Psychometrics To Help To Understand Clients

Lawyers And Insolvency Firms Turn To Psychometrics To Help To Understand Their Clients….

As the impact of the recession bites into small and medium business in New Zealand, financial insolvency companies and lawyers are increasingly coming into contact with people who are stressed and under financial pressure.

Many of these professional partnerships and companies are now turning to psychometric training to help them understand their “clients” better, and to help them recognise human personalities so that they can deliver the right messages in the right way to help those people turn around to a positive outcome.

Psychometric specialist Werner Naef, of New Zealand-based Kahler Communications Oceania Ltd, says that once people hit real financial pressure often they simply cannot cope. Job loss, mounting debts and threat of loss of possessions creates stress problems which can manifest themselves in violent relationships, abuse, disengaging, intense resentment and other dysfunctional behaviour. Often their physical health may deteriorate just as their mental health has, and the threat of pandemics like Swine flu all contribute to stress in the widest sense.

“Of course for many people, what is happening in their personal life spills over into their workplace life, so the disciplines of safety, team work, reliability and honesty all start to be effected also,” he said.

“Insolvency companies and lawyers generally come into the play when individuals or companies get over their heads in debt or when commercial contracts turn sour. Often the people concerned simply cannot think straight because of the pressure they are under.

“The introduction of psychometric training can help the lawyers and insolvency specialists understand their clients a lot better. They can ‘read them’ more accurately, and with the knowledge of their personality type, they can recognise the problems, accept and understand the individual, know what motivates them and then communicate with them better,” Mr Naef said.

“We recently completed a training assignment with a leading law firm, BlackmanSpargo in Rotorua using a programme called the Process Communication Model. The results were very positive.”

Chris Spargo and Ian Blackman, the partners of the business, reported that their training had helped them better connect with clients, their colleagues and other advisors in the marketplace.

“Communication in the legal business is absolutely critical. At a time when clients may be under stress due to the current economic environment, PCM techniques are useful in facilitating effective communication,” according to the partners.

“The ability to discuss issues and motivate people on the same wavelength is critical. Every effective business must work together to achieve results. We have noticed that our staff members are now working more closely together as an effective team,” they said.

Now other members of the legal profession and insolvency specialists were showing interest in this type of training, and as impact of the recession continues, debt and insolvency will become critical areas of concern.

Training in recognising personalities and using communication techniques to motivate and support the personalities was developed for the NASA astronaut training programme in the United States in the 1970s. Astronauts cocooned in a spacecraft and in the international space station for days or weeks have to be able to work together as teams. If someone became dysfunctional in that environment, the whole mission became at risk.

Following that success, similar training models are being used internationally in aviation, high speed rail, defence, health and safety and among medical professionals in hospital environments.

“Psychometric training also has applications in manufacturing, education, business and even high performance sport. There are currently three research projects going on in New Zealand and in Australia related to communication and processes in operating theatres, techniques and training for Olympic athletes and performance improvement for small and medium size business. All of these embrace the PCM training,” Mr Naef said.

In all business, it is important that employers, managers and team leaders have the skills to identify the early warning signs of stress, and then the correct professional interventions can be provided and managed.

“Too often we take the easy option of ignoring the problem or sacking the employee. Neither is the correct solution. Unusual dysfunctional behaviour is usually a cry for help. The person is advertising that they are not “OK” and they need help. Smart managers can step in early and turn that person around if they have the knowledge to recognize the signs”, Mr Naef said.

“Today business is all about the survival of fittest and the fattest. The businesses which can hang on to their best people, keep them focused and motivated and support them through times of stress will be those that benefit the most when the economy improves. A simple investment in their people is just as important as investing in machinery and technology. It is the people that make the business actually happen.”

Werner Naef is a former Swiss airline captain and air force pilot, commander and colonel, as well as an airline instructor, fleet and training manager, with 32 years experience. He holds a postgraduate degree in psychotherapy (1981), is a board member of European Association for Aviation Psychology, and currently is a registered aviation human factors specialist. He has worked with Swiss CAA and European JAA as a human factors expert.
Mr Naef has conducted research for the Daimler-Benz-Foundation, and worked lecturing and consulting in Europe in psychometric human factors topics, before coming to New Zealand as a Human Factors Investigator with Air New Zealand.
Last year Mr Naef was the recipient of the 2008 EAAP Award (European Association for Aviation Psychology). He is only the third ever winner of this prestigious award in the Association’s 28 year history.

ENDS

© Scoop Media