If you are responsible for results within your organization, raising productivity is something you probably aspire to. How much time do you spend analyzing the different factors that affect productivity like workplace layout, equipment conditions, and equipment capabilities? How many meetings do you hold with support staff to figure out what can be done to gain a single precious 1% of productivity? How much time are you spending with your frontline supervisors urging them to get more out of their direct reports?
Not only are you spending time analyzing and persuading, but you’re also probably the one posting production and safety related statistics. You create charts with fancy red, yellow, and green coloring to signal good, bad, or getting bad and then you expect everyone to understand and take the initiative to work harder and bring productivity up.
Sometimes things get better… sometimes they don’t. There is nothing wrong with attacking productivity issues through traditional methods but this method of attack can sometimes feel like an act of insanity. (Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over and then expecting different results.) Day in and day out we chase productivity but we always run into the same result – improvements are less than what we expect.
So what can be done differently? If traditional methods for chasing productivity doesn’t work, what about “untraditional” methods? I would suggest that you are surrounded by people like your fellow employees or direct reports that, if given the opportunity, would find ways to improve productivity provided they truly wanted to do it. Unfortunately, studies show that 90% of manufacturing workers are unhappy in their jobs and are unlikely to help.
What if your fellow employees became happy? Happiness is defined as the state of being happy (Meriam- Webster) or in other words, contentment, satisfaction, and carefreeness. A report on happiness and productivity at work statistics by Oxford University concluded that happy workers are 13% more productive, according to a study performed on 1,800 call center sales workers. Or put in another way, companies where workers who are content, satisfied and carefree could possibly create a 13% increase in productivity. Regardless of your current position, that’s a big number and one that cannot be ignored.
Making unhappy employees happy isn’t about bribery or “kissing butts”. More compensation isn’t the #1 reason employees are unhappy. (It’s probably somewhere between #2 and #3) The #1 reason they are unhappy is they are not satisfied and feel disrespected. Happy employees are the ones that are content, satisfied, and care free in their job performances. They feel what they do is recognized and that what they say is heard and acted upon often and consistently. Even if they don’t hear the answer they are looking for, they feel they were treated with honesty and respect.
The process of making unhappy employees “happy” isn’t going to be easy. Consulting help may be needed to establish the best process and assist with the implementation. It will take a commitment from the “top” of the organization and everyone must be on board. In the end, it will be about creating a welcoming environment for all employees. Giving them visibility and a voice in strategic development and market conditions will let them know their efforts have an impact. Letting them take ownership of projects and activities with “skin in the game” may create an environment where everyone is chasing productivity gains.
As things begin to change, provide reinforcement through recognition and maybe even social events to help everyone connect with each other. You will see that you are no longer the only one chasing productivity and that the gains you get will be the gains that everyone gets.
And maybe, you get to be the end of this fairy tale and live happily ever after….