Are your employees using their strengths?
All of us perform better when we are using our strengths. Some of those strengths might be unique to the individual and some might be very similar to what others in the organization exhibit.
Regardless of the level of uniqueness, when we are using our strengths we are more engaged, productive, and more open to ways to increase those strengths.
A Harvard Business Reviewstudy confirms that playing to employee strengths benefits business objectives. Workgroups that received a “strengths intervention” saw a 10 to 19 percent boost in sales, a 14 to 29 percent increase in profit and a 22 to 59 percent decrease in safety incidents.¹
So, if identifying someone’s strengths is so important, how do we do it? First, start by identifying those strengths needed to achieve outstanding performance. Communication skills, planning ability, problem solving, ability to handle stressful situations, are a few of the strengths that might be needed.
The first step in the identification process is to ask the employee. In what situations do they feel they are at their best and fully energized? What tasks do they enjoy doing? What task accomplishment do they feel comes naturally to them? Another possibility is for the employee to take an assessment. Here’s a warning: they don’t all measure strengths! A third source could be other employees or mentors.
Once theses strength are identified, put the employee in the work situation that needs these traits and watch the employee’s performance soar.
You may want our help.
At Mobius Vendor Partners, our Employee Experience – EX Consulting – team has the expertise and software to help you identify employee strengths, and make sure your employees are equipped with the materials and tools to make them productive.