I had a discussion this past week with a manager for a firm that had a poor last quarter showing. He couldn’t quite put his finger on the slip in dynamic. It was a great conversation and a testament to paying attention to employee relations.
It is important to remember positive or negative production/outcomes can be foreseen if you identify what your company employees’ discretionary efforts are. Or heaven forbid, determining if they exist. Discretionary effort is what determines your competitiveness as well as your profit within the marketplace.
How do you determine if your employees contribute discretionary effort? Realistically evaluate if they are emotionally committed to the company. Lots of management folks mistake ‘happy’ employees with emotionally committed employees. A happy employee may show up daily and happily do their work, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are maximizing their own potential productivity level, and subsequently the company’s outcomes/results are negatively impacted.
As Doug Conant, a one time CEO at Campbell’s said, “To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.” So when you have emotionally committed employees, you have the edge. Emotionally committed employees are the ones who will work late, do more, and create a positive impact through growth, connection and output without being asked. They are the ones creating a dynamic that leads to measurable growth, productivity and cost savings.
