The speed of business has gone into overdrive and organisations are looking at ways to increase and improve productivity, which will in turn have a positive impact on profitability. Technology has been seen as a major enabler, but all that it has done is empower the two elements of productivity: People and processes.
People + processes = productivity
The success of every business is determined by its performance in various categories – production rates and quality of service being excellent examples. Productivity is thus seen as an important component of performance, because in order to achieve business objectives, productivity is necessary.
Levels of productivity are dependent on the employees (people) and operational systems (processes) of an organisation. It’s a simple formula, where equal weight is given to each element in order to reach the desired outcome. Simply put: Without one or the other, there will be no productivity.
People or processes: which comes first?
Since processes and people are crucial to productivity, which one should a business analyse first? The answer is to examine them in tandem, not separately. A process means nothing if it isn’t empowering employees to reach their full potential.
Also, if there is no buy-in from the people around the processes, it will be difficult to implement any new systems. This is why change management will play an important part in aligning people and processes.
Change management
The effects of change begin right at the top and should run down throughout an organisation. Key decision-makers need to understand the value in any new systems and processes, and be part of the discussions from inception. This will be provide them with an adequate forum to present concerns, ideas and input, so by the time the change takes place, everyone will have been consulted.
Employees will also benefit from being a part of the transformation process. By educating and informing them of what it entails, they’ll be able to share their opinions. This will make them feel valued and important to the organisation.
There’s a reason people struggle to adapt to change. If someone doesn’t understand why they’re doing something, it’s incredibly difficult to convince them of the merits. Human beings need to participate and be motivated for any sort of change – much more so in a business setting.
This is much like in football where a team requires the right strategy and players to score a goal. If the goals aren’t flowing, the managers need to go back to the drawing board and identify a better strategy to maximise their superstars’ talents.