- A Clear Purpose and Well-defined Goals: To function effectively-every member in a company needs to have a clear purpose, as well as established goals and rules. Every member of a company or a team needs to know the company’s goals, his or her place in the organization or in a team, as well as team’s operating principles. When these boundaries are not spelled out clearly and routinely reinforced, the members and teams lose energy and momentum. There-fore organizations with well-defined purpose and goals mostly do better in terms of performance than those do not have.
- Building Team Spirit thru’ CFTs’ functioning: Involving employees thru’ team work in the business is the most effective way to produce an organization in which people know more, care more and do the right things. The classic example of Team Work thru’ CFTs are successful companies like Apple Corporation, Microsoft, Maruti Udyog, TVS motors etc. Microsoft management encourages employees to form work teams to tackle critical product related issues. Here are some time-tested ways to energize employees: Encourage employees thru’ team work/CFTs to improve one process or aspect of their function/job every day/every week, send a problem out to all employees and ask for their suggestions on how to solve it thru’ team work which will break down barriers between departments. etc. The objectives of the CFTs are primarily to solve problems and continuous improvements.
- One-to One Communication: The most motivating thing one person can do for another is to listen. Communication truly is the glue that holds an organization together. Well informed employees are good and productive employees because they feel involved. For example, the manager of a Holiday Inn hotel, one with an abysmal occupancy rate of 67%- decided to communicate the hotel occupancy rate to all employees every day with a request to do their bit to improve the occupancy rate. Within 18 months. the rate had climbed to 85%, and employees were literally falling over themselves to greet customers, carry guests’ bags, and generally be helpful and friendly. Without a doubt, employees who are “in the loop” are employees who are energized and vital part of the organization.
- Self- Managed Work Teams: Imagine a work-place where all employees manage themselves. A place where everyone does their jobs without any supervision, workers take responsibility for carrying out their duties efficiently and on time, set their own target/goal and make their schedules. A place where employees are energized by the freedom of working as though business belonged to them. A good example is Tata Cummins in Jamshedpur where the entire shop-floor-machines and lines are managed by the Self- Managed Teams and there are no supervisors in the entire factory and the self-managed teams report directly to their respective manager of the shop/department for their day-to-day work.
- Suggestion Scheme: While every organization has employees who are more than happy to make suggestions, there are also those who, because of shyness, lack of confidence, or intimidation, do not make their ideas for improvement known to their supervisors. Their ideas are no less valid than those of their more vocal co-workers -indeed, they may be even better sometime. Companies don’t need management stars or heroes to thrive. What they absolutely do need is an effective system for getting and implementing ideas from the employees who do the work. The company should have “Suggestion Box” to ensure that all suggestions received are reviewed and acted on soon after they are submitted. Make sure you respond to, and actually try to use, as many suggestions as possible, and thank those who submitted them. It creates a positive culture across the company. Classic example is Toyota Corporation world-wide implements 95% of suggestions received on a regular basis and in fact it has become the part and parcel of the company culture.
- Employee Development Programmes: Employee development pays important dividends for both organization and employees. Many Organizations have created comprehensive training programmes to ensure that their employees have the opportunity to improve their work skills and prepare them for advancement and future. It has become very essential in the fast-changing world, rapid technological & digital advancement and the fears competition. The organizations that invest in employee development have significantly higher market values than those they don’t. The organizations that actively encourage employee development and offer opportunities for employee involvement made much larger gains in productivity and those that don’t. The companies like Unilever, P&G, Xerox Corporation, General Electric are such examples.
- Work Environment and Benefits: An organization’s overall facilities and environment can make a tremendous difference in the attitude and energy of its employees. Is the organization set up in such a way that encourages employees to work together or does it create divisions that discourage or even undermine cooperation and collaboration? Don’t forget most staff/workers spend about a third of their lives at work. The workplace should be comfortable, inviting place that the employees can look forward to, rather than dread spending time.
- A clear and proper appreciation and reward system: Treat employees like partners, and they act like partners. Hence when employees contribute beyond their routine jobs whether to solve a problem or they do something which results into cost savings or productivity improvement, they deserve appreciation and recognition. It is always good to have a system which provides some benefits to them in terms of monitory or benefits in kind. There are companies also have incentives or reward schemes linked to performance/productivity in order to enhance overall performance at the company level.
- Productive Meetings: In meetings, teams get together to decide how they will approach and handle opportunities and problems. Meetings bring together employees from throughout an organization to discuss, review and deal with issues of common interest. Sometimes simply being invited to attend and contribute is energizing to employees. Unfortunately, much of the time employees spend in meetings is wasted- participants come unprepared, there are no clear goals or agendas or some employees dominate the sessions while others retreat into the woodwork. In fact, it’s estimated that approximately 50-60% of all meetings time is wasted for various reasons. This said, when the goals and agendas are clear and everyone has a chance to participate, meetings can be a golden opportunity to energize employees.
- Celebrations: Last but not the least Celebrating successes fosters a positive and energizing work environment. Employees are more likely to be invested in their work and feel a sense of belonging when their efforts are acknowledged and celebrated. When employees feel recognized and valued, they are more likely to feel loyal to the organization. It also boosts over all morale of employees and job satisfaction.
There-fore we suggest: celebrate, celebrate, celebrate…. the success.
Be First to Comment