October 2009 Newsletter

Job Dissatisfaction Part 2: Personal Appreciation and An Environment of Hope and Involvement

(A look at why workers are dissatisfied and what to do about it)

Last month we sent you to an article from Reuters.com and we also sent you a poll question that opened the discussion about workplace dissatisfaction. I promised you some ideas for what you can do about dissatisfied workers. Don't you love the way that sounds? Dissatisfied workers...sounds like their problem, right? Well it is and it isn't. Confused?

To begin, here are some questions and answers to make sense of this challenge.

• Why do workers feel dissatisfied?
• From our own experience in this work, we have to conclude that people feel under: Under appreciated, underutilized, underprepared for the future and generally underemployed. We are not talking about the bad performers here. These are the good folks who give their time and effort every day. The bad actors deserve their own article at some point. All of the most reliable resources agree.

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Mental Models

After reading Ralph's latest article, I found myself pondering many things. During the last economic growth wave, the struggle was to not only retain employees but to retain the most talented employees. As a young manager I remember a day when I left an interview with an employment candidate, whom I thought was dressed inappropriately. As I walked away I thought, "Why would I hire someone dressed like that? Do people really think they can wear ratty old jeans to an interview?" As I moved to the next interview and the next, I struggled to maintain staff levels and customer needs. As the organization grew it became apparent that turnover was an issue. So I began an interviewing initiative where the questions were specific to the job's needs based on skills and behaviors. Over time turnover began to decline and the struggle to maintain staffing levels slowed. The next problem that I asked myself was "Why do they not get it" or "These kids today are lazy and have no work ethic!" I learned that I had to ask more questions in order to "get it" myself and that most folks do not want to fail, they just have different approaches to doing their jobs.

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Fear Around Diagnostics

Using diagnostics in an organization is a great way to find out what problems exist within it that need to be addressed. They can also help to see differences of opinions within a company's workforce and enable everyone to get on the same page. Once these issues are diagnosed it makes it a lot easier to make changes and move forward. So if organizational diagnostics are so great why don't more companies make use of them? As Priority Learning's web developer I have helped them administer many diagnostics online. In many cases I get a chance to meet members of the organization and answer questions and concerns about the diagnostic process. I've found that there tends to be a certain amount of fear associated with the idea of taking a diagnostic. I'm using my article this month to address some of the common fears about taking diagnostics in general and also some fears specifically centered on taking diagnostics online.

Fear of the Results
It seems as if some organizations are hesitant to administer a diagnostic because they are fearful of what they might find out. While it is true that the results may indicate some problem areas within the organization, not finding out about them doesn't mean they don't exist and in finding out what the problem areas are, you then have the power to do something about it. In many cases the diagnostic itself will create a sense of goodwill among employees, as they will see that the organization is taking steps to make positive changes.

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Results of the last few Polls from our website

First, we at Priority Learning want to thank everyone who has taken the few seconds to complete our poll questions since July, 2009. The numbers of people responding have been from 82 to over 100.

July's Poll Question Results:
Many people believe that there are signs that the recession could be improving. If the economy were to rebound tomorrow, how prepared would your organization be to meet the demands? B and C tied: Somewhat prepared and Not prepared.

August's Poll Question Results:
What has been hardest to manage during this recent recession? C won: Doing more with less.

September's Poll Question Results:
Which of the statements below best describe how bad behavior is handled at your workplace? D won: D) Bad behavior is not tolerated and people who behave badly need to be accountable.

October's Poll Question Results:
What is the most effective way to become a great trainer/facilitator for your organization? We are pleased that B is in the lead: Learn from external experts (vendor example: Priority Learning). This poll is still open, click here to participate if you haven't already done so.

On another note, I'm keeping "The Cost of Bad Behavior" on our recommended book for this month in the hopes that people will have a chance to read it soon. We care about all of you and your organizations and we think this book will help all organizations save tons of money down the road!