The situation is even more intense given the hyper-competitive nature of most buying and selling journeys. Often, the difference between winning and losing is razor-thin — and sales talent can be the factor that separates you from the competition. In this context, the quality of your sales team becomes more than a differentiator — it becomes a defining factor of success.

Selection Matters More Than Ever

Hiring sales reps has never been easy. But in a tighter economy, the stakes are higher. Every new hire represents a significant investment — and every mis-hire costs more than just dollars. It costs momentum, morale, and market share. That’s why a rigorous, data-driven approach to sales rep selection and hiring is essential for building a high-performing sales team. It’s about more than resumes and interviews — it’s about identifying the capabilities, skills, tendencies, and motivators that truly drive sales performance.

Traditional and unstructured methods for evaluating what separates top-performing sales reps from average or underperforming reps simply don’t work.

Don’t Just Look Outside — Assess Inside

But the focus shouldn’t stop at new hires. Your current sales team holds untapped potential — if you know where to look. Sales assessment tools can help you gain deeper insight into your team’s skills, preferences, and strengths. Are they wired for complex consultative selling, or better suited to faster-moving, transactional deals? Do their behaviors align with your sales strategy? Are they being deployed in the right roles, with the right types of stakeholders and accounts?

Sales assessments aren’t about judgment — they’re about alignment. When you understand your team at a deeper level, you can deploy them more strategically, coach more effectively, and ultimately win more often.

The Players and the Playbook

Many organizations have invested heavily in sales methodologies, training programs, and playbooks. But even the best methodology or strategy will underperform if it doesn’t align with the people responsible for executing it. That’s why it’s essential to align the players and the playbook — understanding both what your salespeople are naturally good at and how to support them with the right tools, processes, and positioning. The right approach to sales assessment is critical.

A Smarter, More Strategic Approach

Winning in this market isn’t about working harder. It’s about working smarter — selecting the right people, understanding your current team’s strengths, and aligning your talent with your go-to-market strategy. That’s how you turn fewer opportunities into more wins. Because in a world where every at-bat matters, you can’t afford to leave performance to chance.

At Talogy, we have decades of experience helping organizations understand, predict, and enhance sales success — in all types of markets. We bring proven, science-backed solutions that have driven results for high-performing organizations around the world. Let us help you maximize your sales performance by aligning your talent and strategy for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities.

If you’re exploring ways to improve sales effectiveness, reduce mis-hires, or align your sales talent with business goals, we’d love the opportunity to talk with you. Learn more at talogy.com.

The Challenge of Hiring in an Uncertain Market

Talent shortages persist in high-demand fields such as technology, healthcare, and skilled trades, where companies are competing for a limited pool of candidates. At the same time, other sectors have seen workforce reductions, leaving a larger number of job seekers vying for fewer positions. This volatility requires organizations to rethink their approach to talent acquisition and development.

Instead of reacting to short-term fluctuations, companies must focus on hiring smarter—ensuring that each new hire is a high-quality, high-impact decision.

Why Smarter Hiring Matters More Than Ever

Regardless of whether the candidate pool is too small or too large, organizations need consistent, science-based methods to ensure they are selecting the right talent. Making the wrong hire can be costly—not only in terms of financial resources but also in lost productivity, team disruption, and cultural misalignment.

Science-based hiring practices, including validated assessments, structured interviews, and data-driven talent insights, help organizations:

• Identify candidates with the right skills and fit: Beyond just qualifications and experience, assessments can help determine cognitive ability, problem-solving skills, emotional intelligence, leadership potential, and cultural alignment.
• Reduce turnover and increase retention: A poor hiring decision often leads to higher attrition. Assessments help organizations ensure they’re selecting candidates who are likely to succeed and stay within their unique environment and culture.
• Make objective, data-backed decisions: In times of uncertainty, gut instinct isn’t enough. A structured, science-based approach reduces bias and increases the likelihood of hiring success.
• Future-proof the workforce: By evaluating enduring leadership skills and potential, organizations can hire people who can adapt, learn, and grow as business needs evolve.

Hiring Success Isn’t About More Candidates—It’s About the Right Candidates

It’s a common misconception that a larger candidate pool makes hiring easier. In reality, more applicants do not necessarily mean better hires. Without the right tools, sorting through hundreds (or thousands) of resumes can lead to wasted time, inconsistent evaluations, and ultimately increased hiring risks.

On the flip side, when talent is scarce, it’s even more critical to make every hire count. The cost of a bad hire increases when the talent pool is smaller, as finding a replacement is even more challenging.

This is why organizations should shift their focus from “more candidates” to better-fit candidates. By leveraging proven assessments and structured hiring processes, organizations can increase their chances of hiring people who will thrive in their roles and contribute to business success.

The Right Hire is Important—No Matter the Economy

Whether companies are growing or downsizing, hiring decisions have a long-term impact. Every employee contributes to company culture, team dynamics, and business performance. Organizations that prioritize data-driven hiring and talent assessment strategies will be better positioned to succeed, no matter the economic landscape.

The bottom line? In an uncertain hiring market, one thing remains certain: making the right hiring decision is always mission-critical. Organizations that invest in smart, science-backed hiring practices will build stronger, more resilient workforces—today and for the future.

Want to learn more about how data-driven assessments can help you hire smarter? Connect with Talogy to explore science-based solutions that improve hiring accuracy and drive long-term success.

Companies today are facing two main problems: 

1. They are facing a severe talent shortage. 
2. There is a growing demand for a more diverse workforce. 

Many organizations are currently struggling with talent shortages, which is in part due to the ongoing global pandemic. But, other factors play into this shortage as well, such as changing skills needed within the workforce. One way organizations can combat this is through the practice of upskilling.

What is Upskilling?

Upskilling involves taking current employees and teaching them skills they do not currently possess. Often, this means teaching your team skills that will help them to operate within multiple given roles, enabling your organization to function more smoothly and efficiently in the case of a talent shortage. This can be highly beneficial for companies where their workforces are constantly changing and adapting to the market. If you invest in upskilling your current talent, your organization theoretically can function even if you have open roles in departments.

@CaliperCorp says that through #upskilling and #development programs, you can bridge the talent gap in your organization and create a more diverse workforce. See how:
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When companies invest in upskilling, they can work to diversify their workforce by creating highly skilled and adaptable employees.

Skilled Employees Are Diverse and Adaptable

Employees who are cross-trained in multiple departments are better equipped to handle disruptions and changes to your business functions. Many large corporations have also utilized upskilling as a way to help bridge the talent gap they currently face. Rather than look externally to hire from a highly competitive market, businesses can instead offer the chance for their current employees to expand their skills and open up opportunities to grow within the organization.

This gives your employees the chance to get a leg up in the professional world. With the majority of open positions being middle-skilled positions, classified as roles that require training but no formal degree, these initiatives by corporations are giving more opportunities to demographics that are often overlooked. The key lies in creating a program that not only supports and uplifts your current staff but also encourages them to capitalize on these chances to expand their professional skill set.

How Do You Tackle Upskilling?

The first step to embracing upskilling in your organization is to conduct an analysis of the skills gap your company is currently facing. This is helpful because what you think is a skills gap and what is actually a skills gap may be two different things. When you take the time to identify the areas that are lackluster in your current business functions, you can then prioritize the training that is necessary to support that role.

Developing skills can take time. @CaliperCorp discusses how you can grow the skill set of your current teams through the practice of #upskilling. Read more on their latest blog:
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Investing in training and certifications for current employees is the most cost-effective and least risky way to develop a more skilled team. However, quick training programs are simply a bandaid; they are not a permanent fix for your current needs. In order to truly mend the skills gaps in your organization, you need to invest adequate time and energy to develop your employees. Upskilling in your organization can directly tie to a more diverse and inclusive organization. When you provide employees the basis and opportunity to better develop their skills, you open the door to future career advancement opportunities as well.

When it comes to training your team, there are five steps you can take to sustain a more diverse workforce. They are:

1. Upskilling and tracking the mobility of your employees, not just the representation. 
2. Setting SMART goals for your teams. 
3. Identifying those that possess the talent you’re looking for. 
4. Bridging the talent gap by understanding where and why the shortages exist in your roles, functions, business units, and locations. 
5. Using your talent pipelines as an asset for developing and attracting skilled workers.

Turning to your Team for Skills

Upskilling is the direction most businesses are going. With the current fight for talent, it’s most cost-effective to look at your current employees rather than recruit for new positions. When you recruit new employees, it can be a time-consuming process with the risk that they don’t fit well within your workplace culture. By investing in your current workforce, you know that they already possess the personality and skills that are needed to be successful. And, you can uncover hidden talents you never knew your team had.

For the best results in your upskilling program, focus on creating a visible support network. Your employees are more likely to be open to learning new skills and are more likely to be successful in doing so when you create a system that supports and encourages their growth. Employees need to feel comfortable trying new things and asking for help when necessary.

Developing the skills you need from your teams takes time. Talent is something that needs to be invested in continuously, and not just in your moments of need. By creating an upskilling program, you can help to build out the skills of your employees continuously, so that when you do face talent gaps, your team is prepared to step in and support your operations however necessary.

Want to learn more about developing and training your workforce? Our team of experts is ready to help! Reach out now to find out how you can utilize our science-backed assessments and development programs to create the diverse and skilled team you need in today’s modern world.

During this process, there will undoubtedly be challenges that you must face. But, with the right solutions in place and armed with the right insights, you and your team can work to overcome these obstacles as they arise.  Here are the top five challenges you’ll face and how to overcome them.

Need help overcoming the challenges of a #FutureReady workforce? @CaliperCorp can help you out. Learn how here:
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Challenges Organizations Are Facing Today

Some challenges present themselves regardless of your workforce. Due in large part to the pandemic, many organizations have had a difficult time navigating the changes to the workforce and the lack of talent on the market. Many of the common challenges organizations are facing today include:

A gap between available and desirable skills: Recent data has shown that highly skilled office workers are the first to get back to work after the pandemic compared to less-skilled workers. This has affected workers throughout all types of industries. Those seen as mid-level or senior level experience are less likely to pursue new skills or work towards a new career path if it takes years to attain. This leaves a gap between the available talent on the market and the kind of highly talented individuals organizations are looking for.

Fast fact: By 2028, the skills gap is expected to leave 2.4 million jobs unfilled, with an economic impact of $454 billion.

Creating learning and development opportunities to retain workers: Learning and developing programs are shaping up to be a challenge for many companies. Learning and development are centered around engaging your existing workforce and enhancing their skill sets at a basic level. These programs are also a valuable tool for attracting new talent to your workplace. 

However, when available talent is lacking, and retention is your main goal, finding ways to invest in your employees’ skills and future career is integral for keeping your best workers in-house. Today’s managers need to create opportunities for progression if they hope to retain their top talent. As adults, we have a tendency to avoid learning new skills and exploring new opportunities. While this is natural, it’s also something that you need to work hard at avoiding workplace changes like those experienced during the pandemic. Failure to do so can lead to your top talent seeking out training opportunities elsewhere or searching for a company that makes learning a priority.

A lack of collaboration: New technology is broadening the scope of tasks the workforce needs to engage in on a day-to-day basis. This new generation of work often requires different types of workers to collaborate and communicate with one another. In many workplaces, collaboration has been limited due to geography or time barriers. However, technology is making it easier to stay connected even when you’re separated from your colleagues and employers. Now, work teams are more likely to work together in real-time across the globe due to advancements in technology such as cloud computing, video conferencing tools, and AI chatbots.

The need for flexible talent: Companies have always desired workers who apply their skills and talent in different ways. But, in a post-pandemic world, this desire is quickly becoming a need. As organizations fight over the top talent on the market, workplaces need the support of cross-talented and skilled employees to help keep operations running smoothly. 

With upskilling and reskilling opportunities, workplaces can create a resilient workforce equipped to help pick up the slack in other departments when needed. What does this mean for today’s leaders? They need to work to find and create a workforce that is willing to go above and beyond the duties outlined in their job description. 

Hiring and retaining top talent: Retaining your best workers is a challenge for many companies. There are several resources that you can use to find the right talent, but finding individuals with skill sets that align with your company’s goals takes time and effort. Don’t waste any more time in your recruitment process by looking at outdated job descriptions. Instead, work with the right HR partner to find employees who have skills that are aligned with your company’s goals for growth and expansion. If you can provide these individuals with the training they need, there is no reason why this talent should walk away from a job opportunity at your organization.

Steps For Building A Future-Ready Workforce

For quite some time now, organizations have placed a hearty focus on preparing themselves for the future. Whether this is done through market forecasting, creating succession plans, or developing their employees to better perform in their given roles, being proactive is always a better move than waiting around to react to new challenges. With a rise in the competition for new talent, building out a future-ready workforce can mean the difference between an organization equipped for sudden change and one that falters. But, the question stands: what can you and your company do to create a future-ready workforce?

While each organization is unique in its structure, there are a few common things that can be done to create a workforce that is built to take on potential future challenges:

Define your skill gaps: A huge part of defining skills gaps is knowing what skill sets are missing from an organization. Part of this has to be predicting the skills needed for the roles for this changing landscape. Without taking the time to understand and clearly dictate the skills and kinds of workers your organization needs to succeed, your recruiters will struggle to find the right kind of talent for your open roles. 

Give your team the information they need to do their jobs successfully; be honest and straightforward with your expectations.  If there are skills that you or your team members wish to develop but have yet to do so, take the time to understand what it is about these specific skill sets that appeal and align with your goals. If you begin to explore ideas for developing new skill sets within the organization, this will only help solidify a future-ready workforce.

Did you know? 60% of organizations say they will not meet their strategic goals due to external skills shortages. Furthermore, 62% of employers say they experience skill gaps in their current workforce. 

Develop soft skills: We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: hiring for soft skills is the best move you can make. Currently, soft skills are in high demand. While technical skills can always be taught on the job, finding workers who excel at necessary skills, such as teamwork and time management, will help you to source workers prepared to take on more responsibilities. These skills are often tied to how flexible an employee can be within a changing environment. 

Research has shown the toughest soft skills to find in candidates are leadership, communication, and listening. Additionally, the higher ranking roles require employees to have a higher percentage of soft skills in order to be successful in that role. By working on developing these soft skills in your existing workers and finding candidates with these skills in the job market, you can build out a workforce that is better equipped to handle disruptions. 

Work on developing your existing employees: Work on developing your existing employees: According to HLC’s research, the best way to close the skills gap is to develop current employees. This means investing in the workers already employed at your company versus trying to find a new employee with the desired skills. Not only will this save your bottom line and also save your recruiting team precious time, but it showcases to your employees that you care about their career and professional development.

Did you know?  The State of Human Capital Management survey shows that 45% of organizations lack the necessary workforce to compete today, and 36% say a skills gap is their number one challenge.

Taking the time to brainstorm potential future challenges for your organization, as well as defining exactly what new soft skills will help you move forward, will be the best way to source your next future-ready employees. 

Fast fact: Nearly 80% of companies are filling their skill gaps internally.

This is why developing soft skills is critical: 51% of employers say their top challenge as an employer is the changing nature of work. When we talk about future-ready employees, it’s important to know what makes your organization unique and how you will face disruption best.

How Can You Get Started?

Identifying the process needed to build a future-ready workforce is the first step towards creating a productive and proactive workplace. As job markets shift and the war for top talent wages on, managers and leaders need to identify solutions that can be implemented to better set their teams up for success down the road. 

One such solution is placing a strong emphasis on the skills in your organization. Whether this means developing the soft skill of your existing workforce or finding ways to close your existing skills gaps, managers would be remiss not to take time to refine the skills in their organization. 

The workforce is going through a significant transformation, with people now holding multiple roles over their lifetime. Understanding what millennials value and looking for candidates who align with these values will also prove to be a valuable skill when you are competing for top talent. Millennials look for companies that invest in them as individuals and show potential for growth.

Did you know? 65% of millennials want to learn soft skills in order to advance within their organization.

Employers who have invested in training for their workers show higher levels of engagement and satisfaction with senior management. As millennials continue to grow as a percentage of the workforce, businesses can no longer look at soft skills as something that is nice to have but instead must be developed into hard skills needed for future success. Think about why you have your current soft skills and determine where they fall short, where the gaps are, and where opportunities for development exist within your organization. Remember that as a leader or manager you can nurture change by offering opportunities for learning.

Did you know?  On average, developing a new competency takes 2 years and costs $30,000.

Additionally, workplaces can start building out a future-ready workforce by redefining their expectations and qualifications. It’s no surprise that getting a degree is a very expensive and time-consuming process. However, there are alternatives to this. Apprenticeships and developing competencies and skills are alternatives to getting a degree. By reducing the barrier to applying, you can expand your talent pool in a short amount of time. 

Did you know? 72% of employers want to develop leadership skills in their workers.

You don’t have to do everything at once, but if you start small and think strategically about the soft skill development needs within your organization, you’ll be on track for creating a future-ready workforce.

Finally, embracing technologies in your workplace and recruitment pipeline will help you to build more effective and efficient processes. Using technology is one of the top ways to mold a future-ready workforce. With many traditional business practices moving to a digital landscape, having a team that understands how to use technology to interact with one another and conduct business will help you to create a resilient workforce.

@CaliperCorp discusses the key #competencies needed to build a #FutureReady workforce. Read more here:
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Companies must also take advantage of digital communication tools such as video and instant messaging to enable the use of soft skills in both daily interactions and business processes. By doing so, you can refocus your workforce on outcomes instead of individual tasks.

As we start to see signs of recovery from the previous year, finding ways to capitalize on growth and better prepare for future disruptions will set your team up for success. The key lies in building out a team that is highly skilled, adaptable, and ambitious for personal and professional growth. The workforce of today is reversing the trend of lifetime employment and long-term career development. People are no longer looking to climb a ladder, but rather switch jobs multiple times throughout their lives. The workforce will need to become agile and be ready to learn new skills at any time if they wish to stay relevant. 

We are in an increasingly competitive landscape, where innovations happen more quickly and the pace of change is faster than ever before. If you want to build a workforce that can last for decades, it will require investment in developing leaders and promoting individuals who have soft skills like leadership, personal growth, collaboration, etc.

Caliper can help you to identify the best fit before you hire for an open role. With our science-backed assessments, you can quickly gauge the cultural fit of any given candidate, and see whether their skills and competencies are the ones you need in your workplace. And, with our precision series, you can work to develop the skills of your leaders and individual workers, creating a more talented and flexible workforce. Reach out to our team of experts and see how we can help you transform your workforce today!

@CaliperCorp has advice for how to #recruit and #retain top talent in a post-COVID workplace:
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1. Offer Flexible Work Schedules

At the start of the pandemic, businesses and organizations scrambled to adjust to remote work scenarios. Meetings that once took place in the office were now being held virtually from living rooms, home offices, and kitchen tables. Now, with over a year of remote work under our belts, employees are finding that the newfound freedom and flexibility is something that they crave in their careers.

With vaccination efforts rolling out and a return to normalcy on the horizon, organizations are starting to ramp up their hiring efforts. Still, a lack of available and qualified talent on the market means that competition is fierce. While an entirely remote format might not be an option for all companies, finding ways to create flexibility in scheduling and the workday will be crucial for attracting and hiring the modern job seeker.

How can employers weave some flexibility into their structure if they plan to return to the office?

There are plenty of options that people can embrace, such as flex scheduling or hybrid work formats. In a hybrid model, employers create a schedule that allows employees to work from home for a portion of the week and the office for the remainder of the time. This allows some of the freedom that employees felt over the past year of remote work while also allowing for in-person collaboration and communication.

Another option that some employers are embracing is flex scheduling. With flex schedules, employers dictate a range of hours in which employees are expected to complete their workweek. For example, an employer might allow employees to work anytime from 7 am to 6 pm during the week, granted that they complete a total of 40 hours of work by the end of the workweek. This gives some flexibility in their days to work around personal commitments, appointments, and family needs. The key to using flex scheduling, though, lies in clear communication. Ensure that all employees clearly dictate the hours they will be working so that everyone on their team knows when to expect responses.   

2. Use Social Media to Source Candidates

Having a solid online presence in today’s recruiting space is essential for attracting and hiring the best candidates. 79% of job seekers are using digital platforms to connect with businesses and gather information about a potential employer. Curating a strong employer brand that resonates with your workplace culture can help you gain a leg on the competition and attract the most sought-after talent.

When it comes to young professionals, 41% cite using social media as a platform to search for and inquire about job opportunities. Employers should be utilizing their platforms to post about open positions and recruit both passive and active candidates. Chances are you are already using social media to recruit potential employees — 84% of employers say their recruitment efforts involve using social media to some extent. By advertising open positions across a range of job boards, your website, and your social media channels, you can expand your reach and create a wider talent pool.

The competition for top #talent is sure to be fierce, but with these 3 tips from @CaliperCorp, you can be sure you are attracting and #retaining the best candidates. Find out more on their latest blog:
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3. Modernize Your Benefits

In 2021, employer benefits are focusing more on flexibility and employee wellness. The in-person benefits of your office pool table are no longer relevant if your employees are working from home. As you start your recruitment efforts, take some time to review the benefits you offer employees and find ways to reinvigorate your benefits package to reflect the needs of modern workers better. Some benefits to consider include:

• Technology stipends — if your organization is continuing to work remotely, consider offering your employees a stipend to purchase technology or resources that will help to create a more enjoyable and productive work environment. Employers can cover some expenses, including a stipend for internet and WiFi, printing supplies, or other office supplies. 
• Childcare and caregiving support — over the past year, many employees have expressed the importance of having childcare or caregiving support from their employers. Working parents have the additional stress of providing care for their younger children, and 40% of working women have considered leaving their jobs due to increased caregiving responsibilities. To help retain these valuable employees and reduce the stress they face, employers should consider offering childcare services or benefits such as extended parental leave or paid family support.
• Mental health support — 70% of working professionals have said the past year was the most stressful of their career. Heightened levels of stress and anxiety can cause employees to drop in productivity or feel signs of burnout in their role. When employers offer mental health support such as telehealth and telemedicine benefits and stress management advice, employees will often see lower rates of stress in the workplace. 
• Mentoring programs — mentoring programs are a cost-effective way for skilled employees to train and guide new hires. What’s more, employers who implement mentoring programs see significantly higher retention rates than companies without a set mentoring structure. 
• Student debt assistance — the mounting student debt crisis affects millions of employees, hindering their ability to save for retirement and other financial goals. Thanks to recent provisions in stimulus packages, employers can continue to offer assistance for employees with student loan repayment programs.
• Emergency savings funds — this past year demonstrated to many the necessity of having an emergency fund to cover the cost of unforeseen financial struggles. Many employers are looking at offering resources to educate employees on managing finances and creating a fund to draw upon in times of need.

COVID-19 has affected many of our old processes, including how we recruit and retain employees. As your organization begins to ramp up your hiring efforts, make sure your strategies reflect the wants and needs of modern job seekers. 

With Caliper’s Precision Series, you can maximize employee strengths and develop areas of improvement through practical skills development — resulting in engaged, productive employees. Reach out to our team of experts to learn more about our science-driven solutions. 

Important Soft Skills For Remote Workers

Hiring for soft skills is more effective than most technical skills for your team’s success. You can always train employees in your processes and technical work, but soft skills are innate and directly influence your team’s success. Too often, soft skills are put on the back burner when it comes to vetting candidates. We’ve compiled a list of 5 employee soft skills you should nurture in your remote workers to ensure productivity.

Need help identifying the best #skills for #remote teams? @CaliperCorp can help! Check out their latest blog for the 5 most important soft skills for remote workers:
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Communication. In the remote workplace, inadequate communication skills are simply won’t work. Without the oversight of an on-site manager, employees need to maintain consistent and transparent internal communication to keep coworkers and management updated and aligned. If one of your employees is known to go radio silent from time to time, you’ll need to address communication standards.

Self-Awareness. Remote work offers a great deal of flexibility in ones’ workday. With no one directly managing employee work, individuals need to self-manage their responsibilities and emotions. Are you noticing team members struggling to meet deadlines? Make sure your expectations are clear and teach individuals to look for early signs of burnout. Recognizing these signs early on can get teams on the right track to engagement. The best remote employees are ones who have a deep understanding of both their talents and overall well-being.

Time Management. Your remote workers should be able to balance your company’s flexibility by giving themselves the necessary structure to complete their tasks. Having clearly defined work hours makes it easy to know when you can get a quick response from your team. Your remote employees need to be able to govern themselves and stick to their deadlines. You need to feel confident in your teams’ ability to manage their tasks without micromanagement.

Decision-making. One organizational benefit of remote work is that it provides an opportunity to find strong future leaders. Your remote team should be built with employees capable of making their own decisions and standing by them. Remote work offers more autonomy, so make sure that you source a team of innovative thinkers excited about taking initiative. While some tasks and decisions will require employees to consult with others, they should be fully capable of making quick day-to-day decisions independently.

Flexibility. Today’s workplace saw a lot of change recently, and it happened fast. Successful employees were able to stay on their toes and adjust as needed. Organizations were forced to make quick adjustments to remain profitable and safe. From adopting a remote work format to implementing new digital collaboration tools, your organization has likely undergone significant changes, and your employees need to be flexible enough to evolve with you.

Improving Soft Skills In Your Remote Teams

Identifying the soft skills you hope to improve in your remote teams is only the start. Creating opportunities and programs to help facilitate this growth will keep your employees engaged and invested in their role. Some ways you can work to improve the skills of you and your employees are:

#SoftSkills are the key to sourcing and #hiring successful remote employees. @CaliperCorp offers advice on how to build a robust and resilient team:
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Invest in a learning plan. Your employees are your greatest asset and should be treated as such! It’s much easier to develop your existing employees than it is to hire new ones, so nurturing your employees’ soft skills is in your best interest. Talk to your team about what they hope to achieve within their career and their future aspirations. Don’t restrict yourself to only professional goals — what personal skills can you also grow and apply to your role? How do you plan to refine these skills?

Investing in a development plan helps affirm your commitment to growth and offers structure to your development goals. Self-paced development courses are great opportunities for employees to take ownership of their growth. They can complete courses and certifications at a pace that suits them without infringing on their work activities and deadlines. Another great option is utilizing team-wide development courses. This allows you to oversee your whole team’s growth and ensure everyone is on the same page. 

Provide opportunities to practice skills. It’s going to take time and patience to refine your remote team’s soft skills. Your employees are continually evolving, and so are their skill sets. To grow within their career, your employees need to capitalize on opportunities to put their skills into practice. Many transferable soft skills require human interaction, and with the support of video conferencing tools and social platforms, your team can still practice their communication skills from afar. Allow plenty of opportunities to providing feedback, so you and your employees can identify ways to improve.

Set clear expectations. Your team needs a clear action plan to be successful. When managing a remote team, transparency and clarity of expectations and responsibilities help keep everyone on track to achieve their workplace goals. Employees with a deep understanding of their responsibilities and how they play into the company’s overall success are generally more engaged with their role. Ensure all team members have access to performance management tools to help them track their work progress. 

Practice what you preach. The best leaders are the ones who lead by example. If you want to foster a specific culture or work ethic amongst your team, be a model for how they should carry themselves. Commit yourself to coach your employees on how to hold themselves accountable and provide high-quality work while practicing self-governance.

This past year has shown us that a lot more positions can be done remotely than we previously thought. The key, though, lies in finding the right employees who have the skill set needed to be self-accountable and engaged. Using the Caliper Profile, you can utilize our science-driven personality assessments and pre-employment screening to make sure you are interviewing and hiring the right people for your company. Our cutting-edge data can be used throughout the employee lifecycle, including selection, development, promotion, team building. For more information, reach out to our team of experts to see what Caliper can do!

Trying to integrate a #NewHire onto an existing, high-performing team? @CaliperCorp has 4 #BestPractices on how to seamlessly add someone new to your company onto an existing team:
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Here are 4 best practices so adding a new hire onto an existing team:

1. The Caliper Profile Goes Beyond Selection

Personality assessments don’t expire when the new hire walks through the door. Leverage what you’ve learned about this individual’s strengths, motivations, natural inclinations, and preferred communication and work style. When managers take these things into consideration, it becomes much easier to shape coaching and mentoring strategies, provide targeted guidance, and help the individual acclimate to and thrive within their new team.

Even if you don’t use assessments for selection, it’s a valuable tool for managers to better understand their team dynamic, how individuals might interact with one another, bolster each other’s strengths, and get ahead of potential conflict. By helping the team to get to know one another on a more personal level, managers can increase mutual understanding, improve communication, and foster a strong, well-bonded team.

2. Prep The Team Ahead Of Time

Preparation is key when it comes to integrating a new team member. Don’t wait until they’ve already started, make sure the team has an understand of who will be joining them, what the new teammate’s responsibilities will be, who will be involved in each part of the training, and set up an opportunity for the team to get to know their new member in a setting that’s not all about work.

Before Day 1 arrives, a well prepared team will make for a seamless transition and smooth onboarding process. By removing any unknowns, inconsistencies, or variables before the new hire arrives, the team will be able to hit the ground running.

Bonus Content: Watch the Onboarding New Employees Webinar!

3. Set Expectations For Everyone On The Team

Sometimes employees on an existing team might not think that a new member means anything for their own workload. But this isn’t always the case. Of course managers will be thinking about the start-to-finish process for the new team member, but don’t overlook how that process will affect everyone on the team. Whether that be aligning training sessions, scheduling checks-ins, meeting with members of the team to see how the new hire is ramping up, or how they can transition workload and responsibilities as the new member gets more and more set in their new role — it’s important that the entire team knows what’s happening at a given moment so that there’s no sputtering, stalling, or confusion.

How can you ensure your new hires fit in well, catch up quickly, and become effective early? @CaliperCorp says it comes down to these 4 #BestPractices during the #onboarding process:
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4. Put it to a Timeline

An important part of keeping the process moving and on track is to create a timeline. Map out the onboarding and training timeline, outline how long the process should take, break it into phases or stages, and set deadlines for when they should complete each stage. Doing this allows not only the manager to keep track of where the process is at, but also allows for the new hire to see a full view of their training, how long it will take, and how it will be broken down. Teammates can also see what will be happening, when, and have a better idea for when their team will be fully up to speed.

The timeline is also a great opportunity to set goals, schedule one-to-one conversations, build in time for feedback, questions, and any necessary check-ins along the way to ensure that your new hire has ample opportunity to get the coaching, guidance, and face-to-face time they need as they’re settling in.

The important part of assimilating a new hire into an existing team is to remember that they’ll be fitting into an existing dynamic. Leverage the Caliper Profile to better understand the successes and challenges that the individual and the team as a whole will face throughout the process —  and plan for how to address those things ahead of time in order to alleviate as much friction as possible.

To learn more about the ways the Caliper Profile can make onboarding and training a smoother process for your new hires and their team, reach out to our experts today!

The impact of this economy on business and employment is twofold: Not only are people in task-focused jobs being replaced by automation technology at an increasing rate, but companies are also restructuring to be leaner and more adaptable. Hierarchical structures — where people have well-defined, highly specific duties — are giving way to flatter ones. Cross-functional collaboration and teamwork are the new keys to success.

With artificial intelligence taking on repetitive task work, it falls on human teams to develop and execute a strategy that drives profit and increases client retention. Therefore, it’s more important than ever for organizations to ensure their teams are built for maximum effectiveness. Effective teams are the crux of your business. You can set strategies, create goals, and plan to the last detail, but without carefully selected, high-performing teams, you’re going to fall short. Mental toughness is an important factor in team-building and one you should be looking for as you guide your team to success. Good teamwork requires a tricky balance, but by adhering to the 10 best practices outlined below, leaders and team members can realize their shared objectives:

Establish Trust

The foundation of any lasting relationship, professional or personal, is trust. In a professional setting, team members have to know others will deliver on promises, support shared goals, pitch in during challenging times and maintain open communication.

58% of people say they trust strangers more than their own boss. If someone struggles to trust even their own boss, they likely don’t trust who they work with either. If you put your trust in team members, and they return that trust, the team bond is strengthened. Here are a few ways you can strengthen that bond:

• Have patience – trust is built over time, so be tolerant and considerate of any mistakes.
• Remain calm – this will inspire trust and loyalty because your employees know where they stand with you.
• Be transparent, open, and flexible – this will help to get rid of any mistrustful perceptions.
• Provide mutual feedback – the key is to have a plan in place and a process to follow.
• Participate in ongoing team exercises – a few examples include the human knot, scavenger hunts and having employees maintain eye contact for 60 seconds.

Understand Yourself

Achieving self-awareness about your strengths, limitations, motivations and tendencies will help you contribute most effectively to the team by taking on the tasks for which you are best suited and by eliminating behaviors that hinder the attainment of shared goals.

How effective is your team? @CaliperCorp has created the 10 best practices for #teambuilding that’s not only mentally tough, but extremely effective:
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According to an American Management Association study, “a high self-awareness score was the strongest predictor of overall success.”

Self-awareness is also a key characteristic of mental toughness. In the competitive world of sales, mentally tough employees demonstrate grit and motivation to see a project through to completion at a high level. That’s a valuable addition when putting together successful teams. Teams are dynamic and constantly in flux, so consider which of your employees are self-aware enough to pick up the slack when they see it and delegate work when they’re overloaded.

Understand Others

Just as you have a personal work style, so does everyone on your team. Instead of expecting others to operate according to your style, seek awareness of their strengths and limitations. This will give you a better understanding of which employees exhibit mental toughness and how to place them within your teams to best compliment everyone’s strengths and support their weaknesses.

The best way to understand others is by doing the following:

• Pick up on any emotional cues (verbal and non-verbal) – the tone of voice, body language and other non-verbal ways of communication.
• Actively listen to what others have to say – this will help the person speaking to feel more at ease and able to communicate better.
• Be aware that not everyone has the same point of view – show sensitivity and understand their perspective.
• Provide assistance – depending on your understanding of the emotions and needs of the person.

By learning about each other’s intrinsic motivations and work styles, team members can understand why people do what they do and reduce unproductive conflict. Through enhanced mental toughness training and development, your team will know how to better bring in new clients as well as retain them. Even the best programs have a natural drop off if intrinsic human behavior isn’t addressed.

Check out the Caliper Essentials for Coaching to gain insight into how your leadership strategy can develop and enhance your teams’ strengths.

Define Roles

It takes different types of personalities to make a team run effectively. Some people are better communicators, some have brighter ideas and some are more efficient and organized. By defining responsibilities beyond specific tasks and thinking about team roles holistically, a team can maximize the talents of the individual members while forming a single entity with the power to achieve great things.

Team Roles Include:

• Champion – someone who enjoys promoting ideas, rallying the group, and driving change.
• Creator – someone who enjoys generating ideas, designing solutions, and tackling creative challenges.
• Implementer – someone who is adept at taking charge of the daily work activities and administrative tasks.
• Facilitator – someone who does well managing relationships, both within the team and externally; they are the glue that holds everything together.

Set Ground Rules

It’s your team, and the team is free to make its own rules of engagement. Rules may relate to how members communicate, how they establish and meet deadlines and how they handle obstacles. With ground rules in place, members know how to navigate challenges and how they will be held accountable in a non-hierarchical structure.
Important: Ground rules should be flexible and changeable based on team needs. Following rules simply because they exist is not an effective practice.

Setting ground rules within your team can help improve the quality of work life by:

• Creating open communication.
• Ensuring employees act professionally.
• Making sure all employees are treated the same and with respect.

Conduct Negative Polling

Instead of asking people if they agree on a given approach, decision or meeting point, ask if anyone disagrees. You are giving them the opportunity to voice concerns rather than simply acquiescing in an effort to go along with popular opinion. You’ll notice which of your team members exhibit ego-strength, another aspect of mental toughness, which can be used as a model for how these conversations should go. Conflict is not necessarily something to be avoided. When a few teammates can work through their disagreements in a respectful, productive way without taking it personally, your entire becomes stronger and more effective.

Give and Accept Feedback

43% of highly engaged employees receive feedback once a week, compared to 18% of those with low engagement. If feedback is provided in a way that supports the individual’s growth and development, it can be a wonderful tool for identifying potential blind spots and increasing self-awareness through others’ perceptions. In a way, team members are coaching and developing each other, and obstacles to team success are being addressed in a respectful, constructive manner that focuses on professional growth rather than on personal criticism.

@CaliperCorp has defined the essential steps for #teambuilding for maximum effectiveness. The key to success is collaboration and teamwork, and it all starts here:
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Take Time for Reflection

It’s easy to become caught up in deadlines, checklists and moving things into the “done” pile, as there are always more challenges lining up to take the place of completed assignments. Unfortunately, bad habits can develop, and opportunities for systems and/or process improvement are often missed. Take the time, as a team, to reflect both on accomplishments and setbacks; for the former, to reinforce and improve upon what worked; for the latter, to focus on where there are opportunities for improvement.

A good time to do this is at the middle and end of every year. This allows the team to reflect on where they have been, where they are now, and where they are going. And don’t forget to also reflect on individual accomplishments. Reflecting together as a team on individual contributions will give team members appreciation for their hard work, along with the realization and recognition of how well they performed. You can also take this opportunity to discuss and foster the mental toughness traits you notice in your team, building up those skills across your team over time.

View Team Building as an Ongoing Activity

Team effectiveness is not something you think about offhandedly in between the other stuff. It should be your focus. Projects will come and go, but the team is the engine that drives the business result. And just like engines need maintenance to run efficiently, teams need to revisit best practices to make sure effectiveness remains optimized. It is the most important investment you can make for your team.

Building mental toughness within your team takes time, and not everyone will be mentally tough individually, but you can build particular skills within those team members who possess parts of a whole. By distributing the traits of mental toughness across your team in a way that supports itself, you can install a safety net so that there is always someone to catch things before they fall through the cracks.

Know When to Lead and When to Step Back

Leaders play an important role in team development, whether it’s setting the standard for accountability, facilitating communication or mediating conflict. They also know the work styles of different team members just as they know their own. However, it’s important that leaders’ strengths and limitations are on the table alongside everyone else’s and that they are open to improving their contributions and increasing self-awareness. In the end, team members will only be as committed to team development as the leader is.

A true leader on an effective team does not try to take over, make assumptions on behalf of other team members or micromanage their contributions. Doing so defeats the value of the flat, cross-functional structure. It also shuts down communication and limits interaction. The secret: if leaders follow the other nine best practices described above, this 10th one will fall into place naturally.

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”

– Andrew Carnegie

Caliper’s organizational development consultants are experts at guiding and facilitating team building and team development workshops and programs. To understand more about mental toughness and how to apply to your team building, download the white paper, or get your assessment today.