New Research Study: Participants See Benefits of Interpersonal Skills Training

A new research study shows the workplace benefits of interpersonal skills training as seen by actual training participants. This study of 500 recent training participants looks at the impact of Social Style on common workplace problems such as communication breakdowns, low morale, conflict and negative performance. Social Style is TRACOMís model for effective interpersonal behavior.

The vast majority of survey participants said these problems existed in their workplace and overwhelmingly said understanding and applying Social Style would improve the situation.

ï 87% had seen or experienced Conflict Situations
ï 88% had seen or experienced Communication Breakdowns
ï 58% had seen or experienced Negative Performance
ï 62% had seen or experienced Negative Morale
ï 76% had seen or experienced Difficult Relationships

More important than the existence of these problems is the participants’ strong belief that understanding and applying Social Style would improve the workplace situation.

ï 74% said Social Style would improve Conflict Situations
ï 78% said Social Style would improve Communication Breakdowns
ï 71% said Social Style would improve Negative Performance
ï 62% said Social Style would improve Negative Morale
ï 75% said Social Style would improve Difficult Relationships

ìThis research is important because it provides the insights of actual training program participants,î said David Collins, general manager of TRACOMís Training Solutions Group. ìAmerican organizations spend billions of dollars on training annually. This study shows that Social Style training makes a difference.î

Participants Name Their Preferred Training Model
Of the study participants, 70 percent had previously undergone a personal development assessment such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or DiSC. Of the half who felt there was a difference in ease of use and understanding between the various assessments, 90 percent said Social Style was easier to understand and use.

A majority (80%) of all respondents felt that having a multi-rater profile with self and other scores made them more aware of challenges and opportunities that would not have otherwise been considered. Among leading assessment models, only Social Style is available as both a multi-rater profile and self-perception profile.

Program Participants Confirm Beliefs of Corporate Training Professionals
This research shows that end users believe applying Social Style can improve workplace performance. It confirms the findings of two earlier research studies. In TRACOMís Corporate Training Study, training professionals strongly indicated their belief that interpersonal skills were very important and that Social Style was the preferred assessment model.

The program participant data also builds on TRACOM’s Managerial Success Study, which looked at job performance of managers at an international publishing company. The 2005 study compared Versatility - TRACOM’s measure of a person’s ability to establish effective relationships - with performance on 47 job competencies such as managing conflict, coaching others and leading teams. It clearly showed that managers with high Versatility outperformed managers with low Versatility in all areas of managerial performance.

ìThree separate studies have now shown that Social Style improves organizational and individual performance,î said Collins, ìCollectively these studies of managers, HR executives, and training participants provide a comprehensive evaluation of the need for interpersonal skills and the impact of training.î

A PDF summary of the research is available for viewing here

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