People want purpose in their work
If you were building a house, would you just want it to stay upright for the next 12 months? Or would you think about how to build it so that it grows in value every year for the next couple of centuries?
Most recruitment is still carried out with the immediate needs of the team uppermost in the minds of the recruiting managers. When a new accountant or engineer is needed, there is a well-worn path to follow: get some résumés, find a likeable person, give them a quick psychometric test and then make a decision. Job done. Gap filled.
But that could be the equivalent of fitting skyscraper windows onto a timber-framed house. It’s hardly an elegant solution and, long-term, the materials just won’t work together. It’s not built to last, it’s built to fail.
And the evidence is overwhelming that our traditional recruitment processes are not fit for purpose. 88% of employees do not have passion for their work, says Officevibe, the employee research firm. 80% of us hate our jobs says the Deloitte Shift Index. 26% are actively disengaged, says Dale Carnegie, while a further 45% are simply ‘not engaged’.
It’s a sorry state of affairs. And it’s costing us a ton of money.
But new scientific research in businesses is providing answers to the problem. Many of us are highly skilled at what we do. But the research shows our hearts are not in our jobs for this reason: our skills are often not aligned with our deep-seated natural strengths and talents. It appears that our natural talent, which often goes ignored or undiscovered, is far more important to our job and career satisfaction than we ever realized. Discovering it doesn’t mean that we must embark on a whole new career and change employer, however. It just means that we need to put our skills to work in the right way. We need to play to our strengths and put our skills at the service of our talents.
How do I discover what my talents are?
The answer lies in Method Teaming which is the leading exponent of a new branch of science called teaming science. Method Teaming can reveal our individual talents and map them. Literally, you can read your talent on a sheet of paper and find out who you are. For many, it’s like one of those moments when someone who was blind is able to see for the first time. It’s a revelation more exciting than winning the lottery.
Once you know what direction your talent wants to take you, you can start to look for roles where all your training and skills can be used in a satisfying way. As previously said, that doesn’t mean you have to start a new profession. It means that your profession can make a new start.
And if you’re a team leader or manager you can use Method Teaming science to build your team knowing that each individual will be doing the job their heart wants them to, not just their head. That’s when your employee engagement ratings starting climbing through the 80s.
Teaming science is so powerful that it is rapidly becoming the new tool that firms use to compete for competitive advantage. It is taking over from IT, process re-engineering, CRM and the others. In a world where the talent pool is shrinking because of the falling birthrate in the West, teaming science is the only enabler that can deliver dramatically higher productivity from the same number of staff.
But there’s an even better reason to get involved in Method Teaming. It’s to do with people and the teams they work in. Teaming science will make them happier at their work and, maybe for the first time ever, give them the sense that they are working out the purpose for which they were born. When that happens, you’ve solved the retention problem. Is that a good enough reason to get involved?
www.methodteaming.com
“Method Teaming doesn’t mean you have to start a new profession. It means that your profession can make a new start.”
