RSS feedsA successful business relies on a competent and skilled workforce made up of people who understand their role within the company. Having just a small number of employees who do not possess the necessary skills, or misunderstand even a minor aspect of their job, can leave an organisation exposed to risk and increased training costs.
It is the responsibility of all businesses to look at where inefficiencies exist within an organisation and where risks can be minimised. One area that is often overlooked is employee assessment, which is traditionally seen as an HR issue.
However, if I were to tell you that one-in-four of your staff misunderstands their job, and that this will impact business profits, most people would take note.
Recently, the media has highlighted problems caused by seemingly minor employee errors that have escalated into enormously damaging problems for the organisations involved.
One of the most recent, the HSBC data breach, saw the personal details of 370,000 of the bank’s customers compromised when they were copied onto a disk, which was subsequently lost in the post. Apart from the negative publicity, the potential alienation of customers, who could take their business elsewhere, would be a massive blow to any business.
Organisations need to determine whether this kind of incident was caused by
avoidable human error and whether there was something that could have been done
internally to reduce the exposure to this risk.
The findings from the research we have conducted when working with some of the
world’s biggest companies are shocking.
Based on 1.25 million employees in 35 companies, an average 23% of employees do not understand at least one crucial aspect of their job. The implications of this across any organisation are massive and will undoubtedly reduce business performance. As well as this, the business is exposed to an increased level of risk.
Wider implications
In the financial markets, the slightest mistake can result in huge losses not only for individual customers, but for the business as a whole.
Attending training sessions would not have prevented some of the errors we have seen recently. However, organisations that examine more closely whether employees fully understand their job role and the implications of the decisions they make should be better placed to mitigate the risks.
It is one thing for an employee to attend a training course and pass a test at the end of it, but quite another to prove they understand what they have learnt and the consequences of their actions.
Successfully completing a training course only demonstrates that an employee has managed to memorise the information they have received. This is not enough to ensure that members of staff are confident and competent in their job roles.
Employers have a responsibility to their employees and customers to make sure every member of their staff understands the requirements of their job and that they are assessed regularly to identify any shortfalls in performance and skills or mistakes will be made.
If nearly one-quarter of staff are underperforming in their job, what impact is that having? It is imperative that all employees are not only carrying out their jobs to a satisfactory level, but are confident that they are covering every aspect of their role in the company in the manner that is expected of them.
Whatever industry you work in, mistakes caused by employee incompetence or employee misunderstanding have not only financial implications, but can cost a firm its reputation and, ultimately, its customers.
Employee understanding and competency is no longer a job for HR directors alone. As recent events have shown, the slightest incident of employee misunderstanding can have a massive impact on the rest of the business. No company can afford to be exposing itself to this kind of risk. Regular assessment of employee understanding (and misunderstanding) of their role within the company leaves every business in a far safer and more productive position.
Mary Clarke is CEO of Cognisco
