Employees are the heart of an organization. As so, you want to ensure that you are utilizing their unique knowledge base and skill set. It is not always easy to identify employees strengths and weaknesses without undergoing extensive team evaluations, which can take a significant amount of time to accomplish. Employers who wish to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each staff member, often rely on the services of an industrial-organizational (I/O) psychologist. Learn more about the role of an I/O psychologist, and how one can help you enhance your team and grow your business.
I/O Psychology & Psychologists
Industrial and organizational psychology, also referred to as occupational psychology, is the scientific study of human behavior in the workplace and within organizations. I/O psychologists must have specialized knowledge and training in the science of workplace behavior, as well as an in-depth knowledge of career development, employee attitudes, consumer behavior, decision theory, job and task analysis, human performance, and individual assessment. They must also know the proper procedures for addressing training and developmental needs among employees, as well as developing criteria to evaluate performance.
Benefits of Team Evaluations By An I/O Psychologist
Maintaining a smooth and efficient work environment is vital if you want to keep your employees happy and your business thriving. When an organization’s infrastructure is strong, business operations run efficiently and conflicts are dealt with swiftly with fair resolutions. Below are the top benefits of having a team evaluation conducted by an I/O Psychologist.
Increased Team Productivity
An industrial-organizational psychologist can help enhance operations using various research methods and psychological principles. While working with an organization, an I/O psychologist will study a workplace and analyze productivity and management styles. With the information they find, they can help employers train and motivate their workforce, improve organizational structure, and assess job performance.
Better Hiring Processes
Having the right people on your team can be critical to your long-term success. I/O psychologists often work with human resources departments to identify job candidates who are best suited to take on certain roles within an organization. They can also work with management to determine which roles existing employees should fill for optimal productivity. By getting to know each employee better through team evaluations, I/O psychologists can identify key skills and special knowledge that team members may possess. These team members can then be placed in positions that make better use of their unique skill set and present an exciting new challenge.
Identifying Employee Strengths & Weaknesses
Knowing the specific strengths and weaknesses of your employees may be more important than you realize. By understanding what qualities each staff member has to offer, you can develop a more productive team and set realistic long-term goals. For example, if your business would like to develop an online store front, you must know if your technology department has the skillset needed to not only build, but also manage an e-commerce shop and credit card processing software. If you find that you do not have people with the right skills, you can then choose to hire new professionals to fill in the skill gap.
Performing team evaluations can also benefit your budget. When you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your employees, you can better determine what tasks can be successfully completed in-house, and which you will need to outsource to other professionals. Some of the tasks that you may be currently outsourcing could potentially be completed in-house by your own staff. However, you might not have realized that your current employees possess the knowledge and skills to complete the jobs sufficiently. When certain tasks can be completed in-house, you can use the extra money in your budget to put towards other important projects.
Better Training For Employees
When you understand where your employees are lacking, you can also implement training programs to help grow your staff as a team. It is important for business owners to invest in their employees if they wish to retain them for the long-term. Even the most talented employees could benefit from training to further enhance their skills and learn new industry practices. Sending your employees to professional workshops and seminars, or hiring an industry professional to come on-site to teach, can be highly beneficial for your team as a whole.
Contact Bond’s Team Building For More Information
Team building activities are an excellent way to develop and strengthen relationships among employees and create a strong team dynamic. Bond’s Team Building offers onsite and offsite team building activities and corporate retreats, as well as team evaluations performed by an experienced I/O psychologist.
These services can be highly beneficial to business owners who wish to develop team relationships and identify each team member’s strengths and weaknesses. The results from the evaluation can also be used to devise a strategy to improve team performance. For more information about the benefits of psychologist team evaluations or to schedule team building activities for your workplace, contact Bond’s Team Building today.