What Does Employee Disengagement Cost You?
By Juan Kingsbury, TTI Solutions Specialist Manager
In Jim Haudan’s book “The Art of Engagement,” a neighbor describes his understanding of engagement based on a brief experience with their two guests at a Major League Baseball game. These guests simply wanted “hot dogs” just as the biggest game in the Cleveland [...]

For many organizations it is critical that top management focus on re-engaging their employees.  The past five or six years of negative attitudes have taken their toll on our employees.
The workforce has been bombarded by the media with many value-based issues, such as healthcare, taxes, the war in Iraq, unemployment, the recession, etc., etc.  These [...]

Total Person Analysis
Today’s economy is challenging each and every organization to take a deeper look at its employees and what motivates them.  But how do you truly measure the total person?
Many companies have one or two ways to measure what a person brings to the job.  The fact of the matter is that people are [...]

For the last four years, we have been sending pre-screened and pre-qualified candidates to be interviewed for jobs.  The evidence is clear; hiring managers do not understand talent when they see it.

There are a lot of articles and books about talent, but they really don’t get specific enough to talk about superior performers.  [...]

More and more companies are measuring soft skills in their work force and evaluating their impact on performance. Only recently do we have evidence that soft skills may be age- and occupation-related.  This is based on four different studies.  The first two studies were conducted in the fall of 2008.  Nine hundred college freshmen from [...]

First of all, you’re not alone! However, the question remains: Why are we unable to make great hiring decisions? The answer is simple: BIAS. Attracting candidates is easy today. Screening out all of the unqualified to discover a superior performer is the real challenge. This challenge also means we must look at the job objectively [...]

“Commitment” and “accountability” are two words that are sure to pique the interest of anyone in human capital management. But when asked, most managers and employees don’t know for what each position is accountable and therefore lack commitment within the team. Lack of commitment can lead to job confusion, dissatisfaction and eventually, disengagement.

Recent studies [...]

Why You Deserve a Customized Approach

Think back to the last time you or someone you know visited the doctor with an ache, pain or some kind of unusual symptom. What did the doctor do to determine the cause and treatment of the problem?

Just like doctors who administer several tests, make many observations and take typical vitals before determining a prognosis, we too must remember that there is not just one assessment that will work for every situation and reveal all the details you need to know. Instead, we need to be able to choose from a variety of assessments to find the best combination. Let’s face it. Not every development, selection or team-building situation is alike. You need different solutions for hiring an executive than you do a receptionist, and you need something different for leadership development than you do for sales development. Each specific situation deserves a customized approach to assessment solutions – one where you can choose which assessments to administer before determining a prognosis.

How Awareness and Communication Improve Team Dynamics

In Patrick Lencioni’s best-selling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, he tells a tale of a firm’s executive team struggling with utter dysfunction. Ineffective communication, multiple egos, fear, office politics and judgmental attitudes were all contributing to the absence of dynamics and poor performance.

Does this sound familiar to you?
Have you experienced a dysfunctional team in your career?

If yes, you are not alone. Most everyone has either been a part of, observed or even faced the challenge of leading a dysfunctional team like the one Lencioni describes. In fact, he says, “Teams, because they are made up of imperfect human beings, are inherently dysfunctional.”

Lencioni’s interrelated model of team dysfunction outlines five areas that prevent success in every team:
• Absence of trust
• Fear of conflict
• Lack of commitment
• Avoidance of accountability
• Inattention to results

But don’t be discouraged. There is hope for all of us experiencing a dysfunctional team. As Lencioni states, “In fact, team building is both possible and remarkably simple. But is also painful.” TTI strongly believes in two fundamental team building basics that help teams overcome each of these dysfunctions: awareness and communication. [Read More]

How It Heightens Disengagement and Costs You Millions

Dysfunction in a team will usually result in poor performance and inadequate productivity, but the effects of team dysfunctions on the employees themselves just might be far more serious and much more costly.

When a team becomes dysfunctional you can expect disengagement to follow as individuals may lose sight of team goals, not understand their role in the team and wait for direction to make any progress. Statistics say that the average employee is disengaged two hours each day. Could dysfunctional teams be contributing to disengagement in your organization? If so, just how does it affect your bottom-line? [Read More]