Productivity Improvement

It is conceivable for you to have more employees than the competition yet your company produces less and for you to have disgruntled, low-output employees even though you pay your employees more than the competition pays theirs. Productivity surveys and case studies indicate that increased worker motivation and satisfaction can increase worker output. Progressive, innovative managers now achieve productivity gains with human resource management techniques that go beyond pay incentives.

This Guide discusses how to increase worker output by motivating with quality of work life concepts and by tailoring benefits to meet the needs of employees. Cost: enlightened human resource management probably costs no more than employee turnover (hiring and training new employees), unwarranted pay increases, and low productivity. Benefit: better productivity; loyal, efficient workers; higher quality work, and increased likelihood of staying in business.

The essence of employee motivation and effectiveness is the manner in which they are managed. A direct relationship exists between effective management (i.e., providing a work environment that simultaneously achieves company goals and employees' goals) and modern human resource management.

Your management success is judged by your skill and knowledge in recognizing and assessing issues that concern employees and by your ability to resolve these concerns with employee help and satisfaction.

Do your employees know how you judge and measure their performance?

Do you provide and encourage individual development with training and educational programs?

Do you trust your employees and rely upon their knowledge?

Do you let employees make decisions?

Do you have timely, accurate, open two-way communication with your employees?

If you answer no to all of these questions, you probably are an unsatisfactory human resource manager and have (or will have) employee-productivity problems.

Quality of Work Life

Getting high quality job performance from your employees depends on giving employees opportunities for their personal growth, achievement, responsibility, recognition, and reward.

Pay - money - is the primary need and reward. Once the compensation (pay and benefits) is established properly, it is necessary to use other means to further motivate and improve your work force's output. The basis of all job enhancement efforts is your recognition of employees' desire to do good work, to assume responsibility, to achieve and to succeed.

Changes to consider in creating a new quality of work life atmosphere include:

From: detailed job descriptions with specific tasks and rigid instruction for how to do the work

To: Flexible, diverse work assignment allowing self-regulation, variety and challenge;

From: Structured chain of command, managers making decisions and supervisors bossing

To: Worker involvement in planning, decision making and operating procedure;

From: Hierarchical channels of communications;

To: Direct, fast two-way communication

From: Limited on-the-job instruction

To: Advanced training, educational and career development opportunities;

From: Job specialization in one task

To: Leeway allowed for every employee to complete many task by crossing lines of specialization;

From: Obscure, irregular job evaluations

To: Objective job performance standards with measures fairly administered;

From: Careless or neglected safety and health conditions;

To: Clean, safe and healthful working conditions.

The quality of work life technique is to involve your employees by sharing the management responsibility and authority with them - the workers who do the job.

Flexible Benefits

Compensation costs - salaries, wages, and benefits - are a large and increasing part of operating expenses; yet, productivity can decline among workers who get more pay and benefits. Workers are productive with fair pay tied to performance. Ironically, not all employee motivation and productivity problems are solved by pay raises and promotions. It isn't necessary to make pay adjustments beyond a fair industry-wide (market place) level.

The tailoring of benefits to satisfy specific needs is part of the quality of work life technique. It is a way to maximize the amount of labor costs going to the employee and to maximize your return on these costs without increasing across-the-board expenses. By making a special effort to satisfy individual employee needs, you reinforce the motivational value of the flexible benefit.

For example, you can reduce unwanted employee turnover and related recruiting, hiring, and training costs by shifting these costs from developing new employees to keeping experienced employees. You can motivate an employee to increase productivity by providing opportunities for career development (training or schooling).

At the same time you have improved the worker's skills and shown recognition of the worker's value and aspiration. A tailored benefit can be worth as much to an employee as a pay raise. Such a benefit is practical because (1) it probably costs no more than worker unrest and diminished productivity and (2) it is probably less costly than a comparable pay increase.

Age, education, job experience, job fulfillment, marital status, and family size are considerations that determine the utility and attractiveness of a benefit. Different benefits appeal to different people. Everyone's needs are different. A younger employee might be motivated by having use of a company car. An older person may want more status like a title or a professional association membership. The list of possible employees benefits and their applications is nearly unlimited. To get the maximum value, you've got to tailor the benefit to the job and your business requirements and financial capability.

Think how you could use:

pre-tax thrift-savings programs

recreational programs

discounts

scholarships

personal financial planning

loans

tuition refund

profit sharing

company car

personal expense account

parking privileges

legal assistance

extra vacation

child care

job titles

professional or trade association memberships

travel

A flexible benefit is two-fold. Not only does the benefit satisfy some employee's specific need but it also communicates your concern to meet these needs, creating the kind of work environment that contributes to increased employee productivity.

You must recognize the productivity problem and the needs of your employees so that you can tailor the benefit to meet the situation. Beyond pay and statutory benefits that provide the most value to your business.

Salary Compression

Ralph is an experienced employee. You think he is good but he is complaining that his salary is not enough. You're puzzled and angry because you gave him a raise and a cost of living increase a month ago and the salary is competitive. Ralph seems ungrateful and his output is down. After talking with Ralph, you learn that he feels he should be paid more than Ed, a new employee. You hired Ralph two years ago at $62,000, a year. He's now making $68,500. But Ed, was just hired at $56,000. Ralph thinks he should have more to show for his two years experience compared to Ed, who is younger with no experience.

Compare your financial plan occasionally with actual operations statistics. With powerful records you can accomplish this.
Afterward, where discrepancies appear it is possible to take corrective action before it's too late. The right decisions for the
right corrective action will depend upon your understanding of management techniques in purchasing, pricing, selling, selecting
and training staff, and tackling other management issues.

You probably are thinking you can hire a bookkeeper or an Accountant to deal with the record keeping for you. Yes, you can. But
remember two very important facts:

1. Supply the accountant with true input. Should You Purchase something And do not record the sum in your organization checkbook,
the accountant can't enter it. If you sell something for cash and don't record it, the accountant will not know about it. The
records the accountant prepares will be no better than the information that you provide.

2. Utilize the documents to make decisions. If you moved to a doctor And he told you you were ill and needed certain medication to
get well, you'd follow his advice. If you pay an accountant and he tells you your sales are down this season, don't hide your head
in the sand and pretend that the problem will go away. It won't.

Business Management Roll in Personnel Selection. If your Small Business Will be big enough to require external assistance, an
important duty will be the choice and coaching of one or more employees. You may begin with family members or business partners to
help you. But when the business develops - as you hope it will - that the time will come when you have to select and train
personnel.

Careful selection of employees is vital. To Pick the right Employees decide beforehand what you want each one to perform.

Then search for applicants to fulfill these specific needs. In a small Business you will need flexible employees who can shift
from task to task as needed. Include this in the description of all those jobs you would like to fill. At precisely the exact same
time, look ahead and plan your hiring to guarantee an organization of people capable of accomplishing every crucial role. At a
retail store, a salesperson might likewise do stock-keeping or bookkeeping at the start, but as the company grows you'll need
sales people, stock-keepers and bookkeepers.

Once the project descriptions are composed, line up applicants whom To make a choice. Don't be swayed by clients who might suggest
relatives. In the event the candidate doesn't succeed, you might lose a client as well as a worker. Some sources of possible new
employees are:

1. Tips by friends, business acquaintances. 2. Employment agencies. 3. Placement agencies of high schools, business schools, and
colleges. 4. Trade and industrial associations. 5. Help-wanted ads in neighborhood newspapers.

Your next job is to screen want ad answers or program Forms sent by employment agencies. Some applicants will be removed sight
unseen. For every one of those others, the application form or letter will act as a foundation for the interview that ought to be
conducted in private. Put the applicant at ease by describing your company in general and the occupation in particular. As soon as
you've completed this, encourage the applicant to speak. Picking the right person is very important. Consult your questions
carefully to learn everything about the applicant that's pertinent to the job.

References are a must, and should be checked prior to making a final decision. Check through an individual visit or a phone call
directly to the applicant's immediate former manager, whenever possible. Verify that the advice given you is accurate. Consider,
with judgment, any negative comments you hear and what is not said.

Checking references may bring to light significant Details Which may save you money and future inconvenience.

Personnel Training. A well-selected employee is only a potential Asset to your organization. Whether he or she becomes a true
asset depends on your training. Recall:

To allow adequate time for training. Not to anticipate too much from The trainee in too brief a time. To allow the worker learn by
performing under real working conditions, with close supervision. To follow up on your training.

Examine the employee's operation after he or she was at work For a moment. Re-explain key points and short cuts; bring the
employee current on new developments and invite inquiries. Training is an ongoing process which becomes excruciating oversight.

Personnel Supervision. Supervision is the third essential of personnel control. Fantastic supervision will lessen the expense of
operating your business by cutting down on the number of employee errors. If errors are corrected early, employees will find more
satisfaction out of their jobs and perform better.

Motivating Employees. Small businesses sometimes face particular Issues in motivating employees. In a large company, a good
employee can see An chance to progress into management. In a small company, You're the management. One thing you Might Wish to
Think about is to provide great workers a Small share of the profits, either via part-ownership or a profit-sharing plan. Someone
who has a"share of this action" will be more Worried about helping to make a success of the business.

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