Employees want:
• To train others in areas in which they themselves have expertise.
“Anything”…”Able to help with anything”…”I am always developing here, Angela tasked us all to get payments from clients, to cover for each other, to update our CRM and our finance database, and HR administration, I really like getting all these jobs, and doing the visas, I am open to new work”…
These were very encouraging answers in the sense that people are willing to take on anything they can or are offered, to help the company. I made a note on each of them for the future and their availability and attitude.
Employees want:
• To help the company in any way they can, as needed.
“Operations manual and systems review and overhaul”…
A perceptible pattern began to develop, based on this and previous responses, with this person, who was a good Director – but also had obvious interests in all things IT and systems-related. This was good to know and might be useful.
Employees want:
• To help in areas in which they have a personal interest.
“Deciding who gets hired – working with the internal recruitment process”…”Screen candidates for internal Staffwell positions”…
For me, this was a great answer as our success really depends on who we have on our team, whether they fit in and if they can perform beyond expectations in their role. The interview process is crucial to getting it right most of the time.
I was very happy to hear that some of our team members really wanted to help ensure that we hire only the best people possible.
Employees want:
• To be directly involved in the internal recruitment process and decisions on who gets hired into the team; and
• Only the very best people to be hired.
“All is good, would be interested in my growth plan”…”Should an opportunity arise in the future to be Commercial Director or General Director, I would welcome the challenge with open arms. You are one of the few people in my career that I have not been able to convince that this could be a good idea. I am not sure why and would welcome your thoughts”…”Assist the Consultants so that I can start learning that job and eventually move into it myself”…
Within this topic, the patterns are also clear – as they have been touched on in earlier questions: two people feel they are ready to be promoted and one is gearing up for it. That is good and good to know.
Timing has a lot to do with promotions. First, there has to be a vacancy or a need for a position to be created. Then, in order for there to be a promotion from within the company, there have to be people considered to be suitable, proven, and capable.
I felt that all three of these people were probably ready and deserving, so I made notes on all of them to later prompt me into looking into potential promotions for them.
Employees want:
• To grow professionally and move up within the company; and
• To be rewarded for good work and loyalty.
“Harder to sell now but would be willing to make analysis on the market for PR [Public Relations] and create analytical services for clients”…”I can provide great analysis, I am a great chess player”…
Once again, this was very useful information as PR was one of our new focus areas.
I also loved learning that one of our top Consultants was a great chess player. I grew up learning and playing board games, including chess, so I immediately wanted to play her (although I knew she would likely crush me). This particular person was one of our best producing Consultants: extremely focused, serious, and quietly competitive. I do not think it would harm us to consider hiring other avid chess players, as they, hopefully, will possess the same traits as the chess-playing Consultant we have now.
Learning about her hobby was a catalyst in my desire to learn about everyone’s hobbies at some point in the future.
Employees want:
• To use their untapped skills.
“Be a part of the management team to create new services if the market needs it”…”I would like to be involved in out-placement or new services”…
Anything new that would, or could potentially, be successful is exciting to me, which made it easy for me to understand their desires. However, what may be fun to create, may not always be successful or profitable for the company. I acknowledged their interest at the time and noted that they may be useful, where appropriate, in the future.
Employees want:
• To help with the creation and roll-out of new services.
“I have already taken on Pharma, but also KAM – more client work, but not sales”…”KAM for some companies – to provide more services to the company and to be a Director for some clients”…”KAM role, to work with clients directly, but does not want to do BD”…”BD, client work as an add-on, but not cold calling, but more client management, sometimes there are misunderstandings between the Director, client and the Consultant, so there are more communications between the client and the Director instead of the Consultant and the client”…
Here we go again: the desire to have Key Account Management without having to take on cold calling/sales responsibilities. As mentioned before, this slightly conflicted with our operational structure. However, at the time it seemed, on the surface, relatively easy to re-configure such a structure so that it would benefit all. This issue and how to make it happen with a balanced solution really sent my mind racing.
Without question, the team expressed a huge demand to create the KAM role, indicating to me how important an issue it was for them. So much so, that not only did I have to just acknowledge this desire but also really spend energy on what the specifics of the role would be and when it would be created and implemented. This was something to work on, and carefully decide upon, in order not to undermine the incumbent structure’s advantages but, also, appease the demands of the employees.
Employees want:
• To give clients the best service they can;
• To have a maximum share in the most interesting parts of the job; and
• To grow and develop.
“Satisfied right now, but in future to share experiences with new hires, to be a team leader motivating them”…”Would like to be a team leader, teach new team members, mentor and then be responsible for them”…”I think we do not need team leaders, only mentors”…”Increase activity of Consultants, leading them, coming up with better processes for them and to be more professional”…
Here is another pattern that was readily identified and is easy to implement. I do believe this would be highly beneficial for the team and company.
I am really impressed with the number of employees that want to train and mentor other staff members. To me it shows real team spirit and willingness, with selfless desire, to want to help others.
In most sales organizations, including ours, team members are always competing for the top spots, the highest numbers and the best results (KPIs). The replies to