other book summary

B USINESS S UMMARIES Li TE




kn o w l e d g e b e s t p r a c ti c e s i n n o va ti o n



The Book On… Improving

Productivity by Fair Means Or Foul



Dr. Tony Miller & Daniel Feiman



Build It Backwards Publishing, 2009

131 pages



GETTING MORE PRODUCTIVITY AT NO EXTRA COST

Here are three things you can do immediately to improve employee motivation and performance:

1. Start the week right. As the leader you need to set the tone. A quick, upbeat briefing on key targets for the week is the best way to get everyone energized and into productive week mode.

2. Engage in Power Coaching. People respond to coaching for many different reasons. Coaching can have the most potent impact on the average group.

3. Get people to start and finish on time. This practice produces great results particularly when coupled with beginning-of-the-week briefings. If you want an immediate, easy way to improve your department’s productivity, you have to get to people to work the hours you pay for.

UNDERSTANDING THE BASIS OF EMPLOYMENT

The employment contract provides the basis for either creating high productivity or generating lots of problems. Current employment law makes it very difficult to alter any aspect of the contractual agreement – the written word always takes precedence – so take care and get the best legal advice when setting up your contract templates.

Clearly describe your objectives and challenges and engage them in delineating the tasks. Give them the authority and accountability to do the work and you will be amazed at the unlocked potential rising from within your organization.

COMPETENCE OR PERFORMANCE

Competence + performance = productivity. High productivity without competence will deliver results but without an essential underpinning of quality assurance and standards, those results can be sustained. Competencies provide us with an assurance of quality and safety, both vital ingredients for sustained high productivity.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL – THE KEY PERFORMANCE TOOL

Employees need to know how their past performance is viewed and, more importantly, what is expected of them in the future. Why is it then that everyone seems to dislike the reality of this process? Managers hate it and according to a 2009 Survey, employees consider the performance appraisal a superfluous, paper chasing exercise.

Somewhere along the business continuum, this great idea got hijacked and turned into an administrative nightmare. If we are serious about significantly improving productivity, we need to get the performance appraisal concept back on track and make the process work.

DEALING WITH PROBLEM INDIVIDUALS

With problem employees, you need to fix them or get them out of the company. The challenge is that employment law protects them, your own company policies will favor them, and you will, most likely, become very unpopular as you try to push any of these poor performers out of the organization.

You must be firm when productivty is at stake.