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10 Ways You Can Help Your Employees "Get It Done" Every Day
August 11, 2008
Here, Richard Lepsinger presents 10 keys to inspire an "execution revolution" at your company (Edited by Jonathan Tannenbaum)
Even though many companies envision themselves becoming a market leader one day, many employees often see these aspirations as far-fetched dreams. A recent survey conducted by OnPoint Consulting shows that almost half of respondents believe that their organization continually fails to execute its strategic vision. But it doesn't have to be this way, says Richard Lepsinger, President of OnPoint. Your company really can keep its promises—but first you must take some tried and true steps to create a "get it done" culture. For example:
1. Recognize that execution starts with a plan. "A solid plan can immensely improve the efficiency with which a project is carried out," says Lepsinger. "It facilitates the coordination of related work activities and helps people avoid duplication of effort. It also enables employees to set priorities and meet deadlines. Remember that the best plans are flexible starting points that can be easily changed to address new challenges as you encounter them."
2. Ensure plans are aligned and coordinated across the organization. A common snafu at many organizations is that one department head will implement a new initiative that hurts other parts of the company. For example, when a NY-based mutual insurance firm realized it wasn't going to meet certain financial goals, division heads focused on cutting their individual expenses. Unfortunately, they didn’t develop plans that were compatible across the organization, which made it difficult to maintain support and service to internal customers.
3. Clarify, clarify, clarify. It's difficult to get things done when people don't understand exactly what they should be doing – or for that matter, when they should be doing it. One reason for this is that managers tend to assume that employees automatically understand what needs to be done. Many managers also fear they might insult an employee's intelligence by stating what seems obvious. Finally, some leaders may simply believe they are too busy to spell things out. Make sure you do not fall into any of these categories.
4. Establish clear expectations. Goals help managers give constructive feedback to team members. Performance will improve because specific objectives guide effort toward the most productive activities, and challenging objectives tend to energize a higher level of effort. "Goals should be set even for those things that can't be easily measured," asserts Lepsinger. It's important to remember that although some goals may be difficult to quantify, all goals can be verified."
5. Don't micromanage your entrepreneurial-minded employees. But do monitor them. Employees who take individual initiative and do an effective job with little direction are the gems of your company. But, just because you can give them a strong degree of independence, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't follow up periodically. In fact, when you empower employees in this way, monitoring becomes even more important.
6. Don't shoot the messenger. Encourage your employees to share bad news. Getting information from employees can be easier said than done. If there is a problem, they may be hesitant to inform you because they fear looking incompetent or receiving an angry outburst. It's essential to be careful about how you react to information concerning problems.
7. Balance careful analysis of a problem and decisive action to solve it. You must move quickly to deal with a threat or problem. But you must come up with the right remedies before taking action, or you may end up implementing ineffective solutions or solving the wrong problem—both of which can make things worse instead of better.
8. Make decisions close to the action. The key here is ensuring that decisions are being made with the best information in order to receive quick, valuable responsiveness. It's not uncommon for organizations to swing back and forth from centralizing to decentralizing as they try to deal with a strategic issue or competitive threat. But "organizational redesign is not necessarily the best solution to a competitive or strategic problem," says Lepsinger. "Leaders frequently find that the change just presents a different set of problems and issues. The key is to determine what processes and work would benefit from centralization or decentralization.”
9. Facilitate spontaneous interaction among employees. Your employees' informal relationships are vital. Connecting with a colleague "in the moment" when handling a problem or new information is essential for execution. But in today's fast-paced global businesses, it can be difficult to make these connections. Try to get people in the same location on a regular basis so they can interact with one another.
10. Transform your performance management system into a business tool. This system is one of the essential tools for creating execution: It ensures goals are aligned across levels and work units, helps people know what they need to do and allows leaders to monitor progress. However, if you view performance management only as an end-of-the-year review, it isn't going to help you get things done any more efficiently.
Affirming the collective benefit of the changes, Lepsinger asserts that employees will get focused on being more efficient, retaining customers, responding and acting on customer feedback, and monitoring the quality of their work. "One day you'll look around and realize your mission statement actually rings true—and that's one of the best feelings you'll ever have as a leader," he says.
Richard Lepsinger is president of OnPoint Consulting and has spent 20 years as a human resource consultant and executive. For more information, please visit www.onpointconsultingllc.com.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
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