How recruitment businesses can harness their secret weapon

This is a guest blog by REC business partner The GC Index.

The business world has been changed forever by the global Covid-19 pandemic. But despite the challenges faced, recruitment businesses of all sizes have a secret weapon that will, if harnessed, allow them to flourish in a post-pandemic marketplace - the impact of their staff.

Impact is the contribution an individual prefers to make towards the achievement of business outcomes. Colleagues in any recruitment business offer a powerful package of energies based around five different types of impact, as described by The GC Index®.

The GC Index® is a model originating from research in the UK which has shown that all individuals have different levels of energy to make an impact in these five areas. In addition, everyone has a different combination unique to them. The GC Index® has identified that there are over 100,000 variations.

What does this mean for recruitment businesses?

It means that every person within every business in our industry has the potential to make a game-changing and highly impactful contribution. Imagine what these businesses would achieve if everyone was playing to their strengths, making the impact they have the most energy for, working collaboratively as a potent, productive and extraordinarily successful team.

Businesses like this would have a team of people who would be ready to tackle any business challenge.

Research suggests that many businesses don’t fully utilise the impact of their staff. In fact, evidence exists which indicates that many individuals are in roles that don’t allow them to make the contribution to the business they have the most energy for.

So how can business leaders harness the impact of their staff?

1.      Understand the impact their staff make

Businesses should identify the impact that each member of their team has the most energy for, seeking to understand what contribution they prefer to make and the kind of tasks they have less energy to undertake. This will provide them with the knowledge needed to get the best from their staff.

2.      Assign tasks to individuals who have the right impact to get the job done and reward them accordingly

Strong evidence exists suggesting that individuals who are enabled to make the impact they prefer to make, are recognised within the business for making that impact, and who are rewarded accordingly have the highest levels of professional esteem. Businesses who manage their staff in this way will be rewarded with greater productivity and more positive engagement.

3.      Ensure everyone is accountable for the impact they make and encourage collaboration based on who can make the right impact at the right time

The most resilient businesses will be those whose teams are able to collaborate effectively to drive business outcomes. Collaboration based on impact is a transformative way of getting individuals working together effectively to produce results greater than the sum of the parts. Individuals can be respected for their impact and relied upon to make a particular contribution to every aspect of operations.

4.      Hire new people into the business based on their ability to make the impact needed

Teams can be expanded based on the impact required to boost capacity and capability. Individuals can be recruited into the business based on their ability to make the required contribution, which can be rapidly harnessed to deliver quick results.

5.      Train staff in the skills needed to support their impact

Many businesses waste time and money training staff to address weaknesses, as opposed to strengths. Once the natural impact of an individual is known, the business can focus on training that employee in the skills required to allow them to make their contribution as competently as possible. Over time, this will equip the business with staff who are performing at the highest level in their natural energies.

The businesses that are most likely to flourish in a post-pandemic world are the ones whose staff are empowered and recognised for their impact. Identifying and developing the impact of staff in the business is a crucial step that all recruiters must take to be fit for this new future.