There has emerged in recent years an exciting new paradigm known as high performance work systems that is changing the way we think about people and how work is organized. A high performance organization could be defined as an organization in which each person is a contributing partner to the business. High performance work environments require a deep respect and trust in people. People are not viewed as extensions of machines, objects to be manipulated nor costs to be controlled but rather as thinking and feeling human beings who bring enormous energy, creativity and talent to their work. Most people want jobs that are meaningful and allow them autonomy to make decisions and contribute to the company in significant ways. Effective organizations are those moving beyond attempting to control people to trusting and empowering them with the resources, information, tools, skills and support to manage their work processes and create products and services of unprecedented quality. Of course, lots of companies espouse a philosophy that values people and yet are not experiencing this kind of performance. That is because they are not designed to do so. Only a holistic and systemic view of the organization in which all aspects of the organization are aligned behind that philosophy will realize the true value of their people. In high performance organizations people understand the business, are committed to getting results and are organized into self-contained, multi-functional and customer-focused business units or teams that take full responsibility for making decisions, solving problems and continuously improving the quality of their work. Everyone involved with a particular core process, are members of the same team and are empowered with full authority for the success of a whole product, service or major segment of work. Roles and responsibilities are much broader and more meaningful in scope than in a traditional organization. The team is responsible for setting goals, coordinating and scheduling their work, interfacing with the customer, training, making decisions and problem solving, monitoring quality, and even measuring performance and making hiring and selection decisions. The role of management changes from that of controlling workers and solving day-to-day problems to being facilitators and coaches. They define outcomes, manage boundaries, interface with other departments and, in general, insure that the team has the resources, training, information and support they need to carry out the job. Perhaps this movement could be summarized by four basic principles: 1. People are the organizations greatest resource and need to be trusted and empowered. 2. Work must be designed so that people are allowed to do “whole and meaningful” tasks that integrate all work aspects into a singular and total system. 3. Cross-functional teams are the natural work units of high performance companies and are responsible for managing all of the tasks and processes to accomplish business goals. 4. The role of management must change from controlling workers to providing resources and training as well as managing the environment so teams of workers can be most effective. If you keep doing what you’ve been doing…. Research and experience indicate the companies organized by principles of high performance consistently outperform their more traditional counterparts. In fact, a recent review of 100 companies that have recently redesigned their work environments consistent with these principles showed an average improvement in productivity of 37%. Pretty remarkable! There is an old truism that “If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting”. Most leaders, owners or managers have not yet tapped the full potential of their workforce, and yet they won’t do so by doing more or even better of what they’ve done in the past. Only through a redesign of work and the structure of the organization can outstanding improvements in productivity and quality be realized. How to make it happen The good news is that we have several programs to assist businesses in making the transition to high performance. The mission of High Performance Leadership Training is to introduce businesses to principles of high performance and, thereby dramatically improve their productivity, profits, employee performance and employee morale. All types of organizations – manufacturing and service, large and small, whole companies or sub-units – can use these programs to become high performing. The High Performance Model shows the programs we use to create a high performance organization. There are four distinct but interrelated paths to get there: Organizational Assessment and Design, Strategy Development, Leadership and Personal Development Training and Implementation of Teams. We provide eight different programs, related to the four paths, to help companies become high performing. Some companies elect to implement all eight programs within their organizations. Others choose to focus on one, two or three programs to help them make the transition. A company’s leaders can choose, based upon their needs and resources, the pathway and programs they will take to move them towards high performance. Contact us today for more information