Why are company figures stagnating while competition is flourishing? Why do employees drag themselves uninspired through everyday work? How do others achieve a high level of customer satisfaction or deliver faster? Questions like these are an important impetus for identifying and removing barriers to productivity in your own company.
High productivity is the result of hard work. Sounds banal, but in fact, in my day-to-day consulting work, I don't always meet companies that continuously review their own performance and make the various adjustments to be successful tomorrow. I tend to see managers who only ask themselves really important questions when the child has already fallen into the well - for example because sales are falling or good employees are leaving the company. Why is it actually so unattractive to question the productivity of your own company again and again? Is it the fear of questioning dear self-evident things?
Productivity barriers can have very different causes: from outdated business processes to organizational structure to measurement and evaluation of employee performance. Anyone who follows the business news closely can currently see this at the most well-known German software company.
Perceiving facts, collecting and evaluating figures, drawing comparisons with industry standards and using best practices as a basis for internal corporate change processes — in my opinion, these objective criteria are insufficient to increase productivity.
The really important work only comes afterwards: taking employees along a different, in extreme cases, completely new path. If this fails, even the best corporate strategy is quickly doomed to failure.
Humans are creatures of habit, which we unfortunately forget all too often when we want to implement ambitious plans. Let's touch our own nose: exercise more, drink less alcohol, lose a few kilos — which of us hasn't failed at least once in such projects? Something similar can also be observed in companies. Experience has shown that changes trigger fears: Will my work change, will I join another team, open up new opportunities, will I be able to contribute my skills better or worse, will there be new technologies or machines that might overwhelm me?
Playing with open cards, i.e. naming the reasons for changes and formulating specific goals, is therefore only a first step. And even here, a lot can go wrong if communication only talks about process optimization, resource management, increasing efficiency or controlling costs. As convincing as new solutions to increase productivity may be, acceptance by employees is ultimately decisive for their success.
An important compass for greater success is to set clear and, above all, achievable goals. When employees know what is expected of them and what their contribution to the overall success of the company looks like, they work in a more targeted and committed manner. However, continuous monitoring and evaluation of productivity using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or Objectives and Key Results (OKR) cannot be the sole means of choice. Incentive systems such as more money or career also quickly reach their limits, as numerous studies have shown.
A culture of recognition and appreciation seems to be more promising — and this is also confirmed by scientific studies. An open feedback culture and the involvement of employees in improvement and decision-making processes strengthen the sense of belonging and responsibility. When modern technologies are introduced to improve work processes and increase productivity, many employees want qualified education and training to learn how to use them. In addition, there are factors such as an attractive working environment, offers for a better work-life balance, occupational health programs, ergonomic workplaces and other offers to improve the well-being of employees.
However, there is no single recipe for increasing productivity. Because in every company, people from different generations and cultures, with very different educational biographies and interests meet. Knowing and orchestrating this diversity requires a great deal of tact. What I can help you with is getting to know your company and its workforce better and using the circumstances to develop the right solutions for you and your company that move you forward. Let it come down to a try.
