Develop Employees

We have found that most employees who are coached using the Simmons Personal Survey do make the necessary changes.  Further, a significant percentage of troubled employees, once coached, go on to perform above expectations!  Coaching, using the Simmons Personal Survey, can also help good employees to become outstanding or can help employees prepare for promotion!  The bottom-line result is an increase in productivity and decreased employee-related costs!

The following are brief versions of testimonials and of research reports, proving the value of the Survey in developing employees.  If you want more in-depth versions, click on this link:  In-Depth Employee Development Proof

"In one bank, we used the Survey with the entire management team.  It was very effective in pulling people together, talking about their lesser strengths.  By allowing the Survey to identify them, we were able to confront some interpersonal relationships that were deteriorating and effectively mend those relationships."  Jerry Turk, Human Resource Consultant

"The Survey’s tremendous value has been in selection and team building.  The Survey was used not so much to eliminate a person from the hire, but to enable us to put together a development plan for them.  From the Survey, we could tell his training manager 'These are the things you’re going to see in their work.  This is how you can help them grow.'  The trainee and his supervisor were then working together towards the same goals.

Developing better managers meant they stayed longer, were more effective and felt better about their jobs.  The bottom line was:  We not only lowered our expenses by reducing turnover, we also increased sales with better trained managers.

The results of a six month pilot study completely validated the importance of using the Survey for Team Building.  After six months, stores using the Simmons Survey for team building had improved significantly more than the other stores in all three areas tracked: 1.) Sales Increase up 10%;  2.) Quality Service And Cleanliness Inspection improved a full grade level;  3.) Crew Turnover Rate reduced.  Overall profitability had improved as well.

The Survey really helped the supervisor build team work, with everyone drawing off each others strengths and supporting them in the areas they need to work on.  As an employer, we saw we had to have it.”  Keith Floto, Human Resource Manager, WenLake (a Wendy's franchise.)

"At the same Wendy’s restaurant franchise, the Survey was found to correlate with manager job performance by .86.  This is a remarkably high correlation with overall performance, since other factors such as health, experience, education, and intelligence also affect performance."  Simmons Management Systems Research Statistic.

CSR/American Aggregates, a subsidiary of Australian based Consolidated Sugar Refineries, with 1100 employees, has been using the Survey to help their leaders make the personal changes necessary to successfully practice the new team management style that the company has put in place.  "We are using the Simmons as a tool for both individual and company success.  Serious paradigm shifts are necessary to make TQM successful.  We feel the Simmons Personal Survey is the tool that can help us do that."  Steve Fleming, VP Human Resources.

"100% of the Surveys we have processed have been accurate and were verified by other reliable information.  The Survey has consistently helped us hire good employees, reduce turnover, greatly enhance performance, and increase customer satisfaction."  Tom Howard, V. P. Human Resources, Wang's International, Inc. Memphis, TN.

"We promoted the best candidate using the Survey, but the benefits of the Survey went far beyond that.  Each candidate had the opportunity to discuss their Survey with us.  Often those who had not been promoted would say, “I really want to move up into management.  What is it that’s holding me back?”  We would go over their Survey, showing them specific areas that they could work on.  Providing this assistance in their development proved to be extremely cost effective.  Before long we were promoting entirely from within.  

Each year the Department Managers took the Simmons Survey and compared it to their results from the previous year.  In a meeting with the Store Manager, they would review and acknowledge the improvements they had made.  The employee had the opportunity to make suggestions about what they thought needed improvement.  Then the Store Manager made his suggestions.  Together they developed specific goals for the next year.  This development process has double benefits of reducing turnover and increasing effectiveness. 

Within 18 months, the Survey was the key to reducing turnover, from a crippling 172% to a manageable 70%."  Pat Sumpter, HR Consultant, and previous HR Manager for this company.

“When we bought an existing [Wendy's] franchise, the previous owner strongly recommended that we fire or demote the current area supervisor.   ‘She’s not going to be able to handle it,’ they said.  ‘she’s got a negative attitude, not a team player.’

The Survey showed a very high Self Esteem score, a somewhat low commitment to work and low tolerance.  But it also showed good people skills and a positive attitude.  They had misidentified the problem.  While sharing the Survey results with her we learned that she had experienced a deep hurt in her life.  She wasn’t aware how much it was affecting her on the job until she saw her Survey.  We sat down with her and put together a development plan.  Within weeks there was a marked improvement and she is still doing an excellent job with the company.

Talk about cutting turnover costs!  It would have been very expensive to loose her 10 years of training and experience.  We would have lost an excellent manager with a lot of great strengths if we had fired her on their recommendation.  We were able to work with her on the problems she did have, and it not only turned out super, but it added a lot of validity to the Survey.”   Keith Floto, HR Manager

"We’ve used the Survey for hiring, training, promotion and team building for over 15 years.  It’s been most important to us as a management tool for training.  I’ll sit down with the employee’s manager and show them, 'Now this is where he might have some difficulties and this is how you can help them.'  For instance, if an employee has very aggressive type behavior and his manager doesn’t.  We’ll suggest to the manager, 'You’ll have to stay on top of this because, this person will run over you if you’re not careful.'  If they go into it aware of that, then normally they can handle it with no problem."  Doug Haile, Human Resource Manager, O’Sullivan Industries, Lamar, MO

"I learned about my own blind spots through my own experience with the Simmons Personal Survey.   This awareness proved to be a turning point in my life.  My relationships have improved.  My business has thrived.  All because I was willing to take responsibility for the results of my Survey."  Bob Wall, HR Consultant.

"When we approached him with the Survey, and showed him the areas that needed improving for him to move up in the company or even to be comfortable as a leader, he took that on as a challenge to make it happen. He realized that he wanted to be more, to do more and was going to have to change character  to do it.  Over a two year period, he went from basically a good worker up to a very well-adjusted middle executive.  That was about five years ago and now he is very successful, in charge of all the production of the boat.  He has made lasting change now."   Wes Crane, Human Resources Consultant.

[The employee mentioned in this quote was a struggling assistant manager at a grocery store.]  "About a year after coaching him with the Survey, I began to get feedback that Matt had made a terrific turnabout, had become a dynamic force in his store, often surpassing and outperforming his store manager.  The results were shocking and undeniable.  Matt had shown significant personal growth in all areas of character that would be associated with an effective leader.  Matt said that when he saw his original Survey results, he was not happy with the individual I had identified him to be and he wanted to make a change.  He took charge of his own personal growth, made a conscious decision to accept the risks associated with leadership and grow as a person.  Matt continues to be one of the top managers in the group at this writing."  Doug Jones, Human Resources Consultant.

"After an employee has been on the job for three months, completed training, and had a chance to settle in, their manager will review their Simmons Survey.  We’re aware that this is a snapshot of them at this point in their life.  It’s not engraved in stone.  People can and do change.  We use it as an indicator of where the employee is now compared to where they need to be for their position.  The Survey is a tool to guide us; to help us plan what we need to do to help them get there."  Patty Camps, General Manager,  Metal Products, Memphis, TN

"I have used the Simmons Survey for years now.  I have come to put a great degree of trust in the Survey findings.  Over and over again, I have seen Surveys that are consistent with my interview findings.  When I review the Surveys with the participant's own managers, they, too, confirm the Survey's validity."  Bob Wall, Psychologist and Human Resource Consultant.

"Mike and I reviewed the results of his Survey to discover what his results might tell us about how his character was contributing to the problem.  The Survey was absolutely consistent with my interview findings.  I gave Mike one week to think about our conversation and arrive at some decisions about what he wanted to do about some of the concerns expressed by his staff and the character traits suggested by his Survey report.

His first words to me a week later were, 'I want you to know that I was stunned by our conversation.  I have thought about nothing else for the last week.  I had already planned to take some time off and I found that whatever I was doing, I was thinking about our conversation.  My wife and I had a long talk and she finally opened up to me and confirmed a lot of your findings.  I really had no idea that things had gotten so bad...  Let's get to work.  I want to turn this around.'

He made a list of people he felt he needed to apologize to individually.  He also called a staff meeting to talk about what he had learned and to express his commitment to being the best manager they had ever had. 

Its been two years now and, while he is still prone to slip back into some of the old behaviors when under extreme pressure, his boss and his staff have been grateful to see a genuine commitment to improve his relationships at work and have seen some substantial changes in his approach to them.  

Mike is still in his position, accomplishing more than he ever has before, and, more importantly, his level of esteem has risen throughout the company as he becomes more and more skillful at dealing with people appropriately.  A prediction: Within ten years, he will be the President of the company because he has had the courage and the commitment to deal with the flaws in his character."   Bob Wall, Psychologist and Human Resource Consultant.

"The Survey is valuable because it allows us to accurately predict individual performance issues, like their commitment to work, tolerance, etc.  The Survey helps the person understand why they do what they do, which is the only way they can improve.  It becomes the basis for their training."  Anthony Dagastino, District Manager, Wenco Franchise Management Inc., Memphis, TN

If you wish to read further, we have many more testimonials, more in-depth testimonials, and more research findings relative to employee development at the following link:  In-Depth Employee Development Proof