People motivation, productivity and satisfaction
People's motivation, contribution, and satisfaction are essential elements for reaching operational excellence. There is excellent literature and extended knowledge regarding ways to motivate people in their work places and regarding the correlation between people's motivation and the organization's productivity.
It is likely, that operation's managers encountered some of this academic knowledge during their studies, by reading management books, like the ones described in the B -Books section, or through sessions held by the HR department or external consulting companies.
The four sources; Academic studies, literature, HR departments and external consultants, and classes are essential and very valuable to the continuous improvement and development of the operation's people's motivation, contribution and consequently to their satisfaction.
Many times these four major sources are sufficient to drive the operational organization to very good results and to keep the operation's team feeling satisfied, with their self –development, and feeling that their contribution is significant and well appreciated.
Ask yourself if the operations people continuouslyaware of their level of involvement and contribution?
In order to monitor and verify that the operation's team satisfaction, motivation and contribution levels are high, an anonymous survey can be held, its results will reveal the status of the operation's team and whether their level can be improved in order to reach operational excellence.
Once the team's situation has been revealed and it has been decided to maximize the motivation and contribution in the operation's team, it is recommended to integrate discussions and attention to people's satisfaction and motivation in the work weekly standing agenda.
Routine discussions,by increasing the team's attention and motivation for excellence, are the first step to promoting operational excellence,
In many organizations, a performance management assessment is held, once a year, in proximity to personal and team development sessions. The development classes are held either with external or internal instructors, the process can take up to two or three weeks of the overall existing fifty two work weeks.
As a consequence of the fact that those activities are not a part of the operation's managers and the operation's team day to day agenda, people's motivation, satisfaction, development and contribution are not discussed, as a regular part of the top five priorities and agendas of the organization, 90% of the work time .
This is due to the fact that “soft” subjects are not a part of the morning, daily and weekly routine meetings unlike the rest of the operation's parameters such as output, assurance of supply, technology, maintenances and customers complaints.
The subject of people's motivation and satisfaction are usually postponed to periods when the organization's work load is lower. Unfortunately, in a dynamic organization, the operational calm periods are rare.
Does your team work monthly on the member motivation and contribution or once a year?
My recommendation would be to treat people's motivation and contribution to the organization like every other parameter measured in the operation's department, the same high expectations, seriousness and routine weekly or monthly attentions can be applied.
Since the daily and weekly improvement measure of all operational matters are structured in the way of process indicators, just like processes of supply and demand and product technology performances. And since all operation's subjects are well embedded and mathematically calculated in the operations KPIs.
The people, the “soft subjects”, can and need to be embedded in KPIs as well, similarly to the way mechanics, chemistry or other engineering best practices are.
In that way, instead of having “soft” human related operation processes coming in a pulses, once or twice a year, people's motivation and contribution will be continuously developed by the teams and the managers.
People related subjects would be treated, monitored, measured and reviewed on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis as every other operation's objective would be.
Sensitivity is required when continuously dealing with people related subjects and often there is need for professionalism and experience in working with soft subjects, the team members need to be very good listeners. Caring for people and openness are also
Important skills, as well as having relevant experience.
Routine dealing with people's motivation and contribution, only for the sake of receiving indications, without true sensitivity can create the opposite result.
Routine work, on people's motivation and productivity, and a culture of continuous discussion of those subjects will establish a richer and more diverse people's culture as part of the operations daily work routine.
The results of a rich and diverse people's culture would not only reflect in the people satisfaction, but will also increase their contribution to the organization through innovation in operation, lean thinking, quality improvements, technology solutions and many other of the people's “soft” skills.
In an organization where the described dynamic flourishes, the operation's results will improve and the team will reach operational excellence beyond their usual good or routine performance.
Some notes from the Academic view
Proof of the influence of people management on the motivation, satisfaction and productivity of employees can be found in many researches held in the field of Motivational and leadership studies.
Each one of these fields has examined a wide range of behaviors and the effect of the different styles of leadership and motivation development programs the workers receive on these behaviors.
Just as our health require maintenance so do team of people, although this sounds very technical, often we need to begin by adopting technical techniques which after some time are internalized and eventually become an established habit. It's easy for us to ignore the need to manage the human resource, but managers who are committed to this resource increasingly discover how much their conduct with the employees influences their productivity.
The manager availability, accessibility and openness are the three dimensions of Inclusive Leadership, described by Kahn 1990.
The extent to which the manager is accessible, open and attentive to his workers, the extent to which he includes the workers in the decision making process, how accessible he is perceived to be by his co-workers.
These are all examples as to what workers are looking for from their manager on a day to day basis, not only in extreme case.
The more successful a manager is in creating the perception, among his workers, that the three dimensions exist in him, the more successful he is creating higher motivation among his workers.
Often operative management requires “putting out fires” and we get wrapped up in the assignment and lose the ability to see our co-workers, although they are always there. A manager who succeeds in generating situations in which he is accessible, available and open to his workers will be able to create a work environment which will positively influence the workers motivation, productivity and satisfaction.
Imagine yourselves as the workers- all you really want is for your manager to “see” you, hear your voice, be attentive to you and be there for you when you need him. The big change which sets into motion our ability, to develop the three dimensions Kahn( 1990) spoke of, begins when we develop empathy for our workers and can imagine ourselves in their shoes and understand their needs.
Reference
- Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692-724.
