Job Worth Doing

Do you find it amazing the number of employees that think the point of their work “is to say they have completed the task?” When the actual point “is they have completed their work well.” The old saying, “A job worth doing is a job worth doing well” still holds true today. Clocking in and clocking out does not make a productive day. A time card showing a full eight-hour day does not show missions accomplished. To differentiate between putting in time and being a productive employee you, the supervisor, will need to set goals.

I’m not a big fan of rewarding attendance beyond grade school. What does it really say? Not much if that is all you can put on your resume’. I’m all for pay based on meeting specific goals in a specific time for a specific quality and quantity. But, initiating this kind of work place and supervising in this kind of workplace is hard work and for most, a huge culture change.

The hard work for supervision comes up front. It requires having employees thoroughly educated on what you expect from them in the workplace. This must have tangible and relevant goals, performance reviews, and ramifications. However your business is set up, authoritarian or team based, the goals must be realistic but challenging.

You must stay on top of how each employee is doing throughout the year and give the employees’ feedback. Setting goals cannot be the end of your responsibility. If the business changes, the goals should be reviewed and changed if necessary.

You may have employees who do not work well in this open and aggressive work place. Without the usual method of timing them, they may believe they are free to take advantage of the plan. It’s important those employees be guided into the performance review for a wake up call. If they cannot understand that this type of work environment needs employee honesty and integrity, they must suffer ramifications. An employee who cannot adapt to this type of work atmosphere, if not handled immediately, will destroy the entire program. Once other employees see exceptions being made for the weakest link, your entire team will meet the lowest bar.

If you are successful in reorganizing your workforce to perform to the best of their ability, you will find innovation and creativity soar. When an employee is rewarded for thinking, they will shrug off the chains of rules designed to manage the poorest performer. Without poor performers, you will set your workforce free.

Psalm 25:21 “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.”