One of our guest speakers this year has been Sharon Ferguson from Thomas International. Sharon presented a workshop to help JCI Cambridge members decide if they were in the correct job, or not!

The workshop consisted of behavioural questionnaires identifying their personality traits and Sharon provided individual feedback to all attendees. Sharon explains what the tests are and how the workshop with JCI Cambridge went:

Formerly a Personnel and Training Manager with a large Blue chip company, my passion has always been in developing people to be the best they can be.

After several years in a variety of H.R. positions, I wanted a new challenge and moved into a Regional Sales Managers Position for Sainsbury's Bank. Finding I had a natural flair and ability to develop people to achieve excellent sales results I realized that I had been stifling my natural talents and amending my behaviour to be successful in my previous career. But, it was much easier to achieve results in a role, which aligned my preferred behaviour and strengths.

I joined Thomas International in 2009 as a Business Consultant covering East Anglia with responsibility for developing a portfolio of clients across, Cambridge, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Thomas International helps clients recruit, retain, develop and manage their people. We'll give you insight into your staff - what motivates them, their core strengths and limitations, and their potential. And we'll add a high level of certainty to all your people-related decisions.

Thomas is different because our assessments are straightforward to understand and quick to use, with rapid results. 

I tell people their PPA (Personal Profile Analysis) is the most important piece of information they have ever received. It is like holding up a mirror it really helps people to understand their behaviour and how others perceive them. By improving self-awareness PPA gives individuals the opportunity to make choices about their behaviour.

PPA gives an accurate overview of an individual's work behavioural preferences and describes it in terms of four opposing factors:

D = Dominance, I = Influence, S = Steadiness, and C = Compliance.

It assesses an individual's behaviour in the work environment and can answer questions such as: what are their strengths and limitations? Are they self-starters? How do they communicate? What motivates them?  Providing a valuable insight into what careers might be suitable choices.

Once aware of the DISC profile this can be used in a personal capacity to identify characteristics and aid personal communication.

As a high I Influence my preferred approach to Sales is via networking, this is where I met Jo Evans from Emerald Frog Marketing, committee member for JCI Cambridge. Jo asked me to undertake a presentation to members to increase awareness of their personality types and strengths and limitations.

The presentation evening was extremely enjoyable proving to be a very interactive workshop, with lots of positive energy and questions from the members.

For more information on Thomas International visit: www.thomasinternational.net