We listened with interest to the interview with Sir Brian Roche, our new Public Service Commissioner, this week as he outlined his key objective for the public service.
It is to increase productivity and performance.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Isn’t that what we all want?
But at a time when the public service is feeling the pain of restructures, funding cuts and uncertain futures, this is a task easier said than done and definitely not simple!
We know that many private businesses will be facing the same challenge right now. It has been a tough year and many of you will have downsized or put recruitment and training on hold. The challenge you face is how to do more with less people.
Equally for your teams, going through change is tough. They may be feeling uncertain about their future, frustrated by additional work or missing friendships and connections they had with staff who have left.
The result of this is that you may want more, but your team may not be in the space to give more.
Getting your team back on the same page, motivated and settled into the new environment will be critical for achieving your business goals.
If you want to improve productivity after a time of change, consider these three questions:
1. How engaged are your team and are you delivering on what is important to them right now?
You generally feel it when engagement is low. Your team are not quite as committed to going the extra mile, no one puts their hand up to help when it is required, productivity may be low, or quality is suffering.
This is normal after periods of change, but it takes a concerted and focused effort to get this back on track.
- A key place to start is by asking your team how they feel, what they need from you, then making a clear effort to deliver this
- Make time for each individual and communicate a strong united successful future for you and them
- Try and put some fun back into the workplace
Involving your team in these discussions through engagement or pulse surveys and focus groups means they play a part in creating the workplace they want.
This starts the journey to increased engagement, and improved performance and productivity.
2. How skilled are your leaders at managing change and motivating their teams?
Leaders have it tough as well. They still need to deliver results and do this with smaller teams and staff who may not care as much as they do. This can lead to some having a short fuse, which can create other headaches for them and for your business.
So, what are you doing to support them and make sure they have the right skills to navigate this period successfully?
- Putting in some focused development opportunities for them is an important part of helping them to lead your team for success
- Do they know how to give clear, forward focused feedback?
- Can they successfully manage small issues before they escalate?
- Do they understand how to manage change?
- Can they communicate well with their teams?
These are all important leadership skills and can make the difference between your teams limping along or starting to fire on all cylinders again.
3. Are your expectations realistic?
You may have downsized and gone from two sales people to one, or down to one dispatch staff member.
Is what you are asking actually do-able? What does that mean to their call cycle or travel? Can they really load two trucks a day?
- Having these conversations and reviewing your processes will go a long way towards making these changes work
- You may have to do something differently, like automate, introduce new software or introduce virtual client meetings
If you take the time to talk to your people and really understand their workload and tasks, you will improve your productivity.
Expecting people to work faster or for longer hours isn’t the full solution. Improving productivity takes a change in the way you are working.
Thinking through these questions carefully and taking meaningful action to improve productivity and efficiency will help to get your team ready to go for 2025.
Positive People have over 30 years helping businesses improve engagement, leadership skills and productivity. Call us now on 09 445 1077 or email us at info@positivepeople.co.nz.