Unleash the Full Potential of Your Team in 2018
10th January 2018
We enter into this New Year with Brexit, homelessness, Trump, immigration, world peace and climate change still very much on the agenda. We can’t control these directly but we can have an impact. For me this is a time to reflect on what’s important and re-align with the values I believe in and how I can integrate these into our business, control the things I can control and provide the raw material for the work environment I want to create with my team.
As managing director of a multi- award winning Recruitment and HR consultancy, people are at the core of everything we do and believe in. It is predicted that 2018 will see full employment in Ireland which is a fantastic achievement. We need to plan for how we will meet the challenges that full employment brings. Finding and retaining the right people with the right skills to help grow and develop our business is critical.
So what do we need to do to both attract and retain great people? I believe there is a balance which needs to be reached to ensure we release and engage the skills and talents in Ireland. This is not a new topic but it is more critical when we are facing a worldwide skills shortage.
And I believe it means we take an interest in the Whole person – not just the worker. It’s fair to say that the Millennials expectations of work are very different to those of previous generations and I think we can all learn a lot from them about having fuller lives. How can we have great careers, great education, great social lives, be fit, healthy and have time for family and friends?
As business leaders – we have the opportunity to ensure we are offering careers and work that acknowledge the importance of work/life balance. This means different things for different people. A parent or a carer may need flexibility to start work a little later or finish work a little earlier or perhaps take a break in the middle of the day to allow her/him to spend time with family. A keen sportsperson may need similar flexibility to ensure they can train and be at their best in their sport. It may make a huge difference to someone to know that they can work from home and to reduce the time they spend commuting. Technology and connectivity provide excellent opportunities to make this happen.
Maybe we can take this a step further by pro-actively doing things during our working day which look after the whole person. For example, our company brings in a yoga instructor once a week and provides a healthy lunch for our staff afterwards. We find that people are re-energised in both mind and body and we believe that this can only be good for us as individuals and it has a positive knock on effect for our clients and all those we engage with.
It’s rare that it is work which is the sole motivator for people. For some it’s the opportunity to learn either formally or informally – can you help educate someone? For others it’s being able to give something back or help others – How can you get involved in your local community? And for some it’s about return on investment or reward – What positive actions can your company take which impact the environment positively whilst perhaps managing costs more effectively?
Do you as a leader know what’s important to the people who work with you? Think about the impact you could have by simply asking people that question as part of your annual reviews. Imagine a work environment which embraces the ideas of its workers, unleashes their talents and the impact it can have on the wider agenda.
(Words: Deirdre Coghlan-Murray, Managing Director, Clark Recruitment. Deirdre holds an MSc. in Coaching and Behavioural Change and is passionate about working with people to enable change, create space, unleash creativity and deliver results. You can visit Clark Recruitment here>>).
