Quality over Quantity: Why HR Leaders should prioritise work productivity over work hours, ETHRWorld

Highlights

• Trusting “Employees” to deliver on organisational outcomes over measuring work hours spent in the office will help Business Leaders – build an environment of trust, matured employer-employee relationships, and empower employees to drive the right outcomes while building the right capabilities.
• By recognising and valuing outcomes during appraisals and career discussion, leaders will enable a workforce that is engaged, productive and committed towards the organisation.
• Organisation of future needs to create a workplace that builds an apolitical culture – where openness and transparency becomes a virtue and employees are encouraged to “Be Themselves”.

By

Arianna Huffington once said, “We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.”

Sounds obvious and fundamental, right? Like one of those solutions that appear to stare us in the face when we think about it. That’s because it is! But this obvious and fundamental aspect has been somewhat latent. And as leaders today, the onus falls on us to make the conscious effort to make it the norm. Moving away from the convention of mapping timesheets to mapping outcomes instead.

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Just like Mr Miyagi tells Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid— “Better learn balance; balance is key”. While Mr Miyagi probably wasn’t referring to the modern workplace back on that rowboat, his words apply to this scenario as well. To promote a healthy work-life balance and better outcomes, organisations must trust and extend some flexibility for employees to manage their workload and time to achieve their goals.

So, how do we ensure this?

Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship. It is the first step towards creating a culture of autonomy, ownership and empowerment. It is not something you can build in a few months, but a gradual process that can be followed through upholding commitments and transparent communication. It is high time organisations understand that it is a two-way channel. It is not just the organisation that carries all the vulnerability in the relationship, but it is equally shouldered by the employees. When an organisation trusts its employees to deliver outcomes to the best of their abilities, the employees in return have also placed their belief in the organisation to accelerate their career growth.

Businesses of tomorrow need to go beyond the concept of measuring the productivity. But rather focus on building the right capabilities and aiding distinct growth opportunities for employee to explore their full potential. The business growth will certainly follow.

Another tried and tested way to boost productivity is aligning employees with the larger business goal ¬and showcasing to them how their role is crucial in attaining it. A collaborative goal-setting framework among diverse functions is the best way to promote cohesion and harmony across organisation.

Talent channelised with the right motivation is the formula to attain business excellence

Individuality is a key characteristic of the new-age workforce. Businesses that are successful in embracing this trait will be able to grow beyond and make a difference in the society. The workforce of the future is dedicated to contributing towards mankind and the environment at large.

Companies, therefore, need to motivate their employees by supporting their individual purpose over and above chasing profits.

Employees are inspired when their company encourages them to ‘be themselves’ and respect their individuality. Right from their opinions to their sexual orientation, and even their learning and development needs to achieve both personal and professional goals.

I strongly believe that business excellence is the by-product of a culture that facilitates the freedom to innovate and is focused on curating consistent learning and development opportunities.

This is already paying off for organisations measuring outcomes over mapping input. At Marico, for instance, we have never looked at the attendance of our members in the past 32 years. During the pandemic, we made sure that we followed the same ethos, and we found that our member productivity and efficiency increased despite the lack of physical presence in offices. Further, between 2020 and 2021, we even saw an increase in innovations within the organisation—for instance, we launched over 12 new products and entered new industry segments— all in one year.

Undoubtedly, the last few years have led to a significant overhaul of several aspects of human capital management. And it is about time that leaders recognise the importance of different aspects that have a direct impact on productivity than measuring the number of working hours. Like Mr Miyagi said, “Trust the quality of what you know, not the quantity.” And who are we to question the ultimate karate master?

The author,

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETHRWorld does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETHRWorld will not be responsible for any damage caused to any person or organisation directly or indirectly.

Revamping employer brand for the new generation workforce

Most companies believe that if they offer monetary incentives, work-life balance and opportunities for upward mobility, their employees will be satisfied. This may have held true for the older generations but is not applicable to millennial and Gen-Z professionals.

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By Amit Prakash Arianna Huffington once said, “We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.”Sounds obvious and fundamental, right? Like one of those solutions that appear to stare us in the face when we think about it. That’s because it is! But this obvious and fundamental aspect has been somewhat latent. And as leaders today, the onus falls on us to make the conscious effort to make it the norm. Moving away from the convention of mapping timesheets to mapping outcomes instead.It is no surprise that the pandemic has led to massive pivots in the workplace. We live in the age of hybrid work models, where ensuring work-life balance, mental wellbeing, avoiding burnout, and other such aspects of work life are critical concerns. The new age employees are closely evaluating the work culture of companies while making career decisions.Just like Mr Miyagi tells Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid— “Better learn balance; balance is key”. While Mr Miyagi probably wasn’t referring to the modern workplace back on that rowboat, his words apply to this scenario as well. To promote a healthy work-life balance and better outcomes, organisations must trust and extend some flexibility for employees to manage their workload and time to achieve their goals.So, how do we ensure this?Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship. It is the first step towards creating a culture of autonomy, ownership and empowerment. It is not something you can build in a few months, but a gradual process that can be followed through upholding commitments and transparent communication. It is high time organisations understand that it is a two-way channel. It is not just the organisation that carries all the vulnerability in the relationship, but it is equally shouldered by the employees. When an organisation trusts its employees to deliver outcomes to the best of their abilities, the employees in return have also placed their belief in the organisation to accelerate their career growth.Businesses of tomorrow need to go beyond the concept of measuring the productivity. But rather focus on building the right capabilities and aiding distinct growth opportunities for employee to explore their full potential. The business growth will certainly follow.Another tried and tested way to boost productivity is aligning employees with the larger business goal ¬and showcasing to them how their role is crucial in attaining it. A collaborative goal-setting framework among diverse functions is the best way to promote cohesion and harmony across organisation.Individuality is a key characteristic of the new-age workforce. Businesses that are successful in embracing this trait will be able to grow beyond and make a difference in the society. The workforce of the future is dedicated to contributing towards mankind and the environment at large.Companies, therefore, need to motivate their employees by supporting their individual purpose over and above chasing profits.Employees are inspired when their company encourages them to ‘be themselves’ and respect their individuality. Right from their opinions to their sexual orientation, and even their learning and development needs to achieve both personal and professional goals.I strongly believe that business excellence is the by-product of a culture that facilitates the freedom to innovate and is focused on curating consistent learning and development opportunities.This is already paying off for organisations measuring outcomes over mapping input. At Marico, for instance, we have never looked at the attendance of our members in the past 32 years. During the pandemic, we made sure that we followed the same ethos, and we found that our member productivity and efficiency increased despite the lack of physical presence in offices. Further, between 2020 and 2021, we even saw an increase in innovations within the organisation—for instance, we launched over 12 new products and entered new industry segments— all in one year.Undoubtedly, the last few years have led to a significant overhaul of several aspects of human capital management. And it is about time that leaders recognise the importance of different aspects that have a direct impact on productivity than measuring the number of working hours. Like Mr Miyagi said, “Trust the quality of what you know, not the quantity.” And who are we to question the ultimate karate master?The author, Amit Prakash , is CHRO at Marico.DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETHRWorld does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETHRWorld will not be responsible for any damage caused to any person or organisation directly or indirectly.