The consequences of working and taking action on the go without having a well-defined roadmap can be disastrous and extremely costly for any business. This is accentuated more when there is no action plan, nor a model to enhance the most precious value of any company, which is its human talent and the relationships that at the end of the day are what make the competitive difference.
A real situation
An insurance company was undergoing a major restructuring. Its employees processed complaints with difficult deadlines for resolution.
From the beginning, it was evident that the organization had serious morale problems. In an attempt to threaten the demotivation of employees, the company organized a picnic. In the circumstances of the company, the field trip had little assistance. During the departure, the few employees who introduced each other were encouraged to integrate and thus become familiar with their colleagues. The reality was very different from the one desired, as with great concern the organizers of the event realized that most of the participants preferred to take their food to their cars to eat alone. Wow… that must have hurt!
The root of the problem
As tends to happen in many companies, the causes of this company's problems are aspects that are so well known, but very poorly managed, such as having unclear objectives, not knowing how to handle different behavioral roles among staff, and lack of knowledge on the part of of employees about their own styles of behavior and communication. However, a less common factor was also complicating the lives of employees: fear of change. The workers were in absolute denial about the company's restructuring and how it could affect them.
The workers showed their annoyance, expressing things like: "I don't have to hear any of that." People simply resisted a change that brought them out of their comfort zone, and when they entered the restructuring, they were furious.
A model to follow
Now, it is very easy to say what does not work, but how can a company guarantee that its human resources enhance its talent, work as a team effectively with the same goal in mind and together they are more productive and gain competitiveness?
For this there is no other than having a well defined model and an action plan. But it must be a proven model, that works painlessly and effectively. A model that in a few minutes shows us a road map of what and how to do to enhance the personal behavior and interpersonal communication skills of each member employed, which leads to solid teamwork.
To solve the problem in the insurance company in our case, a model known as DiSC was used.
DiSC is a highly innovative and effective diagnostic test. A high impact tool that leads to the achievement of an effective work environment, assertive management and optimal development of human talent, ensuring effective results in relation to competitiveness, sustainability and profitability in the company.
The enhancing and transforming effect
Employees were introduced to the DiSC model. The revelations provided by DiSC were extraordinary, and yet even more important was that employees were now able to use a common language for effective teamwork and in a productive environment. In this way, each employee was seen as a vital member of a united team, not as a barrier.
DiSC's different instruments and tools expanded employee perceptions. Employees understood more clearly their own motivations and behaviors, identifying the possible causes of the lack of communication between them. In fact, some of the participants took the DiSC training so seriously that they even applied their new knowledge to their personal lives, learning to resolve conflicts with their spouses, children, and friends.
In conclusion
As a result of improved communication and increased teamwork, conflict and stress in the organization decreased significantly. And more importantly, worker morale improved markedly. The workers finally saw each other as valuable colleagues rather than obstacles. They saw the need for effective communication and teamwork, which highly impact better performance and increased competitiveness.
