or mental disabilities, and last but not least, gender identity. A harassing behaviour can take many forms which include: slurs, offensive jokes, intimidation, ridicule, insults, name calling, physical threats or assaults, offensive pictures and many more.

Many people encounter harassment even during interviews. It is important to know what rules apply to the employers and what they can and cannot ask you. Moreover, recruiters cannot ask you about your religion, race, marital status, disabilities, ethnic background, country of origin, age or sexual preferences. Next time you’re going into an interview, pay attention at what and how they ask about information regarding yourself.

Unfortunately, anyone can be in a situation where he or she is the harasser or the person being harassed. The harasser can range from being your boss, a co-worker, a supervisor from a different department, or even a non-employee, whilst the victim of the harassment doesn’t necessarily have to be the one directly harassed, but it can be any person in the office who feels affected by the harassing behaviour.

How to Deal with Harassment at the Workplace

Usually, people who are dealing with workplace harassment have the intention of solving the incident internally. The first option would be to approach the offender personally and explain how his behaviour and language have offended you. If you feel uncomfortable with the direct approach, the other option would be to contact your manager or supervisor and ask him to handle the situation before it develops into something more problematic.

Of course, there are cases in which the offender is your manager or supervisor and your only course of action is to contact the HR department or your manager’s boss and request an analysis of the situation.

Types of Harassment

There are numerous ways in which harassment takes place in the workplace. Unfortunately, sexual harassment continues to be one of the primary courses of harassment, although that does not mean that non-sexual harassment must be treated lightly. It is essential that people understand that harassment at the office can affect them, whether they are victims or not. One way or another it could impact people’s state of mind and even their careers.

As mentioned above, harassment can take many forms at the office. It could vary from being both physical and sexual and ending up with it being based on religion or race.

In the United States, the definition of harassment ranges from state to state. For example, in Florida a court decided that ‘fat jokes’ are offensive, while in Wisconsin and New York harassing people based on their criminal record is against the law. It is obvious that this issue represents a tricky subject everywhere around the world.

Sexual Harassment

This type of harassment does not limit itself to just physical contact or words and just between co-workers of the opposite sex. All of the following examples classify as sexual harassment:

  • Staring in a provocative manner, or whistling.
  • Emails, letters or notes with provocative messages.
  • Obscene videos and images shared with colleagues during a break or at lunch.
  • Expose posters of inappropriate sexual imagery.
  • Sharing sexual anecdotes or lewd jokes with the co-workers.
  • Making offensive remarks about a person’s gender identity.

Non-Sexual Harassment

This type of harassment includes remarks ranging from a person’s physical appearance to his mental disabilities or cultural values. A co-worker can create a hostile work environment by continuously commenting that a person is too old, too stupid or too fat.

If you someone in the workplace is making either racist or negative comments regarding another person in the office is definitely harassment. In this category can also fall drawings, clothing or gestures that hurt or transform someone in a victim at the office. The following examples fall into the category of non-sexual harassment:

  • Making jokes and negative remarks about a co-worker’s religious beliefs, or enforcing one’s own religious views on a person.
  • Racist nicknames, slangs and phrases are all prohibited.
  • ‘Distinguishing’ people at the office by the colour of their skin or ethnic characteristics.
  • Talking about cultural or religious stereotypes in an offensive manner.

So, having read all this, next time you are a victim of sexual harassment or notice a colleague in this situation, you will know how to recognise it and take action.

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.thebalance.com/types-of-harassment-in-the-workplace-2060886
https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-handle-harassment-at-work-2060887

 

Great People Inside Conference: HR (R)Evolution – 11,12 October Brasov, Romania

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Registration for the Great People Inside Conference: “The New World of Work” – the only international event held in Romania for 14 consecutive years –  has started!

We are currently at the beginning of the 4th industrial revolution.
Professional transformations are set in motion by globalisation and technological revolutions, especially a digital revolution – going from mechanical technology towards digital technology. The speed at which these changes are occurring is not going to slow down – in the next 20 years we will witness a continuous revolution of the workplace and workforce, marked by volatility, uncertainty and complexity.

The Great People Inside Conference: HR (R)Evolution, which will take place on 11&12 Octomber 2017 at Kronwell Hotel, Brasov, Romania,  will launch into interesting and challenging discussions regarding the pace of technological changes being made, the effects it has on jobs and the implications it has on HR, organisations, and employees.

A unique concept bringing together business representatives, entrepreneurs, managers, specialists and researchers in the field of human resources from all industries; psychologists, representatives of central and local authorities, large consulting companies, as well as internationally renowned experts from the United States of America, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain and Germany.

The 2-day programme combines thematic presentations, bold conversations and group discussions in an interesting manner, with the purpose of discovering techniques and strategies that will determine success in the near future, eliminating the uncertainty of this transitional moment and preparing for the rapid changes that occur in the workforce.

An event dedicated to sharing ideas, inspiration and information regarding the future of work.

For more information, please visit the conference’s dedicated website.

 

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

 

Salary Talk – dangerous but necessary?

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Talking about salaries with your coworkers is always a difficult and sensitive issue at the workplace and can potentially lead to problems with your employer. Although it’s not illegal to discuss wages around the office, it is something that is frowned upon. Of course, there will be situations when salary will have to be discussed and when that happens, it must be handled with great care so it doesn’t come back to haunt you.

How to Talk about Salary

If you really wish to discuss this topic with your coworkers, approach this conversation with caution. At first, it would be wise if you talked with your ‘work buddies’. Every person involved should avoid mentioning the discussion to anyone else. A safe way to bring up this subject is to discuss about people who have left the company in the past, or have moved to another department. It might be a bad idea altogether because of the discussions that could spiral afterwards.

Why you shouldn’t talk about wages

There is always the possibility to find out that your coworkers are earning more than you and from then on, jealousy and resentfulness are just around the corner. If the situation is in reverse, than your coworkers may start resenting you and you may as well be phased out from common break times or from social events after work. Besides the resentment, morale and teamwork in the workplace may suffer terribly. This could lead to potential problems with your manager, especially if he or she specifically asked you not to initiate such conversations. Although you cannot get fired over this, your job may become troublesome to perform. It’s always good to focus on what you can do by yourself to boost your salary; getting involved in more projects where you feel your contribution may be decisive. Initiative comes a long way.

When you should discuss salaries

Apart from the obvious risks mentioned above, there are a few scenarios which are worth exploring when talking about wages. If you discover you are being underpaid in comparison to your colleagues, it’s a good thing you find out early on. This will offer you the possibility to analyse the range of salaries amongst the office and you could negotiate a better pay further down the line with your manager. There is a slight chance that all your coworkers, including yourself, are being underpaid. Thankfully, there are websites (Payscale.com) where people can compare the average salaries for similar positions in various companies. If everyone’s pay is under the market average, you may work together to find a solution in which all of you can get a fair wage. You should always take into account the fact that every person’s circumstances are different, so your approach should be well thought out.

What managers can do

Discussing pay with your employees can prove to be difficult. Conversations with your staff can bring up various emotions, most of them negative such as: jealousy, greed and sometimes even hate. Employees are likely unaware that pay is different due to factors like education, training, negotiating skills and, of course, experience. In order to avoid back talks around the office, that may as well affect company morale, here are a few strategies managers could deploy so that employees feel their work is treated with respect:

  • Decent salaries – Have a look at the company’s finances and, if possible, have the salaries at a competitive level in the marketplace.
  • Encourage official workplace discussions – People need to feel safe and comfortable if they are to approach the HR department with enquiries or considerations regarding pay or workplace conditions.
  • Future potential – It’s important for managers to have constant conversations with their employees, everything ranging from salary range to professional development. Advise and guide them towards adding more skills, trainings and certifications to their existing palette. Additions that would lead to a promotion and automatically a pay raise.
  • Internal surveys – It is always good to get a read on the workplace atmosphere. You can discover the level of morale, engagement and how to solve these issues as well. It also gives a chance for employees to have their voice heard on various themes regarding the company.

Companies should know by now that their employees represent the backbone of their organisation. Trust and appraisal can keep problems at bay even before they get the chance to escalate. With the help of the HR department, issues such as this should resolve themselves quite easily.

Great People Inside can 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.

Sources:

http://work.chron.com/can-tell-coworkers-salary-7204.html

https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/dangers-discussing-pay-coworkers

What You Can and Can’t Do When Employees Discuss Wages

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