Sofften Up Your People

 Quite rightly, many productivity gurus (like me) stress the importance of team working, team skills and team motivation in driving high performance.  Few important tasks in industry and commerce are completed solely by individuals - they mostly require groups of people to work together in teams …. possibly small teams, possibly large sections or departments of an organisation

Much of the leadership/management literature therefore concentrates on issues such as team building and team leading..

However, though these issues are important, teams work much better when the members of these teams have the right ‘soft skills’ that glue a team together. - skills and attributes, indeed, such as communication (especially listening) skills, empathy, negotiation skills and problem-solving skills,,

Development of these skills should start at school when kids are malleable and impressionable but they need constant development and improvement.  

Firms need to establish processes to help develop these skills.  This can be done beneficially alongside team development exercises …..a win-win situation.

So, as a senior team leader, you need to understand how to lead a team effectively but your team members need to know how to be an effective team member,  making their maximum contribution to  overall team performance.

What Do You Expecr?

Those of you who are regular readers of this blog will know that I am a great believer in looking after the well-being of your employees - making sure they are engaged, fully skilled, motivated and rewarded - if you want high productivity.   In general terms, this was perhaps recognised 10 years ago, but the last decade, and the pandemic in particular, has set things back.

Too many post-pandemic jobs are part of the 'gig economy' - with employees on part-time, even ‘zero hours’ contracts.   These employees are often doing nothing - and being paid nothing. How an organisation can expect engagement and commitment from such workers is beyond me.

Even ‘proper jobs, with defined hours of work,  are too often poorly paid - at or just over the minimum wage.  The workers generally have little opportunity to develop their skills or even understand their contribution to the overall process pf the organisation - why does their role matter? why is it important that they perform well?

When did someone last comment on their work and simply say’Thank you’.  Simple rewards are often the best.

So, think about the jobs you give people. How can someone get engaged within that role?  How can you help that process? What rewards can they expect?

If you treat your employees like ‘process fodder’ (dare I say like human resources instead of people with needs and expectations), then don’t expect commitment and high productivity.

Let Your Employees Flow

 The Lean philosophy emphasis a number of factors related to effective and efficient working - one of which is ‘flow’.  Materials and information should flow through a process with no barriers or restrictions.

What about the ‘flow; of people.

‘Flow ‘ is a term that has been applied to that state where workers are fully immersed in a task but not overloaded or stressed.  It is similar to that state of an athlete or performer when he/she is ‘in the zone’ - fully committed,. fully concentrating, fully engaged.

McKinsey & Co recently commented that workers in a flow state are more productive but also more satisfied with their role.  A separate study carried out by the University of Sydney linked flow to a more than fourfold increase in creative problem solving.

This ‘flow’ is not yet fully understood but it is regarded as a widespread phenomenon, existing around the globe irrespective of raced, role, gender  or underlying culture.

To create flow, you must create the conditions under which it becomes possible.

• Employees should be stretched but not stressed.

• Employees must have ready access to any equipment or tools necessary for their designated role)s).

• Employees must be fully trained to carry out their designated role(s).

• Employees should have simple, straightforward snd speedy feedback on performance.

• Employers should not ne unduly or unnecessarily disturbed or distracted.

• Achievement of goals or intermediate milestone should be recognised snd rewarded.

• Micro-management must be avoided.  If employees  know their role and their part in the organisation, they may value a little freedom as. T o exactly how they carry out heir work.  As long as this freedom does not affect upstream or downstream activities, this is OK.

So, think about how you can change employee preparation, working environments, targets and performance measurement to create the conditions under which flow is possible,  

Then set your employees free to flow.

Create Post-Pandemic Networking Opportunities

You should always keep your business life separate from your personal and social life.  True?

On first reading, or first thought, it seems to make sense.

However, think of all the times you have:

• Been bowling with the team 
• Had a business lunch
• Held an after-hours birthday celebration
• Played golf with a business contact.

Were these all a complete waste of time?   I hope not.

Using social events to boost team morale or celebrate a successful project is rarely a waste of time. Recognising achievements is a necessary function of an effective manager.  It helps staff know what is going on, know they are valued and even learn of challenges ahead.

Similarly, making or maintaining contact with clients, customer and even competitors is rarely a waste of time.   It helps determine the shared interests, concerns snd priorities of key stakeholders.

Many of these networking opportunities have fallen by the wayside in the post-pandemic, work-from-home world.

So, as you encourage staff back into the office, you have to try to ensure that historic, useful networks and networking opportunities are re-established. 

Use Data Effectively

 Modern manufacturing or service delivery systems produce lots of opportunities for collecting data which can be used to improve those systems.  

Many firms have recognised this and have installed a system of key performance indicators (KPIs) which help tell them where things are going well, and, perhaps more importantly, where they are not.

However all this data collection, analysis and presentation can become arduous and complex.   If not done effectively, a measurement system can confuse and obfuscate the ‘truth’.

This leads to organisations attempting to implement digital technologies and computer systems which can process data more quickly and present it more simply, bringing the ‘truth’ into greater focus.

None of this is simple or cheap.

However, if you think implementing a large integrated system that produces the right information to help your planning, control  and decision-making is too expensive, try implementing a smaller, less-well integrated system and see how much that costs - especially as you grow.

There are ways of implementing systems that help reduce costs (and doing so in stages)  but you need a vision of what your intended, final , fully-integrated system will look like, so you can build towards it and put in place the potential for inter-connection, rather than trying to integrate different parts of a system later.

Most importantly, you need the right data that is going to help you uncover the ‘truth’ we spoke about earlier.

So, review your system of metrics and where and how they are, or can be, collected … and then plan your integrated performance review system.

Good luck!

Volunteers Wanted

Volunteering generates a £4.6bn productivity boost to the UK economy each year, new research has found. 

A study by the think tank Pro Bono Economics, commissioned by the Royal Voluntary Service, estimates the UK benefits from annual productivity gains of more than £4,500 per volunteer working in professional and managerial occupations. 

The report, called A Pro Bono Bonus: The Impact of Volunteering on Wages and Productivity and published very recently, says white-collar workers who volunteer with charities typically benefit from learning new skills and developing existing ones.  Therese may be technical skills but are just as likely to be ‘softer’ communication, project management and innovation-related skills.

This is a real win-win situation, resulting in increased productivity, satisfaction and well-being for the individual and improved performance and productivity for your organisation.

So, invrestigate schemes that aid workplace volunteering and recharge/re-energise/reskill your staff.

Don't Turn Burnout into Bored-Out

Many people seem to be suffering from burnout.  They feel the organisation asks too much of them, that they are never completely off-duty.

If this happened in your organisation, you might respond with consideration by reigning back on some of the pressures, some of the ‘asks’.

The problem then is that an employee might theb think they are not achieving, not fully involved snd they will start to lose interest.  They now suffer from ‘bored-out’.  

Employees react best and perform better when they feel they have a real purpose, when they understand how their role and their work contribute to the organisation’s goals and mission. They can feel pressure from ‘stretch goals’ but achieving them gives them a real high, a great sense of achievement. Even failure to reach a stretch goal can give greater satisfaction than easily achieving a goal that doesn’t stretch..

So, be careful how you address what looks like burnout.  Don’t change it into bored-out. Review goals and targets for individuals and teams and make sure employees know their role and their performance is vital and valued.