America’s Workers Got Talent: Uncovering Employees’ Untapped Potential

Last month, I mentioned the virtue of uncovering employees’ hidden talents, and now I have even more evidence to support the argument for doing so: This Business Insider piece about the ordinary jobs Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and the like held before becoming some of today’s most powerful CEO’s.  It just goes to show that you never know where the next great business success story is lurking…like maybe in your very own office. (Whaaa?)

Chances are your employees also believe that they’re future chief executives just waiting to emerge…A recent study from Accenture reveals that American workers feel they have more to offer their employers than what their current jobs demand of them.  If that’s true – if you’re not enabling your employees to meet their true potential – that means you’re missing out on opportunities to get better business results.

So how can you make sure you’re getting the most out of your employees? Well, you can start by bribing them with the promise of free Krispy Kremes using the following four tactics, which can help you unlock your employees’ hidden talents – and ultimately increase your company’s bottom line.

• Support Their Education: Designating (or retaining) money in your budget toward employee training and education to augment their skills will prove beneficial on multiple fronts. One of the major findings of a 2008 Sirota survey on employee engagement was that, above almost everything else, employees want to do things that matter, and be enabled to do those things well. Providing them with free training helps fulfill this desire. Not to mention that, according to this BNET article, employee training programs help you hold on to your highest performers, positioning you to bounce back easier after an economic downturn.
• Recognize and Reward: Receiving recognition for the accomplishments feeds into employees’ desire for a sense of achievement by showing them that what they do matters. Aetna’s Way of Excellence Award program – established after an employee survey revealed an overwhelming desire among the staff for a companywide recognition program – has been highly motivating for Aetna employees, according to Aetna CEO Ron Williams in a recent FORTUNE spotlight with CareerBuilder.  Another option for rewarding employees is to offer incentive trips, which doesn’t have to take being Oprah to pull off. Read about how some firms continue to offer incentive programs, despite tight budgets and cost-cutting.
• Indulge Their Competitive Spirit. This worked for Montana-based West Paw Design, which recently held a design contest for employees across every department.  Not only did the contest generate new product ideas, it gave employees a chance to actively participate in the overall business and enabled them to showcase skills they might not ordinarily get to portray.  Selling upper management on an internal contest will be much easier if they see potential to have an impact on the bottom line. And finally…
• Just Ask:  Simply asking employees what they want out of their jobs – whether through formal surveys, casual one-on-one conversations or anything in between – will yield honest answers.  It’s unlikely that your employees will come to you on their own to tell you that they’re not challenged enough (for fear that they’ll appear dispensable during such uncertain times), so rather than ask them if they have enough work to do, encourage your workers to approach you with new ideas. Perhaps they have an idea for a new product or business venture, or maybe simply want to take on new responsibilities…you might never know unless you ask.

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• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on June 24, 2009
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• Categories: Employee Engagement, Employee Retention