In today’s pressured environment, business owners and leaders are facing multiple challenges in sustaining or obtaining business growth. One of the most fraught areas is that of people management. Whether it be recruitment, staff retention, coping with Covid-related absences or overseeing a remote workforce, the problems and complications can seem never ending.
And, all of these challenges have an impact on your existing employees, your organisational culture and the way in which people work together as a team.
Employees under pressure often struggle to be productive, make greater mistakes, can become more stubborn or combative and may even require ongoing performance management.
These are just a few of the reasons why teamwork is now the leading skill employers want from their people.
According to research in Hays Salary Guide 22|23, an astounding 80% of employers listed teamwork as the number one skill they are after – way ahead of adaptability (69%), critical thinking (54%) and interpersonal skills (43%).
Fortunately, many organisations are starting to see success through utilising Extended DISC®, a suite of behavioural analysis tools that highlight issues with ineffective teams and an unhealthy culture.
Why building an effective team and culture is critical to your success
While supply chain interruptions, lockdowns and logistical issues can be problematic in themselves, one thing we have all learned over the last few years is how essential people are to an organisation. We have also learned how important it is that employees pull together towards a common goal – particularly as they are increasingly being asked to work in new ways.
In fact, in the last 12 months 87% of employees in Australia and New Zealand have needed to make some form of change in the way they work. 50% of employees have been asked to perform tasks outside their standard job description and 49% have needed to collaborate or work with new teams.*
Such an accelerated rate of disruption means inevitable changes to organisational culture and the way people work together. At HR Profiling Solutions, we frequently come across workplace issues that have resulted in ineffective teams:
- Conflict
- Lack of communication
- Lack of motivation
- Lack of active listening
- Misinterpretation of a message
- Letting emotions dictate responses
- Poor recruitment
You may have already tried team building exercises but without much success. Unless you understand what motivates people and how they communicate this will not in itself succeed in bringing people together. Understanding behavioural styles is a key component of growing an effective team and culture.
Why building effective teams and culture matters to your people
Research from Hays* has found that employees have revised what is important to them throughout the pandemic.
While some seek salary stability, flexible work and opportunities to learn, one of the biggest drivers is an alignment between personal and organisational purpose. In short, culture counts.
Furthermore, employees are also looking for a strong alignment between managers and teams – something that is difficult to provide when people are at odds with each other.
Do you want to minimise the amount of time spent on Non-Productive People issues?
Extended DISC®, one of the world’s leading psychometric assessment systems, can help you. It will provide crucial information about individuals’ behavioural styles, which, when managed skilfully, will produce effective teams, increase productivity and the bottom line. An Extended DISC® assessment, and associated teaching about the four DISC styles, opens the door to a whole new way of understanding others. This powerful and cost-effective assessment comes with the host of benefits to help you:
Increase Productivity
By understanding the behavioural styles of each individual you can then re-evaluate how the work required by the team can be completed more efficiently. This can be achieved by utilising each team member’s natural behavioural strengths.Understanding what causes stress in others – and how to alleviate this
Mental wellbeing plays such a key role in people’s ability to work effectively- Something that stress can eat away over time.
As a manager, having knowledge of what factors trigger stress in each behavioural style is very valuable and then to know how to reduce this could be the difference between above average productivity and non-performance.Increased self-awareness
One of the most important things an Extended DISC® behavioural report tells you is “the things a person likes to do and the things they try to avoid.”
The things they like to do will be done quickly and on time and the tasks that take more energy will not get completed in a timely manner. Once you know what these are you can find a way to manage them.Understanding the communication styles of yourself and others
People have different natural behavioural styles and drivers. Everyone, depending on their behavioural style, communicates differently. For example some people prefer directness, others like a lot of detail, some motivating communication whilst others prefer logic.Extended DISC® not only helps individuals learn about themselves, it also supplies vital information and practical tips to enable a greater level of understanding and communication between colleagues.
Understanding everyone’s role in a team
If individuals and managers understand each other’s behavioural styles and utilise this knowledge, the team will operate more effectively, be more productive and this should result in increased profitability.A better understanding of the culture of the workplace
While Extended DISC® provides a host of information on the individual, it also increases understanding as to how those individuals work together. This information can be used to understand how behavioural styles and drivers can influence the overall culture of an organisation and workplace.
Extended DISC® – an effective tool for effective teams and culture
If you want a positive work culture with excellent morale – and the opportunity to increase productivity and decrease cost – the Extended DISC® suite of tools is the effective tool you are looking for.
Get in touch today to learn more.
* Statistics courtesy of Hays Salary Guide 22|23
