By Business & Finance 
By John Rankin, CEO and senior analyst, Corporate121
With the upturn in the economy there is the inevitable movement in the workforce.
There is a definite improvement in the HR market with as much as 70% of the workforce reportedly looking to change jobs and 76% of businesses looking to recruit.
This is covering all levels of business, from senior management downward. For example, earlier this summer it was announced that four key senior managers were leaving one investment firm and moving to their main rivals. Against the backdrop of an existing talent gap, this is a clear sign of what can be expected to continue.
On the other side, recent surveys indicate that business leaders are looking to find and, more importantly, retain good people. After all, they pay to find the people, they put their time and effort into that, then they up-skill them, at more cost, so they want to retain them so that they can see the benefits.
Employers think that employees are looking for job security while, in reality, they are looking for a good work/life balance and they also want to work with people they like, according to recent surveys.
Stepping back and looking at the issues of retaining good people, as an employer and working with someone you like, as an employee are closer to solving a problem from both points of view according to recent research. In America and to a lesser extent in the UK, this is referred to as employee engagement.
… recent surveys indicate that business leaders are looking to find and, more importantly, retain good people
This is a much-debated subject in both countries and some psychologists are advocating emotional intelligence as being a solution. This is based on the ability to control one’s emotions and being able to read other people’s emotions.
Many, but not all, HR firms and consultants will still use psychometric tests to determine an individual’s suitability for a particular job while a few others are using emotional intelligence. Psychometric is good and it has its place in testing for an individual’s attributes and behaviour but it was not designed to determine if people can work together.
ON THE FRONT LINE
Employee engagement is used to see how involved and committed an employee is with his work. Over the last 15 years of surveys it has been found that the more committed employees are then the more successful is the company, irrespective of size.
On average, companies with engaged employees have double the rate of success over those who don’t and the staff turnover rate is half. Depending on the level of commitment by management, in regards to employee engagement, one company has seen a 25% compound annual revenue growth and 48% profit growth since 2008 but on average companies have seen at least a 20%+ growth in productivity and profitability.
Business leaders know that they need loyal customers but some ignore the fact that their customers are only as happy as their front line employees. Those same employees are only engaged and committed if they feel supported by their immediate manager. That manager, in turn, also needs to feel supported and appreciated by management and so forth and so on, right the way to the top.
Compatibility profiling is one way to determine if people can work together, if not then a manager will spend the time dealing with problems, after all ‘people leave people, not companies’.
Do you have a requirement for growing your business through employee engagement? If so, then you should really consider compatible profiling.
Photo (top): OTA Photos
About the blogger
John Rankin is CEO of Corporate121 and is a senior analyst. He has been studying eastern principles, sciences and concepts for over 20 years.
With over four decades of experience in business and senior management roles John, as a business systems analyst, has a wealth of knowledge in regards to personnel interaction.
