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Transcript

Workforce Optimization That Works · The Science of Leading

• 0:00
  Hey everyone-welcome back to The Science of Leading.
• 0:02
  I'm Claire Monroe, and as always,
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  I'm joined by the one and only Edwin Carrington.
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  Edwin-how's life treating you?
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  Doing well,
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  Claire.
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  Excited for today.
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  We're diving into workforce optimization,
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  and honestly-it's a topic that gets misunderstood all the time.
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  People hear it and think, "Oh,
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  great... more pressure to do more with less." But that's not really what
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  smart optimization looks like.
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  Yeah,
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  totally.
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  I used to think it meant-like-cutting costs or trying to make sure everyone
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  looked "productive" on paper.
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  But what I've seen more and more lately is-it's really about alignment.
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  Not just filling roles, but matching people to the right roles.
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  And doing that with actual behavioral data-not just,
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  you know, a gut feeling.
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  And when you do that-when there's actual alignment-you
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  get more than just efficiency.
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  You get better retention, people feel more energized,
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  teams move faster, customers are happier... and the wild part is,
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  you can actually track all of that.
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  Exactly.
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  It's not about squeezing your people-it's about unlocking them.
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  When someone's strengths and motivators line up with their role,
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  they don't just "perform"-they thrive.
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  And we're not just saying that to sound nice-there's solid data behind
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  it.
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  Organizations with high engagement don't just feel better inside.
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  They see real-world results-higher productivity,
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  better profitability, stronger customer loyalty.
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  Optimization done right isn't internal housekeeping-it's a growth strategy.
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  Yeah,
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  and I saw this play out with a client not long ago-tech company,
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  scaling fast, classic "let's hire more people" situation.
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  But the problem wasn't headcount.
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  Once they started looking at fit-behavioral alignment,
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  agility, all of that-they actually reduced turnover.
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  Like, by half.
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  And-this surprised even them-their customer satisfaction
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  scores jumped.
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  Like, same team, same product... but suddenly the vibe was different.
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  The right people were in the right seats,
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  and it showed.
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  That's the shift right there.
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  It's not about working harder-it's about setting people up to succeed
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  in the right context.
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  And when that happens, it doesn't just affect one team.
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  It spreads across the entire organization.
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  Which brings us to the science,
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  right?
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  Because this isn't just vibes and anecdotes.
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  There's real behavioral science behind all of it.
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  That's right.
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  A lot of companies are still hiring based mostly on résumés or gut instinct.
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  But behavioral and cognitive assessments give you predictive power.
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  They
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  help you see not just who has the experience,
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  but who's likely to succeed-especially in complex,
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  changing, or high-pressure roles.
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  That's a huge shift from just "hoping it works out."And it's not just
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  about hiring.
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  Like-you can use this data after someone's on board,
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  too.
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  You can spot burnout risk early,
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  understand how different team members communicate,
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  even build out development paths that actually... I don't know... fit the
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  person.
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  It turns workforce planning into something proactive instead of
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  just-putting out fires all the time.
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  Exactly.
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  And true workforce planning means looking ahead-six,
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  twelve, even twenty-four months.
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  You're not just solving today's problems.
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  You're building a talent pipeline that fits where your business is going.
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  That
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  means seeing skill gaps before they become crises,
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  anticipating role evolution, and staying nimble without overhiring.
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  I
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  worked with a manufacturing firm once-the manager of one team was struggling,
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  and it looked like a performance issue.
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  But when we looked at the behavioral data,
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  it turned out-he was just deeply conflict-avoidant,
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  and the team was in constant friction.
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  We shifted him into a different role that played to his strengths... and
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  suddenly, that entire team became one of their best-performing units.
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  It
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  was never about competence-it was about fit.
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  Wow.
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  That's... such a good reminder.
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  Like, if you're only looking at performance or,
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  like, gut vibes-you miss the why.
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  And you can't optimize what you're not actually measuring,
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  right?
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  Too many teams still rely on vague metrics or those once-a-year
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  reviews.
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  But when you track things like engagement or even how someone handles
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  pressure... you actually see what's really happening.
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  Exactly.
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  And when you layer that data-say,
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  overlaying engagement with output or collaboration-you get a more complete
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  picture.
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  That's what lets you lead in real time-not just react after the
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  damage is done.
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  And that's where tech really changes the game,
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  right?
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  Because it's one thing to have all this data,
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  but how do you actually use it?
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  Right.
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  The best workforce strategies today are tech-enabled,
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  no question.
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  We're talking platforms that combine behavioral assessments,
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  analytics, and team insights into one place.
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  That means less manual tracking,
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  more real-time decisions, and tools that help you personalize development
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  at scale.
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  But-there's a catch.
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  If all you're doing is tracking productivity,
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  or collecting data you never act on... you miss the point entirely.
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  Optimization isn't about watching the clock.
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  It's about building a system where people actually fit and flourish.
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  Yes!
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  I've seen so many companies fall into that trap.
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  They're obsessed with output, but no one's asking the deeper questions-like,
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  "Is this person even in the right role?" Or "Are they actually engaged?"So,
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  Edwin-do you have an example where a company actually broke out of that
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  trap and used their data well?
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  Absolutely.
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  A healthcare organization I worked with was collecting tons of engagement
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  data-but they weren't acting on it.
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  Turnover was creeping up, and morale was slipping.
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  Eventually,
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  they started using real-time indicators to flag burnout early.
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  They reshaped some roles, rebalanced workloads-and guess what?
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  Retention improved.
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  And even more importantly-patient satisfaction went up.
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  It was a classic
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  case of turning insight into action.
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  That's the real unlock.
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  That's such a strong point.
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  And I think for anyone listening-it's not about finding the "perfect"
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  setup.
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  It's about being willing to adapt.
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  Workforce optimization is never one-and-done.
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  It's more like... a rhythm.
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  Measure, adjust, refine, repeat.
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  Exactly.
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  You start small-define what you're optimizing for,
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  assess your team, align the roles,
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  and build in feedback loops.
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  You won't get everything right the first
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  time.
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  But with the right systems in place,
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  the results compound.
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  And honestly,
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  it becomes a way of thinking.
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  A culture shift.
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  That's when it sticks.
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  Totally.
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  And hey-if you're listening and wondering how to actually start with
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  all this... OAD makes it pretty simple.
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  You can try their tools-like behavioral assessments-for free over at
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  o-a-d-dot-a-i.
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  It's a solid way to get a real-time view of your team and
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  start optimizing based on actual data,
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  not just gut instinct.
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  It's one of those small first steps that can lead
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  to big shifts over time.
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  Yeah-and it really does make a difference.
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  So, we'll leave it there for today.
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  Edwin, always a pleasure.
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  Likewise,
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  Claire.
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  And thanks to everyone tuning in.
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  Keep leading with science.
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  Bye for now!