Overview

We believe that organizational performance begins with putting the right people in the right seats.

Challenge

The client faced persistent challenges with underperforming teams, particularly within customer-facing roles. Traditional performance-based approaches weren’t effectively addressing root causes. The organization needed a precise, evidence-based method to identify performance gaps, understand underlying traits and behaviors, and redeploy talent where it could thrive—ultimately improving customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and internal processes.

Our Approach

1. Data Collection via Applied Analytics and Psychometrics

We initiated an 8-minute comprehensive survey distributed to every employee, designed to capture key psychometric traits, behavioral tendencies, and motivational drivers. In aggregate, these surveys generated a holistic dataset which we integrated with existing organizational charts, historical performance reports, and individual employee trait vs. behavior graphs.

2. Identification of Underperformance and Root Causes

Using advanced data analysis, including visualization tools such as organizational charts and trait-behavior graphs, we identified specific organizational segments where performance was lagging. High-level insights included:

• Pinpointing roles where an employee’s traits did not align with job requirements and expectations.
• Identifying employees with deductive reasoning in roles that required inductive approaches and vice-versa.
• Analyzing historical performance trends by seat to correlate traits with underperformance in roles and by extension, teams.

3. Strategic Reallocation of Talent

Based on these insights, we devised a targeted strategy with the line managers of several teams:

• Two employees exhibiting strong deductive reasoning and analytical traits were redeployed from their customer-facing roles into a newly created internal process and Playbook development team.
• This new team was designed with KPIs that more closely aligned with their intrinsic strengths—such as process improvement, internal Playbook creation, and creation of internal training programs.

4. Implementation and Monitoring

The new internal team was equipped with clear KPIs related to process efficiency, internal knowledge sharing, and problem solving. Continuous monitoring over the subsequent 12 months using the same initial 8-minute survey showed closer alignment of Job Behaviors to Traits, positive lifts and alignment with departmental goals, as well as increased engagement and productivity by the employees.

Additionally, two new hires were added to the Customer Service team whose Traits more closely aligned with those identified as necessary to perform at a high level in those roles.

Results

Within 12 months of implementing this data-driven team reorganization:

• Customer Satisfaction Rates on the customer service team increased by 12% as customers felt “heard and understood” by the organization vs. “the next problem to be solved”.
• Operational Efficiency improved by 8% as internal processes became more streamlined through targeted process improvement, Playbook creation, and training initiatives.
• The organization successfully closed a performance gap with new process training programs, leading to increased Enterprise value with improvements in employee performance and organizational agility.

Conclusion

Terraform Group’s strategic, analytics-driven approach to team design delivered tangible business outcomes by aligning employee traits with roles more suited to their intrinsic hard-wiring. This approach not only improved KPI performance, but also signaled a culture shift towards data-driven team design and continuous improvement.

Contact Us

Discover how Terraform Group.io can help your organization harness the power of applied analytics and psychometrics to optimize your talent and boost performance. Visit us at terraformgroup.io.