There is a lot being written about productivity in the workplace these days. Most is related to the need for new strategies, policies, procedures, systems and measurements to improve operations.
All of these are very important. However, it is also critical to recognize the critical importance of staff motivation to achieve a successful productivity improvement project.
Research shows that one of the biggest management challenges is solving the staff motivation issue to effectively implement and operate the recommended new changes in these projects.
Two ideas we believe can help improve staff motivation on these projects are actions we take on each of our client projects:
- Make Sure Each Staff Person Understands “Their Part in the Big Picture”. Each person should understand how their goals and the timing and how it connects to the high-level strategic goals of the project and the goals of the company. You should show each staff person that they don’t just do something independent of others. You should show them how everything they do influences the whole company’s performance. It is important that they can see this interdependency in action, and check it for themselves. Seeing that they have an important influence is a great motivator!
- Give Effective Feedback to Each Individual. In some companies, the staff members do not get the feedback they need, or the feedback they do get is not clear. They do their jobs, but they are never sure if they’re doing them well. A successful project requires clear individual delegation of work and scheduled feedback sessions to assess individual efforts. . Each staff person can see how their tasks affect the overall performance of their project/ unit, and of the whole company. This gives the staff member periodic feedback, shows interest in their career development, and is also a great motivator.
We would be happy to answers questions or discuss any of
the issue you are having related to profit improvement or revenue generation.
Joseph Bonocore
