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1. Meet our Team of Harrison Assessments Consultants – Gerry Murray

   December 2, 2014 11:19 am Leave a Comment

   Welcome to the next blog in our series of ‘Meet our Team of Harrison Assessments Consultants’.  Today we would like to introduce you to Gerry Murray, a Master NLP Coach and Trainer who works with leadership teams to enable them to inspire their people and take performance to higher levels of excellence.

   What do you enjoy most about your work?

   I really enjoy people rediscovering their true power or what makes them tick. Watching somebody transform themselves before my very eyes is one of the most rewarding aspects of what I do. I feel I’ve done a good job when I see that sparkle in people’s eyes and they tell me that they had an amazing experience.

   What is your most memorable assignment and why?

   I have so many memorable assignments that it’s not easy for me to single one out. However, I would say that what makes assignments memorable for me is when they provide an opportunity for me to learn something new. This often means that I learn how to adapt my approach as a result. The adaptation may just be adding more response choices or perspectives to what I do or it can sometimes be more profound than that.

   Because I work mainly with non-native English speakers I’m constantly learning about how each person experiences their world in a unique way and the role and power of language in how they express this. Therefore, there is tremendous value in exploring how someone lives their world in their native language and not assuming that because they speak English that it has true meaning for them. Some of my most memorable moments have come from realising this over and over again.

   What quality do you most admire in other people?

   Authenticity, integrity and compassion.

   In your experience, what is the most common trait hindering people’s performance?

   In general, people have a habit of getting in their own way. I’m always fascinated by the answers I get to the question: “What stops you from doing/achieving or being X?” The amount of times the response is “Myself” is quite astounding. I’m not quite sure if we can isolate it to one specific trait as all traits will be useful or not useful depending on the context in which they are deployed. However, what’s important is that people get to know their traits and how these contribute to their performance, good or bad, satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

   Anything else you would like to share?

   My research into the future of work has revealed that many people are not happy in their current jobs. This is linked to profound changes in the way we work and the conditions in which we work. The financial crisis of 2008/9 has affected people on a multitude of levels. There is a crisis of leadership, not only in business but across the board. Levels of employee engagement are at an all-time low, especially in the Western world where our competitive advantage on the global stage is likely to depend on the quality of our talent. The current levels of youth unemployment are unsustainable and have serious implications for society. And there appears to be a misalignment between the supply side of skills (education) and the demand side (work). And, it doesn’t have to be this way!

   Never was there a need for a way to realign and re-engage workforces than there is now. People deserve to enjoy their work and perform at their best. It’s a win-win for everyone in the long run. I’m pleased that there is a tool such as Harrison Assessments (HATS) that can facilitate this process of realignment and this brings me back to my first point above: when people receive coaching on their HATS reports I’ve seen them light up. They light up partly because they are rediscovering their true selves and partly because it gives them a renewed sense of belief in themselves and confidence for their future. Now, that’s got to be a good thing…

   Gerry Murray, Wide Circle

2. Meet our Team of Harrison Assessments Consultants – David Klaasen

   November 25, 2014 10:20 am Leave a Comment

   

   David Klaasen

   Welcome to the first in our series of ‘Meet our Team of Harrison Assessments Consultants’.  Today we would like to introduce you to David Klaasen, a highly skilled trainer, coach and facilitator who specialises in leadership and management development.

   What do you enjoy most about your work?

   It is always fascinating to go into businesses to meet the people and understand the culture that has developed. Often this culture has developed organically over time without any planning, attention or focus. It is very exciting to work with the Directors and Managers to help them shift the culture to one that underpins long term success for both the business and the people who work in it. Using powerful tools like HATS provide excellent insights that can be rapidly understood.

   What is your most memorable assignment and why?

   I have a lot of very long term relationships with clients so I can see how the business and the people in it develop over time. It is always very rewarding to see people be promoted and take on new levels of responsibility. A particularly memorable assignment was working with the Directors of a relatively new business that formed from the merger of 3 smaller businesses. Getting the Directors to discuss and agree their values was very powerful and raising their awareness about what really motivated them and what they enjoyed most released huge potential and led to very rapid growth.

   What quality do you most admire in other people?

   Drive , enthusiasm and self-awareness. The ability to bounce back from setbacks, and the recognition that getting things done through others is about getting to know them. It is great when managers recognise that they need a slightly different approach with different people while maintaining consistency and fairness. The insights provided by HATS give managers exceptional levels of self-awareness and also helps them understand their people more rapidly.

   In your experience, what is the most common trait hindering people’s performance?

   Lack of self-awareness and thinking that everything is other people’s fault. When we take responsibility for our actions there is often a lot of support available from others and they are more willing to help us.

   Anything else you would like to share?

   I love learning about the latest neuro-scientific research into how we think and behave. It is providing some excellent insights that can make a huge difference in the way we can communicate and collaborate to achieve mutual success.

   David Klaasen FCIPD, Inspired Working

   Watch out for the next in the series of ‘Meet Our Team of Harrison Assessments Consultants’.

3. Attracting Top Talent – Many ways prospective employers blow it!

   November 17, 2014 11:24 am Leave a Comment

   I have just read an article entitled ‘The five ways job applicants blow it!’ Great stuff and all points that prospective employees should take account of. It’s also important for employers to be aware of the ways they can blow it too. I have headed this article ‘Many ways prospective employers blow it!’ because I am convinced there are more than 5. So here goes.

   The competition for top talent is fierce – keeping top talent and making sure engagement levels are high is a key factor to success and bottom line impact so what can employers do to make sure they attract and retain the top talent?

   Here are some major booboos!

   1. Failing to recognize that talent acquisition is a two way process. Too many organisations approach talent acquisition as if it is a privilege to work for them. Whilst there may be some anomalies in the job market many organisations find it difficult to attract talent – this can be to senior positions as well as to their apprenticeship schemes.
   2. Making the job out to be something it’s not in the advert! We often hear of people leaving a role fairly quickly because the advertisement has asked for something the role can’t deliver. A classic example is ‘creativity and innovation’ when every decision has to be referred to the host company and takes months to be acted upon. Entrepreneurship is another – let’s be honest true entrepreneurs do not work for large organisations. What the role probably requires is the ability to take initiative, to work autonomously if necessary and maybe a level of optimism about the future.
   3. Not saying ‘thanks but no thanks’ to unsuccessful applicants of the first sift. Such a simple step that can do wonders for the company brand.
   4. Interviewing on the basis of eligibility factors alone – experience and qualifications are of course an essential part of the criteria. They definitely determine whether a person is capable of performing the role but do they measure their suitability for the role? By measuring suitability factors accuracy can increase from 40-45% to nearer 90-95%
   5. Resorting to subjectivity at the interview stage. Eligibility factors are easy to measure and check. Interviews are often conducted on a subjective scoring system with the results being calculated and discussions taking place following the interview. Behavioural questioning can give some indication of a person’s willingness and ability to perform in a variety of scenarios but it can’t measure working preferences which are the real indicators of success.
   6. Trying to fit to role by personality testing. Personality testing has little to do with job success.
   7. Failing to fit with manager/leader. All too often employers fail to match their new recruits to the style of the manager causing friction and mismanagement and often resulting in the newly found talent moving on to pastures new.
   8. Failing to check engagement and retention factors. What actually motivates new talent is not always the same. It is important to find out what the engagement factors are and be honest if the organisation cannot satisfy them. What are the employees expectations in relation to development, appreciation, remuneration, communication, authority, social, personal needs and work life balance.
   9. Failing to satisfy the GRT of expectations. According to Kevin Kruse the best talent is generally looking for 3 things – growth, recognition of input and ideas and trust – trust in them and the ability to trust in the organization.

   These are just a few of the blunders organisations can make in the pursuit of talent.

   If you would like to know more about how to attract the best talent call +44 (0)7768 922244.

4. 3 Reasons Why Employee Engagement Surveys Don’t Work!

   November 4, 2014 11:12 am Leave a Comment

   By David Steele, Harrison Assessments Consultant. 

   There is a really strong case for measuring engagement and retention factors in organisations. We just have to use the right tools for the job. Traditional engagement surveys have evolved from the old satisfaction survey and in most cases are likely to be used incorrectly. Proper analytic’s in the hands of leaders who believe that employees’ expectations are important and acted on accordingly, will see high levels of engagement.

   Why traditional employee engagement surveys don’t work!

   Here are 3 reasons why they don’t work, including –

   1. Engagement comes from within the individual
   2. You don’t need an employee engagement survey to know what needs to be fixed
   3. Employee engagement survey results become part of the “scorecard”

   Read the full article….

    

5. Making the most of Restructuring and Developing a New Culture

   August 28, 2014 10:39 am Leave a Comment

   Organisational restructures come about for any number of reasons – acquisitions, mergers, change in market direction, upsizing, downsizing, changes in the law, general market forces, new products, consolidation, a drive for greater efficiencies. Whatever it is there are numerous organisations worldwide going through some form of restructure.

   Whether the organisational restructure is on a grand global scale or a small local one, the challenge to get the right people in the right place at the right time can be complex and at times emotional as people are wrenched from their roles and relocated sometimes to other parts of the world. Timescales are often such that decisions have to be made quickly and the cost of getting it wrong can be enormous both financially and emotionally.

   So how would you feel if we could help you increase your chances of getting the right people in the right place by between 30—45% at a comparatively low cost?

   The Harrison Talent Management System will help you do just this. Furthermore it will generate reports on how to interview specific people for roles and how to manage them once in role. You can even begin to develop a new culture by measuring all existing employees against the cultural requirements. If this is something that interests you call us on +44 (0)7768 922244 – put aside one hour and we will explain to you via webinar exactly how this can work for you and your organisation.