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Office worker productivity
Training & Organizational Development
Office worker productivity
A forum for exchanging ideas about skills training, leadership training, management training, compliance training, e-learning, as well as organizational development and effectiveness.
We keep buying new/faster PCs and buying new software that in combination is expected to increase our productivity of processing information. The combination is expensive re initial costs and requires
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Forums » Topic Forums » Training & Organizational Development » Office worker productivity
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Office worker productivity
posted at 9/9/2008 9:05 AM EDT
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Posts: 23
First: 11/28/2006 Last: 11/26/2010 |
We keep buying new/faster PCs and buying new software that in combination is expected to increase our productivity of processing information. The combination is expensive re initial costs and requires training on how to use the new software. The problem is the productivity never seems to increase and during new software implementation actually decreases. We seem to be going through this cycle every 2-3 years. Anyone found a better solution or way to increase productivity? At what cost and ROI? |
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Office worker productivity
posted at 9/10/2008 5:34 PM EDT
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Posts: 108
First: 4/15/2007 Last: 8/17/2009 |
Hello Bob. You ask a question that bothers a lot of business owners and managers. Your lament is quite general, so its difficult for me to answer specifically to your situation.
The first point that I want to make is that productivity going down whilst new systems are bedded in and whilst employees learn how to work it is to be expected in most cases. To shorten this period, try to ensure the following: -roles and responsibilities are clarified before commissioning the new software -the training is highly relevant, practical and delivered just in time -new procedures are written up and distributed before commissioning -frontline worker and manager input is solicited and acted upon In truly improving productivity in your workplace, the first step is to learn the lessons of the past. Did you write a business case? What productivity metrics were you trying to improve? How did you measure the baseline and post-implementation productivity? What feedback did your employees give you? Many organizations, even many large ones, think that all they need to do to make a problem go away is to throw some new technology at it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our webpage at www.businessperform.com/html/workplace_environment.html summarizes the key factors that need to be considered in improving productivity, efficiency and quality of delivered products and services. Some of the initial questions that I would raise about your own situation are: Are frontline supervisors and middle level managers providing active and visible support for the new system or are they yes people, supporting in public but sabotaging in private? What incentives are there to motivate employees to use the new software, including financial and non-financial incentives? Are productivity goals clearly and unambiguously communicated down through all levels of management to the frontline worker? How is actual performance information individual, team, department and organization fed back to each and every employee? I think you get the gist. If you supply some more detail about your predicament, we can delve a little deeper. I trust this helps. Les Allan Author: From Training to Enhanced Workplace Performance www.businessperform.com/html/effective_training_tools.html |
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Office worker productivity
posted at 9/15/2008 9:57 AM EDT
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Posts: 23
First: 11/28/2006 Last: 11/26/2010 |
Les: Thanks for you insight on this issue. I'm sure that many of us feel like the IT and technology budgets drive the organization towards a technological solution to all issues and that the resulting need for training on new hardware and software grabs a larger and larger percentage of the total training budget. Behind IT training and the mandated programs on sexual harasement there is a pretty small budget for soft skills programs. IT is in the driver'r seat re training. |
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Office worker productivity
posted at 9/15/2008 3:12 PM EDT
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Posts: 108
First: 4/15/2007 Last: 8/17/2009 |
Bob, just to add to my earlier answer about improving productivity through new/faster PCs and new software, some upgrades should not be expected to lead to higher productivity. Some you can count on as the cost of doing business. Browser and operating system upgrades are two prominent examples. These must be upgraded from time to time to plug security vulnerabilities and to keep compatibility with file formats used by suppliers, customers and other departments within your own organization. These kinds of upgrades are just part of good risk management.
We also need to be wary of hardware and software vendor hype around improved efficiency and productivity. Take Vista and Office 2007 for example. An organization does not need to upgrade to these straight away, unless there is an immediate and compelling reason. For example, a major supplier may be issuing files in the new XML format only. Organizations need to ignore the hype and create a compelling business case before making any new purchases. Re your last post about IT training, this type of training should not be taking up a large part of the budget. Here I am talking about training of end users of the hardware and software. Training of IT staffs is another matter. Look at what you are spending your end user training on. Here are some tips for having an effective budget allocation: -Dont train everyone in everything. Not everyone needs intermediate MS Word and MS Excel. Send people to intermediate and advanced courses only when those people are doing work at that level. -Assign experts to each area that can answer and help with the more unusual requests, such as how to create a pivot table in MS Excel. These experts should be people already working in that area and should accept the job voluntarily. -Create and place handy tips, such as a list of shortcut keys, on each workstation. -Run lunchtime brown paper bag sessions where your resident expert or other staffs take turns to get up and talk about some aspect or function of the software, or some problem that they solved recently. -For your training needs analysis, dont ask employees what training they want. I call this a wish list and its just plain wasteful. Conduct a proper analysis of what needed skills are in short supply and what training is needed to address those shortfalls. Each skill should address a genuine and defensible business need. -Compile a proper training strategy and budget before the start of your budget period. Identify your strategic and operational needs, prioritize them and assign a bucket of money to each. Assign part of the overall training budget to ad hoc needs and needs arising out of individual performance appraisals. I trust this is some help in reigning in your IT training budget. Les Allan Managing Director, Business Performance Pty Ltd and author of From Training to Enhanced Workplace Performance www.businessperform.com/html/effective_training_tools.html |
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