At Zircon, Dr Amanda Potter and her team of Occupational Psychologists have been researching the importance of values on personal and business success. The Zircon team acknowledge that there is a need for mutual values between the organisation and its employees in order to achieve Cultural Fit. Values often reflect a person’s sense of what is “right or wrong”, and can impact upon their attitude and behaviour, including how a person interacts with others in their environment.

A press release of particular interest to the Zircon team was published by the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) in which they state the importance of values on the perspectives of organisations and their employees.

The CIPD stated that over half (52% of 2000 employees) agree that the values of the organisation positively influence their behaviour at work. However, it appears employees believe different rules exist depending upon the sector of the company, and they believe this can result in negativity among employees. Therefore, the CIPD purports that consistency and accountability must be acknowledged between all levels of any organisation in order to maintain a positive view for employees.

In addition, it is been reported that only 6 out of 10 (58%) employees feel their personal values are matched to the organisation they are working for. This suggests that recruitment stages within businesses are failing to match personal and organisational values, resulting in a disconnected workforce.

Peter Cheese, CEO of CIPD, states that “Now more than ever, organisational values should be at the forefront of leaders minds. At the heart of an organisations culture has to be a set of agreed values that resonate with employees at all levels from the board to the front line in order to provide a template for the behaviours and standards expected”

Claire McCartney, Research adviser at the CIPD, also supports this, stating “HR Professionals have a key role to play in ensuring that values personally resonate with employees… integrating values into people management processes and the way people do their jobs will also help to ensure values matter. Our evidence shows that there is currently a disconnect between business values and the personal values of employees. This imbalance needs to be urgently addressed if we are to really see a new era of improved business culture.”

In Zircon we believe that in order for a business to be successful they need to match personal values to the values of the organisation. In other words there needs to be Cultural Fit. This should be implemented across all levels in the company to ensure a cohesive and consistent work environment.

Our research concurs with this and we have found that values are an important aspect of any work environment and can drastically influence behaviour, motivation and performance. This is particularly the case if employees personal values are not comparable to the core values of their organisation.

Zircon are currently creating a new talent product “ZinergyTM” that provides a library of Values, Capabilities and Strengths for assessment and development. ZinergyTM takes a blended approach to talent assessment, development, succession planning and engagement. For more information, please contact Dr Amanda Potter amanda.potter@zircon-mc.co.uk

References
Askew, K. Blevin, R. Garrett, K. (2012, November). Cipd. cipd.co.uk. Retrived March 28 2013, from http://www.cipd.co.uk/pressoffice/press-releases/default.aspx.

The Zircon team of Business Psychologists are embarking on a new piece of research looking at the challenges and changes facing HR and Talent Directors in 2013 and beyond.

In particular we are interested in understanding the Macro and Micro strategic challenges, the business response and leadership requirements to deliver these challenges.

To this end we are interviewing 50 HR Directors and Talent Directors from a range of global and national organisations to identify potential patterns and themes.

So far we have interviewed 30 of our target of 50 HR & Talent Directors from well recognised brands including: HSBC, BP, Anglo American, Inchcape, Barclays, Direct Line Group and others. However we would like to invite another 20 more HR & Talent Directors to be interviewed either face to face or by telephone for 1 hour.

If you are a senior HR or Talent Leader and you are interested in being interviewed please contact Dr. Amanda Potter on 01737 555862 or email amanda.potter@zircon-mc.co.uk to arrange a confidential 1 hour meeting.

As a thank you for your contribution Zircon will give you free access to the report that will be published later this year.

Dr Amanda Potter of Zircon, recently presented the findings of the extensive research into FTSE100/Fortune500 organisations which reveals that talent management strategies are not being well enough communicated throughout larger organisations and that competencies alone are no longer enough to make effective hiring, succession planning and development decisions.

Key findings:

•27% or organisations have moved from competencies to capabilities in the last three years
•73% are moving to a strengths based approach
•76% publish their corporate values online
•50% measure values and cultural fit

This session presented detailed findings of the research and the implications for those involved in talent assessment/talent management/talent development

To watch a video of this presentation, please click below to play

At Zircon we strongly believe in the wealth of experience that internships and work experience placements can bring to the future careers of students which is why we welcome students into our environment as much as we can. Not only does it help the students to affirm their career choices but they can also bring diversity into our workplace which we always welcome.

In The Times today Friday 3rd May there was an article stating that Universities are refusing to advertise internships and work experience places where the employer does not pay for the placement and may even start to name and shame companies that do.

At Zircon we strongly agree with this article as it is not viable to expect anyone to work for nothing due to rising living costs and also for the value that interns can bring to the workplace. Zircon are pleased to pay for the hard work of our interns and for all expenses of work placements as we feel that not only are they here to gain valuable experience from us, but also their hard work is truly valued by Zircon.

Written by Sarah Green, Project Coordinator

After completing my degree in Psychology with Sport Science at University of Exeter, I set myself the challenge of securing an internship or work experience with practicing Psychologists to support my Occupational Psychology Masters applications for September 2013. I decided to research as many companies as possible, making contact to each, specifying my ambition to become an Occupational Psychologist and my interest in the unique service they offer.

When I was contacted by Zircon with the offer of a telephone interview with Sarah Linton and Katie Bissell I was absolutely delighted, and shocked at the prospect. This was my first telephone interview; therefore my excitement for the opportunity was accompanied with apprehension regarding the interview itself. To my surprise, the interview was a success and I was put forward for a second interview which fortunately had the same outcome. I was offered an invaluable opportunity of a 2 and a half week work placement with Zircon which I was absolutely astounded by; I could not believe I had finally achieved what I had set out to do, especially with such a reputable organisation, and was sure the experience would affirm my desire to work as an Occupational Psychologist.

Being unfamiliar with the region of Surrey, I was not only anxious about starting my work placement but also about ensuring I knew where to go and that I arrived on time! I felt a sense of relief arriving early on my first day, which was enhanced by the lovely welcome I received when I entered the office. I immediately felt like part of the team and was given an excellent introduction to Zircon by Amanda who was extremely informative and enthusiastic.

I could not wait to get started and promptly proceeded to tackle the first task of a list I had been presented with. I felt an immediate sense of value when asked to proof the ‘Technical Manual’ of a brand new Zircon product, and just could not believe how much responsibility I had been given in such a short space of time! One thing I really remember from my first day is how impressed I was with Zircon’s versatile approach to business and how they have taken it in their stride to adapt to the current climate. I could not wait to see what day 2 (and the rest) had to offer!

My following days certainly exceeded expectation. I continued to develop aspects of the new product, created survey items for a new assessment tool, proofed assessment reports, created blogs on current research articles for the website, developed user guides for large client projects, and much more. Additionally, I was given the opportunity of attending the CIPD HRD conference in London where Amanda gave a brilliant presentation detailing the future of talent management. This was a particularly insightful experience, and really complemented my prior learning over the past few weeks.

I really am extremely grateful to everyone at Zircon for providing me with such brilliant, professional experience. I honestly cannot believe how much I have learnt, and really did not think it was possible to do so much in such a short space of time. I can definitely confirm that this is the career path for me, and would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Zircon team for their generous advice and assistance throughout the duration of my placement. I hope I will be back to work with you all again in the future!

By Jade Bennett, Trainee Business Psychologist, April 2013

Within Zircon, Dr Amanda Potter and her team of Occupational Psychologists are finding that more and more organisations are looking to adopt a values or strengths-based recruitment process. We are often asked, “How can we assess Cultural Fit?” and “Does adopting a strengths-based or values-based approach to selection mean we have to lose our competency framework?”

In answer to the first question “How can we assess Cultural Fit?” we believe it is important to assess values as part of the overall assessment process. Our talent model suggests that you assess: Values, Aspirations, Cognitive and Emotional Capability, Strengths and Competencies.
In answer to the second question, “Does adopting a strengths-based or values-based approach to selection mean we have to lose our competency framework?” we agree with colleagues from ‘Capp’ (the Strengths organisation) that the answer is no, absolutely not. We believe that Strengths and Competencies should complement each other and can inform the hiring organisation about the candidate from two different perspectives.

What’s the difference between a Strength, a Value and a Competency?

According to the experts at Capp, Strengths are the things that we do well and find energising. We may use our Strengths to a greater or lesser extent – sometimes without even realising that we are using them. At Zircon, we believe Values are the extent to which a candidate shares the same Values as the organisation. In comparison, a competency typically examines adequacy for a position. As a result, competencies risk getting ‘good enough’ rather than ‘high performing’.

Competencies are everyday practice

In many businesses, competency frameworks have been used to define the types of skills and attributes that employees are required to demonstrate. The intention of a competency framework was to define high performance consistently across the organisation. Unfortunately, this is not consistent in practice. Recent research supports the assessment of Capabilities instead, being more robust and measurable compared to competencies, providing a specific and distinct measure of behaviour, skill and knowledge required to be successful at various levels of an organisation.

Competencies are a starting point, but…

At Zircon, we believe that by combining Values, Capabilities and Strengths you will have a much more rounded and valid perspective of the individual.

1. Competence not excellence – assessing and developing employees in line with a set of company-wide competencies often leads to average behaviour rather than high performance or high potential behaviour.
2. Competence not motivation or aspiration – it is straightforward to assess competence, but harder to assess genuine energy, aspiration and motivation.
3. All talk, no action – in order to demonstrate core competencies at interview and at work, employees learn the competency catchphrases and recite them as needed. Indeed, Graduates are trained how to succeed in competency interviews.
4. Lack of individuality – being assessed for the same competencies across all roles means that candidates look very similar and cannot be properly differentiated.
5. Competency interviews rely on the past – people can be penalised if they do not have the necessary experience, even if they have the ability. As a result, competency interviews can miss future potential. We prefer a blended approach assessing competencies, strengths, values, aspirations and potential.

Integrating your Values, Capabilities and Strengths Framework

There are a number of benefits from using a combined assessment approach – measuring Values, Capabilities and Strengths. These include:

1. Future proof – both strengths and value assessments are not constrained by what people have done before, they are ideally suited for assessing people for the future in times of change.
2. Candidate differentiation – by conducting strength and values interviews, hiring managers are able to really get to know the person, rather than only hearing competency based answers.
3. Increased granularity – strengths and values assessments give a level of complexity and insight into the candidate that competencies alone just cannot reach.
4. Efficient and effective – strengths assessments tie into the specific requirements of the role, providing realistic job previews and avoiding generic questions that do not predict performance. Values assessments assess a broader fit with the organisational culture and climate.
5. Creating a shared language – employees celebrate their strengths as their personal characteristics, sharing them with pride, as distinct from the impersonal organisational language of competencies.
6. Increased diversity – building on people’s Strengths as well as their Capabilities, allows organisations to make the most of ‘spiky profiles’, while still ensuring that people meet the minimum requirements that are needed for the role.

Zircon are currently creating a new talent product “ZinergyTM” that provides a library of Values, Capabilities and Strengths for assessment and development. Zinergy takes a blended approach to talent assessment, development, succession planning and engagement. For more information, please contact Dr Amanda Potter amanda.potter@zircon-mc.co.uk.

Source:
Gurpal Minhas. The Capp Blog: Strengths OR Competencies – or – Strengths AND Competencies? May 2012.

Are positive people more successful or are successful people more positive?

Within Zircon we work with our clients to identify the critical success factors and differentiators of success for their employees. When discussing success, it is often presumed that success in life stimulates the onset of positivity and happiness; however a recent article written in the Appreciating Change Blog (Lewis, 2013) questioned whether being positive and happy creates success rather than success creating happiness.

Individuals whom experience ‘happiness’ report frequent positive emotions of joy, interest and pride, whilst reporting negative emotions of sadness, anxiety and anger less regularly. Research has found ‘happy people’ demonstrate a 3:1 ratio of time spent in positive compared to negative moods, but why is this so? One possibility is these individuals are more sensitive to rewards within their environment therefore feel more frequent positive emotions.

Benefits of ‘happiness’ or positivity include thinking, feeling and acting in ways which boost resourcefulness and increase the likelihood of reaching our goals. These positive emotions enhance one’s perspective of life, thereby increase time spent socialising, learning new skills, relaxing and conserving energy, and may encourage the sorting of new goals or projects. From an extensive review of 255 papers (Lyubomirksy et al, 2005), ‘feeling good’ was found to be associated with confidence, optimism, feeling capable and sociable, having physical wellbeing and effectively coping with stress and challenges. On the other hand, negative mood states are more likely to promote ‘barrier behaviours’, including the protection of existing resources and the avoidance of being hurt.

Clearly, the benefits of ‘happiness’ and positivity are infinite, but how does this influence success? Lyubomirksy et al (2005) found numerous links, including happy people being more successful at work, in their relationships, experience better health, and set higher goals for themselves. On the basis of this article, it seems most of us could benefit from a bit of positivity and ‘happiness’ in our lives, being a worthwhile investment for both us and our organisation.

The recent Zircon research is looking at the impact of positivity, strengths and values at work. For more information please contact Dr Amanda Potter on 01737 555 862.

Written by Jade Bennett, Trainee Business Psychologist.
Source: http://www.appreciatingchange.co.uk/blog/?p=822

How can organisations sell the importance of TM to their shareholders when they do not measure the financial impact of their TM strategy?

Here is the next part of this series of blogs summarising our 2012 findings into the Future of Talent Management.

Whilst the review and assessment of TM strategies are recognised as important few organisations measure the ROI. Indeed, only 5% of Leaders said their organisation had a valid and reliable measure of return on investment (ROI) of their TM practices. 44% say they never measure the ROI of their TM practices, 26% are not sure and 25% have a process but do not consistently use it. In addition to this only 2% consistently assess the impact of TM strategy on Total Shareholder Return (TSR) with 53% reporting it is not assessed at all, 25% being unsure, 14% reporting it not applicable and the remaining 6% reporting it being assessed on some strategies.

Despite this some organisations, according to the qualitative analysis, did recognise the importance of regular review and assessment of talent as part of their TM strategy.

The implication of these results is that TM will not be seen as valuable in an organisation if Leaders do not show how it is related to the bottom line. In addition, when budgets are squeezed, TM initiatives are more likely to be pulled as their value is not clear to the organisation or its Shareholders.

Look out next week for: What does the future look like? Part 3 Organisations measure the engagement of their employees.

For further information please contact: Dr Amanda Potter 01737 555 862. amanda.potter@zircon-mc.co.uk Reference: Talent Management. Copyright © 2012 Zircon Management Consulting Limited. All rights reserved

An article, recently written in the Harvard Business Review (Schwartz, 2012) addressed the importance of stress and pressure, in order to encourage development and enable individuals to reach their ultimate potential. As Business Psychologists and HR leaders at Zircon Management Consulting, we began to consider how this idea fits with our ways of working and what we promote as a business.

The article by Schwartz was in fact referring to a type of positive stress, known as ‘Eustress’ and is defined by Richard Lazarus (1974) as stress that is healthy, or stress which gives a sense of fulfillment or other positive feelings.

At Zircon we recognise the importance of engaging, stretching and developing employees, in order to deliver benefits to both the individual and the organisation. Coaching is a useful way of achieving this and it is something we promote at all levels of the organisation, not just for Senior Leaders or Executives. During coaching we aim to encourage the individual to step outside of their comfort zone and accept stretching work assignments, in order to build up their exposure and experience to situations they might find difficult or stressful. Whilst we recognise that stretching yourself, requires a degree of stress and pressure for the individual, we also recognise that too much stress can lead to an unhealthy and unproductive state. We use the following model to demonstrate this:

This model is based upon a well known psychological theory, known as the ‘Yerkes and Dodson Law’ which demonstrates the importance of applying appropriate levels of pressure, which is different for each individual. The graph is a visual representation of the theory:

Therefore low arousal or stress is likely to produce low performance, but as the amount of stress increases upon an individual the level of performance increases significantly. However, if too much pressure is applied, it becomes counterproductive and performance drops. Therefore there is an optimum zone for performance – the ‘stretch’ zone.

At Zircon Management Consulting we combine our sound psychological knowledge, with our business acumen, in order to support organisations to invest in and develop high potential talent and future leaders. If you would like to speak with us about how we could support you with this, please do not hesitate to contact Dr Amanda Potter at amanda.potter@zircon-mc.co.uk

Source:
Harvard Business Review. (2012). http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2012/04/stress-is-not-your-enemy.html?awid=9128776728620117615-3271>