“Productivity is the belief in human progress. It is a state of mind which aims at perpetual improvement. It is a ceaseless effort to apply new technology and new methods for the welfare and happiness of mankind. It is the training of the minds and the development of attitudes of the people as a whole which determines whether the nation will realize high productivity and an affluent life, or low productivity and poverty.” – Asian Productivity Organization.
The contract between employer and employee speaks to a fair day’s work in return for a fair day’s pay. This is a standard expectation in a contract between parties when the employer’s expectations, remunerative sums and working conditions are all clearly stated and agreed upon.
The reality is, however that this seldom happens as altruistically stated before. Many employers would attest to feeling short-changed; many employees also feel as though they are not sufficiently valued by the organization.
Both parties then begin to dishonour the contract – employers by providing a less than enabling working environment, and employees by giving less than the minimum productive effort. This scenario plays out equally in the private sector as it does in the public service.
So what can an organization do to ensure that both management and employees feel motivated enough to contribute to the financial bottom-line, and to a positively-charged work environment? Well according to the Asian Productivity Organization, productivity comes about as a result of influencing a positive state of mind.
For the purposes of this article, I will discuss alternatives other than policy, or adjustments to organizational structure which influence that positive state of mind. Instead, I will look at the cultural capital which organizations have at their disposal to influence cultural change. This capital includes attitudes, values, aspirations, sense of self-efficacy, and worth to the organization. Change to any culture is difficult and slow moving, but not impossible. It comes about as a result of strategic, incremental and measured interventions.
Cultural capital, if it is carefully understood, is important to the organization because it has an immediate impact and influence on an individual’s behaviour and contribution to productivity. It can also be linked to emotional intelligence.
Theorists suggest that there is an ability-based model which underpins emotional intelligence and it is based on four tenets which examine an individual’s ability to perceive, use, understand and manage emotions. In other words, are you a manager who is able to understand and manage the changing moods of employees and of oneself so that the organization is not disadvantaged?
Several managers may consider a topic like this to be “airy-fairy” but also know it is critical to controlling employee behaviour and influencing productivity in a positive way. I must add that culture is not an untameable beast. It is the manifestation of norms, opinions, structures and expectations which if not standardized or reinforced positively can retard growth in the organization.
One can take punctuality, absenteeism, results, outputs, performance measurement and coaching as examples. If management identifies these issues as important to the culture of the organization and puts systems in place to reinforce positive behaviours – then the result will be high productivity.
Another way to influence productivity is through an effective communication system which facilitates two-directional flows of information among the organization’s layers. This welcoming of ideas and open-door access to management is important for the “team” and also for making employees feel that their opinions and contributions are heard and, if found to be valid, are incorporated into the organization’s strategy and operations.
Recognizing and incentivizing for high performance or increased productive output is a form of communication as well. Companies which adopt simple reward systems such as informal group meetings to publicly celebrate high achievers have tremendous influence over employees’ competitive spirit and hence organizational output. Sometimes even simple a “thank you” reaps significant benefit.
Not surprisingly, many employees are not aware of the influence they bring to bear on the organization’s profitability. As a manager, do you know if the average employee in your organization understands the cost of non-productivity, repeated absences, disgruntled customers, lost customers, re-work, overtime, and waste to the company?
If not, then the human resources manager and finance director need to find ways to make this information simple yet impactful to all concerned. Lean economic times do not allow the luxury of overspend and wastage.
My final piece of advice is: lead by example. Be seen to be making a meaningful contribution to output and demonstrate yourself as a strategic thinker, yet an empathetic human being. Perception often equals an individual’s reality.