AchieveGlobal: inspiring a workforce to reap awards – Sharon Daniels

It is hard to think about profitability without considering the issue of human capital. With both internal costs and incoming revenue linked inextricably to the performance of your workforce, improving the balance sheet hinges to a large degree on how you manage your company's human resources.

"There are two parts to the equation," says Sharon Daniels, CEO and president of human resources training firm AchieveGlobal. "One is top-line growth - making certain that individuals representing the organisation are calling on the right kind of customers. The other has more to do with productivity: making certain that the right work is being done in the right way."

Although changing associates' behaviour is not easy, through carefully executed strategies it is achievable.

From a revenue perspective, this means fostering strong customer relationships, with associates adequately equipped to sell to and service your customer base. On the cost side, the key points are internal communication and collaboration.

"You need to make sure that individuals are clear about what's important in the organisation and what the areas of focus are," says Daniels. "Then it's about making sure a team is working together effectively and that nobody is redundant to that team."

Three-step model for success

AchieveGlobal has an impressive track record, with more than 40 years of research and practical experience working with Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies worldwide. This has led to the development of a three-part model, laying out how best a CEO can communicate with associates in order to ensure sustained productivity:

• 'I know': do your associates understand what you want them to do and how that feeds into the overall success of the organisation?
• 'I care': are workers adequately incentivised to do their jobs?
• 'I can': do workers have the necessary skills in place?

Underlying these points is the question of whether your workers genuinely want to be productive. AchieveGlobal believes companies should move from a rewards-based approach to an emphasis on intrinsic motivation.

"Rather than talking in terms of the carrot and the stick, we look at meeting three basic psychological needs," says Daniels. "Those are competence, relatedness and autonomy. Creating an environment that supports these needs is critical."

'Competence' means ensuring that people feel valued as knowledgeable and experienced employees. 'Relatedness' is the need to collaborate with trusted colleagues. 'Autonomy' asks that within a framework of guidelines, associates are given scope to exercise self-control.

A motivating culture

While leaders cannot force their employees to internalise motivation, they can influence team success by creating a culture conducive to these factors. AchieveGlobal gives managers the tools they need to sustain motivation for their teams, thereby leveraging existing talent.

Leaders are taught to adopt the employee perspective, to communicate in an informational way and to generate opportunities for choice. What this entails, says Daniels, is an individually focused approach.

"We start with what the business is trying to accomplish and look strategically with the leaders at what they need to do to meet their business goals," she says. "We have coaching to ensure that the necessary skills and tools are carried through in terms of use on the job."

In today's socially networked, information-heavy world, these factors are becoming increasingly pressing.

"Being able to tap into people who are engaged at work is going to become more important," says Daniels. "I think it will help to define which organisations are going to be successful in the future."