Knowing what to do can be so hard. Those of us in service professions sometimes long for those comforting days when we used to have a single boss to tell us what to do next. To answer the question, we carried out a survey; to ask our multitude of bosses what do they want help with. We called 750 of our clients and partners and collated their views, here's what's on their minds:-
- Succession Planning
- Staff Retention
- Training and Development
- Performance Management / Reward and Recognition
Initially these results came as a surprise, particularly the retention issue. But the overall pattern appears consistent with the economic cycle we're going through. During 2009 many companies were forced to cut costs, and managers dismissed the highest paid staff. Those staff, typically, who were more senior in the organisation. As a result, a vacuum was left, requiring the development and promotion of more junior staff to take over the responsibilities that were uncovered.
Clearly, the priority is on getting more results out of fewer and more junior staff, in order to ride out the economic downturn and position the organisation for future growth. Interestingly, during the time since we carried out the survey, the sorts of projects we're being asked to do for our clients’ supports the same picture.
In an environment as demanding as the current one, getting accurate data about what works and what doesn't is vitally important. We take great pleasure in supporting our clients to extract more performance from the human capital they already possess, doing so in a wholesome and sustainable way that is in harmony with people's innately creative nature.
By John Bower, Human Potential (HK), Master Distributor of Harrison Assessments
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John Bower is the founder of Principal of Human Potential (HK) Ltd - introducing Harrison Assessments technology to Hong Kong and China and becoming the largest Distributor of the technology in Asia.
