Revving Up Productivity

The past few years have been a study in doing more with less. Budgets have been cut, staffs have been reduced, and less outside support has been available. While employees have admirably picked up the slack, and most say they're happy to still be employed, many are finding themselves feeling more stressed, cynical and fatigued.

And now we need to ask them to kick it up another notch. As the economy continues to improve, we need our employees to begin rallying to a call for heightened morale and productivity. But how can we get them to give even more?

Unless you're looking for massive burnout and attrition, you're going to need to create your own internal recovery-a recovery in alignment, trust, morale, meaning and motivation. Though productivity is often defined in numbers, it relies very heavily upon people and their attitudes.

Where do you begin? Here are a few areas:

• Be honest about the past.
  It's no secret that the last three years have been tough. Economic and global events have changed the way people think about work. Employee loyalty has fallen to record lows with surveys showing that as many as 70 percent of employees plan to seek new employment as the economy improves. Before you can drive performance in your business, you must rebuild trust and recreate alignment. When rallying the troops, don't hide from the past. Acknowledge the realities of what has occurred and the effects it has had on your organization. Honestly explain why and how decisions were made. Your candid insights will increase the trust your people have in you.
  
• Make reorientation a priority.
  In order to shift into forward-momentum and ramped up productivity, leaders will need to realign and refocus employees on positive, forward-looking results. Remind employees of your company or department's core purpose and what they are responsible for in determining the company's long term success.
  
• Revisit, solidify and communicate a forward-looking vision.
  The activities of the past year have caused a surge in the search for more meaningful, relevant work and a heightened sense of community. And that's an increase from what was already a pretty good trend making itself known in the 1990s. To re-engage employees and rebuild trust and some sense of loyalty, you may need to update your vision to a more forward thinking philosophy that offers a greater sense of purpose and a more rewarding feeling of community.
  
• Unify and align your group around forward-looking shared goals.
  Productivity starts with well-defined shared values and goals that are clearly linked to individual values and priorities. The first part of this process is to define specific, measurable performance objectives for every individual (ideally with employee input). The next step is to modify compensation programs to directly reward people for accomplishing their goals. And finally, and most importantly, your leaders and managers must be trained to clearly and skillfully communicate your vision, values and goals to every individual in the organization.
  
• Connect individual employees with the organizational vision and shared goals.
  Leaders and managers must connect departmental and individual goals with broader organizational vision and goals. The greatest productivity gains occur when everyone on a team is tightly aligned with a specific mission-and each individual clearly understands his or her role.
  
• Have solid leadership and communication plans, and follow them consistently.
  Many surveys show the direct link between good organizational communication and bottom line benefits. No matter how focused or broad your communication plans are, it's now more important than ever to ensure that you've got a purposeful communication program that is (1) based on reality and (2) is specifically suited to your group and organizational culture and goals.
  
• Be honest, authentic and ethical.
  With all the recent corporate scandals, and continued fear and uncertainty in the workplace, it's more important than ever to be honest, ethical and authentic. As the economy picks up, employees will seek employers that live these values. Make sure your organization is the kind of place where top performers want to work.