When we ask employees about their work experience, one common theme among satisfied workers is the importance of getting things done. People want to be empowered to do what they were hired to do. As one person put it, “I have clear expectations, am allowed to execute my job responsibilities, and am held accountable for results.”
As simple as all of that sounds, organizations struggle at getting stuff done.
Inefficiency is a huge cause of poor performance for people and for teams — and the organization as a whole. Inefficient processes and procedures are a source of frustration for employees, especially when they feel there is no way to address them.
An efficient organization makes good use of its investments, increasing revenue with less expense. And when people feel like part of a winning team, they feel empowered to do what needs to be done to support the company’s mission.
When things run efficiently and well, it is usually because of successful practices across all levels of the organization.
Senior leaders should encourage the organization to be adaptable and execute effectively amid change. They should empower teams to shift direction and adjust priorities.
Managers should work with teams to set goals and prioritize what’s important. This might include pausing some initiatives or dropping them entirely.
Employees need to understand what they are expected to achieve and what happens if they miss those objectives.
If execution is a challenge in your organization, here are some starting points to consider.
Give employees the resources they need. That includes training and tools as well as people. Identify gaps, and work to ensure employees have a way to call out when they don’t have, as well as what they need, to work effectively.
Track goals and discuss progress. Establish what success looks like, and measure progress regularly. Adjust as needed, and do so early in the process. That can be the difference between success and failure.
Learn from successes and failures. Successes serve as a template for improvement and are worth repeating. Failures provide valuable learning opportunities to understand what went wrong and what to avoid.
Once an organization establishes some success in getting things done, take it to the next level:
Dedicate time to process improvement: Ensure safe communication channels allow for healthy conversations about ways to improve efficiency and quality.
Learn from the past: Evaluate when people miss major deadlines or when output is below standard. A comprehensive retrospective will determine whether the cause was an isolated issue or a broader issue that must be addressed.
Identify obstacles early: Work to identify issues before they become significant problems. Be proactive instead of reactive, and think beyond the near-term.
Build a culture of improvement: Empower employees to share feedback on regular processes. Celebrate when people find inefficiencies or offer ideas for improvement.
Along the way, look for these minefields:
Assuming only one way is best: Remember, doing things well also requires quality output, new ideas and motivated employees.
Failing to document efficient processes: Communicating what works can help reduce duplicate efforts. Staying open-minded will encourage improvement.
Single points of failure: If only one employee can execute a specific process, the organization is in trouble when that employee takes time off or leaves the organization.
Bottlenecks: Overloaded teams and delays on projects point to resource allocation issues. Find the source, and work with teams to resolve issues.
Bob Helbig is media partnerships director at Energage, a Philadelphia-based employee survey firm. Energage is the Hartford Courant’s survey partner for Top Workplaces. To nominate your company as a Top Workplace, go to courant.com/nominate
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