Accountability * Retention * Engagement

Are these key opportunities part of your 2025 Strategic Plan?

With over 25 years of experience, I've been at the forefront of addressing these challenges and serving employers in consulting or C-level roles. This extensive experience positions me as a trusted advisor in the field, ready to guide you toward success.

Before I get into the details and my preferred 'people tool,' I want to address something. Recently, we have all heard the buzz about using behavioral assessment tools for recruiting, specifically as screening tools. As a 15-plus-year recruiter, I have hired several hundred, and I do not recommend using assessments as screening tools. People are more complicated than a single test can reveal, and using assessments in this way can lead to oversimplification and potential bias in the hiring process.

That said, some behavioral assessments, like my preference, The McQuaig, is effective in opening a dialogue and communication with your final candidate(s) to ensure you have the right fit. Sharing the assessment results is key—it shows you are open and genuinely interested in discovering your candidates' strengths and allowing them to address any potential concerns.

The solution begins at the top, where leadership intentionally fosters employee communication and understanding. One team member at a time.

When used correctly, the McQuaig Behavioral Assessment, and a few others, is not just a tool but a catalyst for transformation. It drives deep communication, discussion, understanding, and results. The process involves administering the assessment, which typically takes 15-30 minutes and has no right or wrong answers, analyzing the results, and using them to guide individual and team development. The assessment is administered to team members, and the results are analyzed to identify strengths and areas for growth and to guide individual and team development plans.

Start with your leadership team to set the stage for exponential gains as you embed the technology and processes throughout your organization. The potential for growth and improvement is not only promising it's also inspiring. Leadership plays a crucial role in this process, as their intentional fostering of employee communication and understanding sets the tone for the entire organization. Your leaders are 100% the key to accountability, retention, and engagement.

I use McQuaig for various purposes, including supervisor alignment with team members, performance reviews, performance improvement plans, team development, and sometimes recruitment.

Supervisor alignment with Team Members

• In my experience, alignment between the owner or CEO and all roles (in a mid-sized company) is where you can get the most significant value from this assessment tool. The deeper you go into the organization, the more value it creates because it can be hard work to bridge the gap between leadership and production or general labor roles.
• Sharing results with the team shows the supervisor is open to working together and genuinely wants to connect with each team member, making it a beautiful addition to your team-building efforts.

Performance Reviews

• Performance reviews are among leaders' biggest challenges. Knowing what to include is key because it's important to maintain objectivity once there is a relationship. The McQuaig will not only identify areas of opportunity for growth but also offer ideas and solutions for exponential growth and actionable ideas.

Performance Improvement Plans

• Help identify the root cause of behavior issues to support a struggling team member and provide ideas for improvement.

Teams Development

• Mapping out your team and understanding how they relate and can support each other—as leaders and as people—can help your team become aligned and leverage each other's strengths.
• Diversity in behavior is a good thing. It assures leaders that they are considering all views, and each of us needs a counterbalance to ensure we can connect with our most important resource: our people.

Addressing the challenges of accountability, retention, and engagement starts with leadership; this means creating a culture that opens communication. Employees want to be accountable. They want a long-term relationship with their employer. If allowed to be heard and earnestly try to understand them, they will engage with and contribute to the company's success. As leaders, you can create this culture and empower your employees.

What has been your experience with using assessment tools? Do you love them or hate them? Your knowledge and feedback are valuable. Remember, the tool alone is not 'the' solution—it's how you use it. Your insights can help us all use these tools more effectively.? ?