How well do you really know your staff?

Keeping your staff happy is paramount to any employer.

A recent survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) found that the main reason people gave for switching jobs was a desire to ‘increase pay and benefits’. This had changed from the same survey taken a year before, when ‘improving job satisfaction’ was given as the top reason.

This is a sign of these economic times, with people (understandably) striving for financial security – often even more than career progression.

Even if you suitably reward your staff though, a happy workplace doesn’t always equal a successful one.

It is often the little things that make people happy – not the “sticking plasters” of bonuses and financial incentives. Doug Shaw, CEO of What Goes Around Limited recently asked the question:

With social tools everywhere, why do some companies try to restrict access to these tools for fear of what their employees may say, about the company, about each other and about the customer. Why do companies persist in employing people they clearly don’t trust?

I bet you never thought that that was what you were guilty of.

That is because your perception of the world of work isn’t the same as the people around you. Just like them, you have 14 unconscious motivational patterns that lead you to communicate, act and make decisions in a certain way.

We have previously discussed how LAB Profiling can help when recruiting new staff, but how about using it to optimise the performance of your existing workforce?

Though you may feel you already know the capabilities and knowledge of your staff, LAB Profiling can scientifically give you the information you need to determine their motivations and attitude. This will help you to redesign or adapt individual task assignments to make  your staff feel both happy and fully challenged.

Instead of using “sticking plasters”, why not use a tool that takes each individual’s needs into consideration so that your team can go from good to great?

Recrion is a specialist in career and talent management, and works with organisations to retain and motivate their employees. For more information contact us on 01780 484910 or email katherine@recrion.co.uk .