Holy undervalued staff, Batman!
Released 08/07/2008
Are you overlooking hidden heroes in your practice? By Suzannah Wright.
Next time you walk through the practice, take a close look at your staff. Apparently, 60 per cent of them have a hidden skill which you could be using, if only you took the time to find out about.
That, at least, was the jist of a recent survey by learndirect which found that one in six health and social care sector employees polled believed they have untapped potential. Their hidden skills, gained through activities outside work included:
1. IT skills (34 per cent) - knowing how to create a blog or build a website
2. Numeracy skills (28 per cent) - good at sudoku
3. Writing skills (28 per cent) - good at crosswords or have written letters or articles to the local paper that have been published
4. Negotiation skills (27 per cent) - e.g. looking after children
5. Sales and marketing or e-commerce skills (24 per cent) - regularly buying and selling online, i.e. eBay or Amazon
Now I believe that practice managers - at least, those I have met - do a good job of spotting and supporting potential in their employees. But it's interesting to think about how out of work activities can link to workplace skills, and these comparisons could be an interesting way to encourage staff who don't think they can take on new tasks because they've never used the skills at work before.
If nothing else, discussing hidden skills could be an interesting activity for your next team away day.
The survey also revealed that Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) was voted the superhero boss most health and social care industry employees would like to have (22 per cent). However, it didn't indicate why this is, nor how you could become more batman-like in your management style. Your suggestions welcome....