YOUR BEST ASSETS ARE UNDER-UTILIZED
In my last post I did mention the need
to (regularly) look outside of the walls of your organization.
In addition to that , there is another
very obvious area which is very often neglected, YOUR PEOPLE!
In these challenging times the focus is
on survival and mostly on cutting costs. This means that people are
laid off, trainings are skipped and hours worked are increasing
towards a very unhealthy level. Recently I have coached some very
senior managers who are on the verge of a burn-out. They just work
too many hours, which has a negative impact on their effectivity,
their health and their families.
However, if you want to survive and
grow, the only way to do that is to make better use of your people.
They are there, but their talents and qualities are not being used.
They are not engaged (2011
Towers Perrin) and not happy (Conference Board 2010: only 45% of
workers are happy). And both employee engagement and happiness makes
us more motivated, resilient, creative, and productive, which drives
performance upward.
How can you do that? Well, the most
easy start is to have regular progress meetings with your people,
let's say 30 minutes per week. That attention in itself will do
wonders. Also it is crucial to ask for their ideas and suggestions
upfront. Talk about the challenges that your group is facing and ask
for their input. And then, of course, use that input. It should be
real!
You will be amazed by the increase in
productivity and the better atmosphere.
You are already mentioning (in your
reports) that humans are your most important assets. It is now the
time to use those assets in a positive way!
What are you doing to humanize the
organization?
GROW
YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
