A recent Conference Board report (September 2003) reported that the level of discontent with job satisfaction is the highest ever. More than 50% of the people surveyed said they were unsatisfied with their jobs.

“The level of job satisfaction has been steadily on the decline since reaching nearly 59% in 1995,” says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. “As technology transforms the workplace — accelerating the pace of activities, increasing expectations, productivity demands, and blurring the lines of work and play — workers are steadily growing unhappy with their jobs.”

She goes on to say, “…there has to be a good match between the employees and the jobs they’re doing. That really helps in terms of retention and attraction.”

As a coach and/or HR professional, your role is to ensure that happens. In this issue of Leading the Way, we want to introduce you to a communication tool designed to help companies and their employees ensure the job they are being fitted for is best suited for them, and that they fit the position.

1. Outside Entrance (Or what’s the newest happenings at CRG)
2. Gate Entrance (A tool to take on your journey)
3. On the Path (Someone out there who is doing it)
4. Back Home (Clean-up time)

Online Tools:

Update on Online Tools

1. Personal Style Indicator (PSI)*
2. Sales Style Indicator (SSI)*
3. Personal Style Indicator for Learners (PSI-L)*
4. Personal Style Indicator for Educational Leaders (PSI-EL)*
5. Values Preference Indicator (VPI)
6. Job Style Indicator (JSI)
7. Self Worth Inventory (SWI)
8. Stress Indicator & Health Planner (SIHP)
9. Entrepreneurial Style & Success Indicator (ESSI)*

*Note that each of these online assessments comes complete with their In-Depth Interpretations.

The online compatibility report for the Personal Style Indicator and Job Style Indicator is in production and should be ready in early March. This report will allow you to compare PSI scores to the JSI to determine whether a good match exists between the individual and the position.

Access codes may be purchased by visiting our online store:
https://www.crgleader.com/assessmentsonline.

 
Corporate Locker:

In less than 30 days, your clients will be able to go online, take an assessment, then have their scores stored in your corporate locker as opposed to only their personal locker. You will have access to their scores as soon as they complete the assessment(s). You may review them whenever necessary. The scores can be sorted by client or by department or geographical location. Your clients’ score results will stay on a secure site; you need not worry about having email intercepted or inadvertently read. Launch date is gearing toward March 1.

Co-Branding:

Many of you have asked if you will be able to co-brand our site with your own unique look. The answer is Yes. Soon!  

This month we want to introduce you to the Job Style Indicator (JSI), which assesses job positions based on types of tasks and style behaviors. The ideal communication tool, the JSI will help bring clarity to the process of managing job applicants, assessing current employees, and/or helping a group of supervisors reach agreement on how a particular position should best be filled. 

It works like this. Participants select a job position — for example: salesperson, accountant, general manager, line worker — and then identify the skills, abilities, and attitudes they think are required to do that job, using a 4, 3, 2, 1 rating system similar to the Personal Style Indicator. 

The self-scored Job Style Indicator (JSI) then provides insightful information about job perceptions. Once perception of the job position is understood (by applicant, employee, and/or supervisors), that information can be used to improve job orientation, performance, teamwork, and career decision-making. 

The fact is, people with unclear job perceptions soon experience job frustration. With the comparisons and communication components of the JSI regarding job fit and performance expectations, frustration levels in the workplace are minimized.

One unique aspect of the JSI is that it allows participants to rate the position in two ways:

1. according to required job tasks, and
2. according to required style behaviors.

Once combined, these scores reflect the rater’s perception of how he or she thinks the job should be completed to be successful.

Here’s the good part! Two or more people can complete a JSI on a particular position. In the past, a supervisor and an employee may not have agreed about how a particular job should be done. Or the management team was at odds over a position. 

Not any more. 

Once each JSI has been graphed, it is easy to match job perceptions. If the perceptions of the two graphs are close, it indicates there is agreement on how the job should be done. If the perception graphs are not close, that indicates a major difference in the perception of the way the job is to be completed. The bigger the difference between the two graphs, the more stress and friction will occur between the individuals involved.

A third graph allows the job applicant or employee to provide his or her Personal Style Indicator scores. The greater the difference between the PSI and JSI scores, the greater the degree of difficulty the employee will experience in completing the work. The closer the scores, the better suited the individual is to the position.

The JSI then compares the ratings to the four primary occupational preference categories most often used in job evaluation manuals: 

1. working with people;
2. working with data;
3. working with things; and
4. working with ideas.

Each job description identifies the level of job requirement according to these job preference categories. Once again, differences rise to the surface, to be dealt with before serious problems occur.

The next section walks the participants through the strengths and difficulties of each of the four styles. This allows each person to identify what he or she thinks the job strengths and difficulties will be. These pages help individuals gain a better understanding of what is expected and required to be successful in a position. It also provides great feedback for job descriptions along with performance appraisals. 

The final section is a call-to-action. Participants are challenged to complete the self-assessments of the job-related areas they need or wish to improve to be more effective.

Our Job Style Indicator is available both online and in a print-based version:

Print Version:
https://www.crgleader.com/store/product.php?productid=11&cat=&page=

Online Version:
https://www.crgleader.com/store/product.php?productid=104&cat=&page=1

One of our clients, Denbow Transport, Chilliwack, BC, Canada, has been a long-time friend of CRG and the JSI. Denbow transports and dispenses products such as sawdust, hog fuel, sand and gravel, and bark mulch. Denbow’s one-of-a-kind application services saves their clients time and money — whether a homeowner or a commercial contractor.

Bill Boersted, president, tells us he positively will not hire a person until the individual has completed a PSI and JSI!

Bill recently related an incident where he went against his own advice in that area. The company needed to hire an inside position. Bill discovered a candidate he was sure would be a good fit. The applicant completed the PSI and JSI, but there was a problem: there was a significant difference between the perception graphs. Bill really liked the person, however, and felt he would be a welcome addition to the team. Therefore, he chose to ignore the PSI and JSI discrepancies and went ahead with the hiring.

It didn’t take long to realize this was not a match. In fact, frustration levels on the part of the individual and other staff members soon surfaced. Bill had to end the employee relationship. Not only was money wasted in training this new employee and having to start the hiring process all over again but — just as important to Bill — a person was now having to go through the trauma of being let go.

Since then Bill has made it a firm rule that no one gets hired until a PSI and JSI have been completed. If there is a match, the process moves forward. If no match, that person is not hired — at least not in that position.

Bill said, “One of the strengths of Denbow is our employees. We have a great team. Happy employees mean happy customers.” One of the reasons for the great team and their job satisfaction is because Bill follows the PSI and JSI model for hiring. 

If you would like to get Bill’s perspective on the PSI and JSI , you may contact him at 604-823-4013 or info@denbow.com. The company Website is www.denbow.com.

Address Changes:

As part of our two-tiered online Associate program, your commission checks are generated through our e-commerce system. The computer uses the name and mailing address you have entered in your online profile “Contact Information”. Please ensure that the name and address you have specified online is where you want your commission checks to be sent. To make changes, please modify your profile on our Website.

 
5 out of 6 professionals needed this — do you?

If you want to maximize the impact you are having with your clients and/or employees, attend one of the upcoming workshops in the Vancouver area: Abbotsford. You can totally transform the way you do business.

• Alumni Price: US$459 (CAN$597) Reg: US$1689 (CAN$2195)
  

• Special Partner Pricing
  As an Associate, you receive a 10% referral fee for anyone who pays and attends the 3-Day Train-the-Trainer Workshop.

https://www.crgleader.com/trainthetrainer

 
Affiliate Sign-up Reminder:

• To receive credit for signing an Affiliate, please enroll each individual through your partner link.
  • Please do NOT send us a list of names you want to qualify as "Affiliates under me."
  • Note: When we discover that an individual is one of your Affiliates, we will honor your Affiliate relationship.
     

• If you are using our tools and have a unique story to share, please let us know: neal@crgleader.com.

Until next month, keep Leading the Way!

Neal Diamond
VP for Business Development and Associate Relations