Hire stronger teams – consider talent’s strengths
As the saying goes, a team is only as strong as each individual team member. The professional and soft skills each person has play an essential role in the collective. A key factor that many companies overlook when hiring teams, however, is to go beyond individuals’ expertise and consider overall strengths. Why does this matter?
There is an increased demand for diverse strengths in the event industry than ever before given the continuous changes we still face: the growth of digital events, the need for more sophisticated marketing and B2C marketing strategies, an emphasis on community building, and how to manage with uncertainty, among others.
It is now more important than ever for organizations to align needed strengths with the roles they are hiring for – not just the skills gap they aim to fill on their team(s). For this reason, many organizations are incorporating agile talent strategies to obtain the expertise and strengths they need, when and where they need them.
The power of focusing on strengths
Supporting strengths when hiring talent can have a lucrative impact on individual work and teamwork– especially when building agile teams.
When organizations identify talents’ strengths, they can better understand what motivates them and when they’re at their best. At Soundings, we call the sweet spot of where talents’ strengths meet expertise an individual’s “genius zone”; where they perform their best.
“People who use their strengths every day are three times more likely to report having an excellent quality of life, six times more likely to be engaged at work, 8% more productive and 15% less likely to quit their jobs.” – Gallup
We saw the power of focusing on strengths during the pandemic. New roles were being created and skills that didn’t exist before were in high demand. We identified who in our talent network would be the best fit for the new roles our clients needed by turning to their strengths and transferable skills. We successfully helped fill needed roles and the industry benefited overall from event professionals utilized their strengths to buffer change – and ultimately build a new normal.
How to identify talent’s strengths
We use the Gallup CliftonStrengths Assessment at Soundings to get to know each member of our 2,000+ talent network holistically. The assessment allows us to identify where talent can give the highest value – which goes beyond just their previous job experience and fitting a specific job description. This is a key ingredient to building successful teams because we believe the culture fit is as important as the skill sets required.
The CliftonStrengths Assessment is an integrative tool that allows us to work with our customers to design the best team for their needs.
“A strengths-based culture and strengths-based approach is a powerful differentiator that helps companies attract top talent, bring out the best performance in every employee and create organic business growth.” - Gallup
Leveraging strengths
We think of strengths like building blocks – tools that organizations can stack and rearrange to custom-build successful teams.
For example, say a team finds the right person for a role they need filled – but they don't have ALL the skills required. An agile staffing strategy focused on identifying strengths gives them the flexibility to plug-and-play the skills and strengths they need wherever they need them, by hiring contract/freelance workers to supplement the team.
Using an agile talent model in this way allows companies to unleash human potential, increase talent retention, and elevate products and services.
5 benefits of focusing on strengths
Here are 5 benefits that focusing on strengths can have on your company:
1) Improve performance
“Simply learning their strengths makes employees 7.8% more productive, and teams that focus on strengths every day have 12.5% greater productivity.” - Gallup
When talent is in a position where they can use their strengths, they are more likely to perform at a high level and be more engaged in their work. By extension, people who love what they do help make teams more successful. This is why companies find great benefit from bringing in freelance talent.
2) Increase job satisfaction
Strength-based leadership helps reduce attrition, according to a study by NCBI. Team members who are supported to use their strengths are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and stay with the company for a longer period. To allow full-time employees to fully focus on what they’re best at, companies can bring in freelance talent to support them with any strengths that are lacking.
3) Reduce turnover
It is estimated that the cost of losing an employee can be 1.5-2x the employee’s salary. Companies can reduce turnover and the costs associated with finding and training new employees by focusing on strengths, setting talent up to succeed in their role.
Prioritizing strengths also allows open conversation and provides room for employees to be vulnerable about where they need help. For example, employees are more likely to stay at a job where they don’t feel pushed to do things that they are not capable of.
4) Foster a positive company culture
Team members that are able to use their strengths are more likely to feel valued and appreciated, which can contribute to a positive company culture. Strong company cultures can increase revenue growth 4x.
5) Enhance teamwork
Teams that are composed of individuals with complementary strengths are more likely to work effectively together and achieve better results.
“Organizations in the top quartile of engagement have 4x greater earnings-per-share growth, better customer engagement, higher productivity, better retention, fewer accidents and higher profitability than their competitors.” - Gallup
To build cohesive teams, organizations must first identify what experience and hard skills are needed on a project team. Then, align the project team and assess any strength gaps or what roles require strengths that the team still needs.
Build a strong team
Focusing on strengths when hiring talent is important because it can lead to improved performance, increased job satisfaction, reduced turnover, a positive company culture, and enhanced teamwork.
If you’re ready to build a stronger, strengths-based team, apply here to win a free strengths assessment.
We’re also here to help you with your staffing needs. We combine individuals’ strengths, expertise, work style, personality, interests, and intent to grow to thoughtfully place them in positions where they’ll thrive.
Let’s connect to discuss how we can best support you!