Category: Corporate

Performance is driven by behaviour of people. I worked with a call centre team in April and we improved first call resolution from 33% to 74% in 3 months by changing behaviours and attitude only!! Only 20% of our behaviour is conscious and we are directing it through thinking and reasoning. This is the ultimate where the brain is fully functional, alert and active in thinking, planning and performance actions.   The more we work in this conscious reasoning space the better work and output we produce.  The other 80% of behaviour is subconscious and we are not really aware of how the environment, people and spaces are contributing to gut,  emotion, habits and preferences.  Why do we feel comfortable, engaged and ready in certain situations and environments while in others the opposite?  This is acknowledging the impact of the environment and people on our behaviour….

Take a team at work – are they focused, engaged and productive?  They work well together, plan and problem solve and get the job done, good and proper, for most of the time.  Sometimes even elevating their output and innovative thinking to strive towards outperforming other teams…that is the ideal isn’t it?  The reality is that it is not as simple as that.

When people work together there are just so many influences and a lot of times these influences are tapping into that 80% subconscious behaviour.  How is your team coping?  Are they moaning, complaining and/or underperforming? Do they tolerate one another and collaborate to reach a collective goal or are they constantly butting heads? Organisations are made up of teams and they drive your products, profits and customer service.  Yes, your infrastructure and operational methods support them but ultimately it comes down to people delivering best, as much and as often as possible.

I believe and have seen over the years that as a species we are just too judgemental and intolerant?  And for sure, to drive profits in any organisation individuals and teams should be accountable, take ownership and perform at excellent levels as much as possible.  However by taking “difficult” teams through a process of self-awareness and team awareness we create a much better sense of appreciation for diversity, how each team member contributes to the bigger picture and we really empower people to think outside of their own little worlds where they play centre stage.  It is not all about me!  Individuals need to realise that they are part of a team and only with collective collaboration will things fall into place.  People must learn to be more tolerant, more disciplined and less full of nonsense!  Get off your high horse, realise who you are and what you contribute, but at the same time see the same in your team members. This applies to all levels of staff hierarchy in organisations.  And this healthy attitude can only be sustainable if enforced from executive management.  Every individual should lead their own behaviour and contribution and regulate themselves to be a positive contributor not moaning and under-performing.  Every person and every team have a sweet spot where they WILL excel!

How is your team doing??

I do chaos aka “organised clutter”…. I put my head down, “close my ears”, focus and produce high quality of work in the midst of noise, people, stuff, clutter, boxes, files, books, etc.  I have high sensory thresholds and my brain filters all the background noise and clutter so that it does not reach my conscious brain. My focus and concentration is therefore better because the level of distractions is minimal. But then I miss detail and can really mess things up in this department. The other day I booked a plane ticket incorrectly because I did not double-check the dates….I wanted to scream….  I reminded my assistant (who has low thresholds and a real stickler for detail) to never ever allow me to book flights again. Then I had a meeting with a new team member in my office last week.  She made a few interesting (yet very cautious) comments on organising and tidying up my office space.  I did not even register her comment (typical of a high threshold assess) but when I received her sensory assessment results (everyone who joins our team gets assessed of course) –  I connected the sensory dots.  She has low thresholds and will totally freak out in my space.  What works for me does not work for her – she needs her space to be organised, tidy, and clean and colour coded. Understanding that people are differently wired, have different habits and different work place habits are the fundamental insights and understanding of sensory assessment and sensory intelligence!  This directly relates to our immediate workspace.

A busy open plan office space (or worse, a 1200 sales contact centre) can absolutely energise one person while creating annoying distractions for someone else. Research clearly shows that people respond differently to the physical and sensory elements of a workspace. We rarely know how our sensory thresholds can be a contributor to our distractions, irritations or conflict.

To make sense – and be more productive and happy, we advise:

1.  Discover:  what is your sensory assessment?

2.  Acknowledge:  how does it influence the way you work, relate and operate?  Does your space make sense?  Does your job make sense?  How do you fit into your team?  Where are conflict areas and irritations?  Does it have a sensory assessment base?

3.  Adapt:  through self and team awareness to stop judging others, improve communication and accept diversity among the groups we work and live with.  Self-regulate – use your senses to boost your performance and apply Sensory ergonomics –small/minor/cost effective changes to your work environment.