Editor's Note: Talent Tools
July 28, 2008
July/August 2008
By Lorri Freifeld
The e-mail came on a Monday. I was to complete a DiSC personality profile for our upcoming management retreat. The last time I did a personality/career assessment, I was in eighth grade. Those results indicated a career as an auto mechanic was not in the cards for me. No foolin'. This time, the end result showed I'm a high C (no, not the drink), and secondary S.
That means I am "high in the Conscientiousness dimension and most likely work steadily within the existing circumstances to ensure quality and accuracy." I also "tend to be an analytical thinker who relishes asking, 'Why.'" Guilty as charged. As for the S, that stands for Steadiness and indicates a concern for others and a desire for a predictable environment where everyone gets along. No quibbles there.
It was particularly appropriate to be taking a personality assessment right before putting together this issue, which has a Talent Management theme and features an article on how companies are using DiSC and other models to figure out which employees go best with which job roles and how they all can best work together (see "Personalities & Performance"). In fact, a recent survey by human capital consulting company Right Management found that 22 percent of employees leave their organizations because of poor relationships with their managers.
Another reason employees jump ship is lack of recognition. The Right Management survey revealed that 21 percent of respondents said their contributions weren't valued. And while not everyone believes it's necessary to recognize a job well done, Gallup polls consistently have shown that employee engagement and recognition of good performance are linked (see "Good Job!" on Trainingmag.com).
Speaking of recognition, I'd like to congratulate Training's own Margery Weinstein, who recently was promoted to senior writer. A Training staffer since September 2005, Margery consistently has done an excellent job creating, writing, and editing content for the magazine, Inside Training e-newsletter, www.trainingmag.com, and the Training Day blog. Kudos, Margery!
She's also been on the road quite a bit, traveling first to McDonald's Hamburger University a few months ago, and now to Disney Institute to give us her take on the management training program operated by The Walt Disney Company. See "Managing the Magic" for the first part of her four-day Disney experience (Part 2 will appear in the September 2008 issue). In addition, Margery landed a Q&A with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Vice President Julie Hodges, who shares how the House of Mouse recruits, trains, retains, and continues to engage its workforce.
Now we'd like to engage you in applying to two of Training's upcoming awards programs. The first is Training's Technology in Action Awards. Visit www.TrainingMag.com/TechAward to complete the application by August 1. The second, of course, is the Training Top 125. Download the application at www.trainingmag.com/msg/training/top125/index.jsp.
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