Welcome to the March 2, 2005 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

What's Inside:

1. SPS Solves Sales Personality Puzzle

What we call a "sales personality" actually has five distinct components. It's like a puzzle, each component representing a different piece. The way these pieces fit together affects how well a person can and will sell your product. Here are the personality pieces: core personality, interests, cognitive ability, business motivators, and behavioral style.

How do you know which factors are most important for your business? That's a question a $2 billion-plus service company put to Success Performance Solutions.  Management considered the search for a sales staff capable of excelling in discrete markets its primary challenge. This company operates in a competitive market. A close second was the first-year high turnover rate.

SPS initiated a benchmark study. First, we set performance standards so management could objectively distinguish top performers and under-achievers. The benchmarks, each derived from a combination of information, started with performance criteria supplied by company managers.

We then gave them these tasks: First, the sales manager completed a performance rating sheet for each salesperson included in the study. Each manager also completed a TotalView job description survey that described the work environment. Finally both top- and under-achieving representatives from the incumbent sales force completed the TotalView assessment system.

One hundred and ninety-nine salespeople completed TotalView assessments and managers completed ratings for 157 of them. An independent psychology consulting firm evaluated the results. A profile for a top performing salesperson, based on the analysis of manager's ratings, job descriptions and TotalView test results, emerged. Here's what the company learned.

The entire sales force rated high in these characteristics: independent, outgoing and well-balanced. That means the company consistently recruited and hired sales reps who are outgoing and driven people. Why then, did the company suffer from high attrition and low performance? Obviously, ambition coupled with an expressive personality wasn't enough to cut the mustard in this business.

Applying benchmarks to performance shed some light. Behavioral traits had a pronounced effect on a sales reps' tally. Let's start with assertiveness. Top performers ranked 7-9 on a 10 point scale, beating the sales staff average of 6.74. These sales reps were more able to speak up, to say what needed to be said, to ask the tough questions, and to ask for the sale. The numbers soared when rated in the "making benefits statements" and "gaining agreement from the customer" categories. These top sales reps show no reluctance when it comes to selling the service and closing the sale.

The ratings for top performers in the "outgoing personality" category showed a similar distribution. Top sales reps scored between 6 and 10, bearing the overall average of 7.53. The correlation was considerable when the propensity for outgoingness was compared with their supervisor's rating for teamwork, too.

High ratings in the 9 to 10 range on both the poised and relaxed scales were important indicators for predicting poor performance. People with high scores on these scales show exceptional work-life balance and coping skills. They, however, may lack the sense of urgency and the drive necessary to succeed in a fast-paced, dynamic, time-sensitive environment. Even if they can succeed, others perceive their calmness as non-chalance.

This is important. The ability to cope with the ups and downs of sales is one of the best predictive indicators for sales performance. Stability, the stress coping scale in TotalView, is one of the most predictive scales for success in management and sales positions. In several studies, SPS clients discovered that over 50 percent of their under-achievers scored in the 9 or 10 ranges in both the poised and relaxed scales.

Top performers scored between 6 and 8 on the emotional stable scale. What this means is that any company whose business depends all or in part on relationship-based sales wants a sales staff that falls into the average "relaxed" range. These folks show more sales initiative and rank higher with pre-call planning and effectively lower sales barriers.

Those who scored at the other extreme, in the 1-4 range, consistently had lower performance ratings. Take a moment to mull over this finding. Excitability and restlessness exhibited by people rated in the 1 - 4 range can be mistakenly deemed desirable if these traits are confused with enthusiasm and ambition. Think of times you may have rewarded high energy sales reps with a keen sense of urgency only to realize the net result was a lot of activity and busy-ness that did not land contracts.

The lower stability scores can indicate a propensity for a sales rep who is emotional. In other words, this person may jump ship more quickly than a more stable colleague. Simply put, when the going gets tough, the not-so-tough get going.

All the top performers show an above-average interest in working with people. Sales reps with high scores in this category are thorough about pre-call planning and follow-through.

Top performers rate about average on the conscientiousness scale. Although they have a slight preference for structure, these sales reps are motivated by deadlines and time constraints. Right or wrong, many markets demand sales people who can hit the ground running with a minimum of training and supervision. If that describes your business, you want a sales team who falls right between the conventional and innovative traits, and who show a slightly reactive tendency.

What's this thing we call cognition? Simply speaking, cognition is the word we use to gauge ability. High ability differs from the right ability. Our benchmarks showed that top performers may not have above-average general abilities. Many of the top performing sales reps showed below-average ability when working with numbers and average ability to works with words and shapes. Sales reps with above average cognitive tend to get bored quickly. If they are not promoted to more demanding and challenging markets or positions, they will move on. Think about that high and costly first-year attrition rate I mentioned earlier

Understanding how to rate and use a person's general ability is critical to making a sound hiring decision. Its importance warrants repeating myself: Any company that hires people whose cognitive abilities exceeds those required for the job wastes talent and results in turnover and performance issues. Ironically, people with lower cognitive abilities can become top performers, over time, with training and experience. When an applicant has a good personality fit and the right interests and motivations, lower ability might not be a reason to move on to the next person. With some time and preparation, a diamond in the rough can sparkle. Of course, the company must be prepared to train and groom this applicant.

New e-book: Seven Surefire Steps To Hiring High Potential Employees.  FREE for a limited time - a $19 Value.

For more about online personality tests, visit http://www.super-solutions.com/onlinepersonalitytests.asp

More about online personality tests

2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #361 to #365
http://www.perfectlaborstorm.com/facts.html

Don't miss day-to-day updates on Perfect Labor Storm. Save the Perfect Labor Storm blog to your favorites.

Fact #361:  Half of all Americans today say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from nearly 60 percent in 1995. But among the 50 percent who say they are content, only 14 percent say they are "very satisfied." (Source: The Conference Board, 2005)

Fact #362:  Job satisfaction has declined across all income brackets in the last nine years. While 55 percent of workers earning more than $50,000 are satisfied with their jobs, only 14 percent claim they are very satisfied. (Source: The Conference Board, 2005)

Fact #363:  The largest decline in overall job satisfaction, from 60.9% to 49.2%, occurred among workers 35-44. This is also the worker group next in line for management and leadership positions. (Source: The Conference Board, 2005)

Fact #364:   The second largest decline took place among workers aged 45-54, with the satisfaction level dropping from 57.3% to 47.7%. (Source: The Conference Board, 2005)

Fact #365:  With less than 47% of householders claiming to be satisfied with their current job, workers in the Middle Atlantic and Mountain states are the least satisfied workers in the U.S. (Source: The Conference Board, 2005)

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - Only $7.95.

3.  Adult in Career Transition? MAPP Career Assessments is the 1st Step

For adults in transition, make positive life changes now. Assessment testing is the first step to establish your strengths and career goals. The MAPP Assessment is critical in helping you develop career plans and to tailor your education and re-training to fit yourl learning style and career goals.

The MAPP Assessment is a personalized career tool that will help you identify your strengths. You can match your results to 900 job descriptions online and research jobs that may be of interest to you. MAPP will help you concentrate on building skills and finding work within an area you enjoy.

More about career tests and assessments.

4. New! FREE Interview Question Guide Membership

SELECTPro(R) - The Automated Online Interview. Screen candidates over the web. Candidates provide written responses to customized interview questions online --ideal for a pre-interview screening or first interview.

SELECTPro(R) is web-based program that helps interviewers design and organize behavior-based selection interview in minutes. It also allows the interviewer to easily create a custom Interview Guide: a document (or script) that the interviewer uses to conduct a behavioral job interview.

Take a Tour and Sign Up for a FREE Interview Question Guide Membership.

5. Stop Generational Clashes - Take the Generational Style Assessment

The Generational Style Assessment is a self scoring instrument to help determine an individual’s influencing style when relating to people from different age groups or generations in the workplace and help them to adjust or “flex” their own approach.

A brief synopsis of the four age groups used in this assessment is shown on the inside back cover of the booklet. This also shows the four generational relating or influencingstyles likely to be most effective in relation to each age group that can be employed by an individual. The four styles (Steering, Empowering, Building, and Supporting) arise fromintersecting two dimensions; the level of clarity and focus required by an individual or group, and the level of energy or engagement that is needed.

It aims to:

•   Raise people’s awareness about the very different behaviors
and characteristics of the four age groups that we identify
(20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s+).
•   Alert individuals to their own relating style biases, and
show them four discrete influencing behaviors.
•   Help people to take age differences more seriously in
seeking to get the best out of everyone and contribute to
getting all groups to work together more harmoniously.

 

This 20-page instrument booklet contains extensive background information and assessment interpretation notes.

Ask about our 2 and 4 hour "Exploring Generational Styles" Workshops, too.

Order Generational Style Assessment

7. We've Moved!
Success Performance Solutions has a new home as of March 1. Our new address is 2137 Embassy Drive, Suite 218, Lancaster, PA. Our phone number is 717.291.4640 and new fax is 717.427.2020. Of course, our online home remains the same at www.super-solutions.com.

Syndication available - call us.