An enterprise’s booming economic performance is a prerequisite for the growth and security of its employees. Therefore, the role of productivity and human resources assumes great importance.
Improving productivity has always been a live issue for management. An organisation’s profitability mostly depends on improving productivity, so managers are constantly striving to find ways to achieve this target.
In the modern age, tools that enhance productivity are inevitable. Clock-in and clock-out apps are treasured by employees, especially those in small businesses. They simplify workforce management, ensuring every minute is tracked. These technological advancements increase efficiency and reflect a company’s dedication to maximising its human resources.
Productivity is typically defined as the ratio of output to input. But it is an organisational challenge encompassing human, cultural, technological, and moral aspects. It is an all-out effort in every sphere of the organisation’s activity, a step towards achieving the target of the most efficient management of all available resources.
Man Dominates The Show
“Money”, “Machine”, “Material”, and “Method” all have their share of importance in increasing productivity, but it is “Man”, i.e., the human resource, which dominates the show. No amount of money, technological ingenuity or work innovation will do the trick. Unless the most vital resource, i.e. human resources, is ready to rise to the occasion, there is no chance of meeting this challenge. Undue emphasis on engineering may negatively impact the organisation’s culture and cohesion. Thus, the organisation should be the focal point for any movement towards increasing productivity.
Productivity is an attitude; it cannot be transplanted into an organisation’s body but can only be cultivated through a systematic process involving considerable initial groundwork, a sound organisational structure, and the maintenance of equilibrium across various activities aligned with the organisation’s goals.
Management Credibility
The philosophy and fundamental principles underlying the organisation play a crucial role in the quest for improved productivity. A high degree of morality, integrity, fair play, and justice, as demonstrated in its practices, can go a long way in preparing the right kind of soil for nurturing productivity. Any discrepancy between what is said and what is done will erode management’s credibility.
Indeed, leadership can inspire employees to achieve peak performance. We are passing through a time of change. Autocracy is giving way to democracy. There is a growing hatred for any form of force or authority. Managers cannot remain oblivious to the happenings around them. They must change their style to suit the realities of the time. It is time for leadership through example, and excellence replaces administration through status and authority.
High-Performance Standards
Management must set very high performance standards for its work if it wants its workforce to follow suit. Inefficiencies, such as ill-planned operations, inadequate safety arrangements, worn-out equipment, irregular raw material supply, and the inability to make timely decisions, result in management becoming a target of ridicule and negatively affecting employees’ morale. The top team should ensure smooth and hazard-free operations to prove its credibility to employees.
Once management can convince its workforce of its integrity, credibility, and efficiency, the next step is for managers to inspire, guide, and improve the quality of their work. The foremost step in this connection is the concept of work itself. Work should not remain only a mode of earning a livelihood but also a source of self-satisfaction and self-realisation. Thus, thorough job design and placement taking into account a worker’s ability, skills, mental orientation, and versatility is paramount. It is necessary to follow the principle of the right person in the right job at the right time. Workers should also have a complete understanding of their job, not only in terms of its immediate implications but also its overall impact and contribution to the company’s objectives.
Productivity Relates To Planning
Productivity is often confused with merely increasing the workload of the workforce. However, it relates more to better planning than squeezing the workforce to the last limit. It represents an improvement in the working qualities of employees through innovations in planning and organising available resources. Improving performance is more a result of intelligent planning and effective implementation than the extra sweating of the workers. The efficiency of workers cannot be increased by overburdening them with work, but rather by reorganising their jobs so that they can apply their skills most effectively.
The first step, maintaining employee retention (as opposed to turnover), relates to work conditions, intersex relationships, both vertical and horizontal, and how workers are supervised. Good working conditions and a good relationship between superiors and subordinates, as well as among employees, may not be enough to motivate employees. Nevertheless, their absence certainly hinders efforts towards improving employee satisfaction.
Satisfaction Is Key
The second step in motivation is satisfaction. An uninterested or disgruntled employee can never give their best. He will remain submerged in his worries and problems. Such an employee has a very demoralising effect on the rest of the workforce. If the issues affecting his performance are job-related, then resorting to job redesign, replacement, job enrichment, or job rotation may be helpful. In the case of emotional and psychological problems, the medium of counselling provides the best solution.
The third step involves analysing the situation to determine motivation. The motivational needs encompass a range of physical and financial well-being, companionship, love and affection, self-respect, self-achievement, autonomy, and prospects. However, the motivational patterns of employees do not remain constant; they change over time, and it becomes necessary to stay up-to-date and informed about the latest situation to maintain compelling motivation. This motivation varies over time, in different environments, and among individuals. Nevertheless, there is a general recognition that security and accomplishment benefit employees, leading to their motivation for improved performance.
Delegating Responsibility
The most important act on the management’s part in this connection is to delegate responsibility to the workers. This meant handing over their work and the required information to control the same. This would create a true feeling of belonging and participation. It would manifest that the workers are responsible members with exceptional value and not merely technical factors. The realisation that one knows the actual situation is essential, allowing them to take the initiative and make decisions without fear. This creates a sense of security and joy, and boosts the workers’ morale. If convinced that their efforts would lead to desirable objectives, workers will respond enthusiastically to genuine opportunities to create and give their best.
Management should instil a spirit of diligent search for growth in its workforce and allow them to use their talents and skills entirely. Mediocrity or stagnation in work standards may destroy the available talent and skills. It is, therefore, imperative to set high, albeit achievable, performance standards to harness the workers’ energies.
Management must integrate productivity and human resources, not merely for their benefit; they should see them as a source of continuous improvement in employees’ lives. Aligning the workforce’s needs with the achievement of organisational objectives is vital. This provides the right kind of impetus for peak performance. Employees began to identify with the organisation. It is, therefore, necessary that the company’s prosperity is reflected in the living standards of its employees.
