Key Questions on Employees’ Minds Right Now, Part I/II

Many hospitality students and professionals around the world recently participated in Aethos’ series of development webinars. These sessions offered attendees the opportunity to complete the 20|20 Skills™ assessment to gain a personal SWOT analysis to help them navigate these challenging times of occupational crisis and change. Interestingly, the attendees consistently voiced certain concerns and follow-up questions.

We wanted, therefore, to address these issues publicly for the benefit of business owners, leaders, and HR professionals who are eager to understand the issues presently on the minds of the global workforce. First, we will consider some general topics. In a follow-up piece, we will explore questions specific to two groups of team members: (a) those who have jobs and are likely telecommuting and (b) those who have been furloughed. Likewise, we urge leaders to contemplate these issues and questions and proactively address them in their own businesses.

For the Generally Curious

Audience: What is the value of professional development webinars if everyone learns and leverages the same information?

Aethos: This is an insightful question. Indeed, there would be no inherent competitive advantage if everyone operated equally well from the same performance playbook. Of course, that is the point – not everyone seizes opportunity. First, most people do not attend development webinars for various reasons – but usually it boils down to a lack of humility, curiosity, or both. Second, a small percentage of attendees actually do something meaningful with newly acquired information and insights. Ideas must transform into actions, and only the most proactive, dedicated, and motivated people take those next steps. It is those who have the competitive advantage in their career advancement.

Audience: How many worker types are measured by the 20|20 Skills psychometric assessment?

Aethos: The assessment acts like a “psychometric selfie” to gauge a person’s motivations, traits, and tendencies related to Execution, People, and Cognitive skills. Thus, a person’s profile can change over time, depending on their role, training, maturity, and situational factors.

However, the algorithms examine all the various nuances and broad patterns to characterize an individual at a point in time using ten general “worker type” profiles. Note that there is no “right/wrong,” “pass/fail,” or value judgment of any kind with a specific outcome – each profile has its own particular strengths and weaknesses. Thus, you can only interpret the result properly against the requirements needed for a particular role or company culture:

• “Learner”– someone who shows marked humility and a strong focus on professional development and career advancement. This positive attitude and perseverance promote strong openness to new learnings and opportunities. For example, the person could be new to the job market, the hospitality industry, or a specialized role or entirely different company than the person’s work history.
• “Thinker” – someone who is especially effective in general cognitive ability, such as handling tasks associated with analysis, planning and developing innovations and strategies.
• “Facilitator” – someone who is especially effective in general people skills and facilitating teamwork.
• “Producer” – someone who is especially effective in executing plans and producing tangible outcomes.
• “Motivator” – someone who is especially effective in general people skills and motivating teamwork with a focus on tangible outcomes.
• “Researcher” – someone who is especially effective in general cognitive ability and working diligently on tangible outcomes.
• “Standard Bearer” – someone with competitive levels of cognitive ability, people skills and execution skills in the industry.
• “Visionary” – someone who is especially effective in general cognitive ability and leveraging people skills to inspire teamwork and achieve goals.
• “Achiever” – someone who is especially effective in general cognitive ability, people skills and being hands-on with implementing plans and achieving goals.
• “Peak Performer” – someone with unusually high levels of general cognitive ability, people skills and capacity for execution compared to typical professionals in the industry.