The top-three business challenges of which about every executive complains are:
- Bottom-Line results
- Top-Line results
- Employee retention
A local Human Resources consultant told me that the overall employee retention rate for San Diego County, CA stands at 18 months!
Psychology magazine reported in a 2007 issue that people quit their jobs not because they want to get out of their current line of work but to change supervisors.
Cranfield University, UK, reported in a recent government study that 70% of all employees are not engaged.
W. Edwards Deming, the man that put Japan on the map as an Industrial nation after their defeat in WWII, found that 94% of all problems originate from the system. No more that 4% of all problems are directly attributable to a single individual or a group of individuals. Only 2% of all problems stem from technical failure.
James Reason, the British psychologist and expert on the topic of Human Error concluded that:
- “Human error is not the cause of failure but the symptom of a failing system.”
- “Although we cannot change the human condition (HN: making mistakes), we can change the conditions under which humans work.”
Can you see a pattern here? Do you see a possible cause and effect relationship between creating an employee-friendly business system and an increase in profitability, demand for products/services and employee satisfaction?
It’s no secret that happy employees are productive and efficient workers. Yet we do not endeavor to improve the conditions under which humans work. We keep stripping away at human factors, which amount to only 4% of all challenges anyway, expecting a different outcome. Guess what … the results are even worse than before! Determined to get it right this time, we’ll commit to doing the same thing all-over again but this time we tell ourselves to work smarter not harder!
Who do you think we’re fooling? But, the bigger question is WHY do we keep fooling ourselves? What do you think? How do you think we can break outside that box?
You’ve to gotta wanna! You need a compelling argument; a purpose or reason for being! Find something for your employees to rally behind. Don’t throttle them because they’re the only engine you’ve got to drive your success. Good luck!