Got the Right People in the Right Roles?

Confusion & ambiguity around roles could be one of the biggest performance losses facing your org./ team. Yet, it can be surprisingly easy to fix!

With all the focus on finding the Right People, something is getting overlooked – that is making sure that the Right People are in the Right Roles! Up to 33% of the time this may not be happening.

A Major Opportunity

When we look at last quarter’s Pitstop Analytics ™ bench-marking data, 3 out of 4 executives (77%) say they have the Right People on their teams. However, 1 in 3 (31%) say there are people who are not in the Right Roles and almost 1 in 5 (18%) question whether their people are doing the Right Work.

So, imagine this—an organization of 1000 executives—perhaps there are as many a 310 of in the wrong roles! What a drain on performance and talent for the organization, as well as on motivation and engagement for the many individuals involved!

What is exciting is that the solution is often not a major overall of structure. Rather than rewriting job descriptions or redrawing the organizational chart the solution involves practical steps in respect of Role Clarity. To illustrate the point here are some of the variables involved:

Seeking Role Clarity

Getting clarity around roles is a clear first step – with 1 in 2 (55%) saying there isn’t total clarity regarding roles and responsibilities on their teams.  Approximately one in 5 (17%) say that the roles on paper do not match the daily reality of their jobs. Imagine what you would do if the data revealed a similar situation within your organization or team.

The challenge with ensuring that people are in the Right Roles, is that roles are dynamic, not static. To illustrate the point 2 out of 3 executives (66%) say that roles are either changing or need to change within their organization/team. This means that adjusting and clarifying roles is an ongoing requirement.

Roles tend to stretch, with more than half of executives (58%) saying that team members are ‘wearing too many hats‘ and facing overload as a result.

Whose hat is it actually? Sometimes people may be jostling with each other for the same hat – with almost 2 out of 3 executives (62%) saying that people’s own roles can put them in conflict with others on the team. Haven’t we all seen that happening?!

All this makes Right Roles a top priority for leaders who are obsessed with performance. Left unaddressed it represents an important performance loss—an unnecessary obstacle to individuals and teams realizing their performance potential. However, greater role clarity offers the possibility of a substantial quick win for leaders and their teams – one that can impact not just on performance, but on alignment, collaboration and cohesion.