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HUMAN RESOURCES
The Quest for Productivity
by Tony Eldred
How often do you come across the word ‘productivity’?
The word is used quite liberally in the present economic
environment, but I find that a surprising number of
managers and supervisors attending my training courses have
only a vague notion of what it means.
In Australia we are in the unfortunate position where we pay
staff for attendance; that is, we pay wages for the number of
hours the staff member is present, irrespective of the work done
during that time. If I asked you to design a remuneration system
to base our economy on, would you pay staff to attend? I hardly
think so — it’s really quite bizarre when you think about it.
Productivity can be expressed as a percentage. For example,
a productivity of 75% means that for each 8 hours paid for, there
are 6 hours of actual work performed. The percentage represents
the ratio of work performed against time present. Some of you
would be shocked to discover what your staff productivity really
is. Unfortunately, accurate figures are difficult to establish because
it is necessary for you to monitor all staff activity and log
the results using a stopwatch to work it out accurately.
Australian research tells us that the average productivity for
our industry is in the range of 45-55%. This may seem low, but
apart from the obvious time wasters such as social conversations,
unscheduled smoke breaks, astral travelling and the like, you have
to consider the nature of your trade. We tend to have concentrated
peaks of activity followed by quiet times during which there is
a reduced sense of urgency.
The financial implications of staff productivity are profound.
Let’s say you hire a kitchen hand for $10 per hour. By the time
you add the on-costs and other costs associated with employment
your kitchen hand costs you double the base rate — a total of $20
per hour, just to be there. If you roster him for an eight hour shift
“ A person who wants to do the job or who
has a talent for the kind of tasks required
will generally have a much higher rate of
productivity than one who does not. ”
and he’s 85% productive it will cost you $26 per hour to get real
work done; if he’s 50% productive the cost goes up to $40 per
hour; and so on — just to get basic work performed.
It is unrealistic to ever expect to achieve 100% productivity
from any staff, but 85% is possible and is a good target to aim
for. This gives the average business owner a potential for a 30%
increase in staff productivity across the board. If you have ever
thought you are understaffed, think about this: if you can gain an
extra 30% productivity, you gain the equivalent of one new staff
member for every three you’ve already got on the payroll.
The obvious question is: How do you lift your staff productivity?
The answer involves the use of a number of different
leadership skills; some of them advanced.
The first involves understanding the preliminary steps to the
recruitment and selection process. Before you advertise a position,
the responsibilities and duties within that position should be
carefully defined. This may involve you rationalising existing jobs
and reallocating duties to different people in order to efficiently
group appropriate tasks.
Next, you must analyse the time and motion aspect of the
position. Your procedures and the physical layout of your workplace
must be arranged to minimise wasted effort. Perhaps in
your work environment you have remote storerooms or other
necessary facilities which could be rearranged to waste less time?
Whenever you or your staff move from A to B it’s a dead economic
loss to your business. Eliminating unnecessary movement
increases productivity dramatically.
You can also enhance productivity by careful staff selection.
A person who wants to do the job or who has a talent for the kind
of tasks required will generally have a much higher rate of productivity
than one who does not. The extra time and cost taken
to attract and select high quality staff will be repaid many times in
terms of improved quality and efficiency.
Once you select staff you have to train them properly. Someone
said that the purpose of training is not simply to adorn the
mind, but to direct the will. Good training fosters and builds
positive attitudes and solid work ethics. Before you train a person
you should attempt to ascertain standard times for each task and
challenge the trainee to meet these times. The simple provision
of goals and targets goes a long way to increasing work output
— the average person likes to compete with themselves and with
others.
Finally, the standard of your supervision has a great bearing
on your ultimate productivity. If you understand the process of
motivation and can get staff to
want to perform for you, your
productivity will be far higher
than if you rely on authoritarian
discipline. All your staff need
to know your general business
plan and how you want them
to fit into the scheme of things.
They should be allocated responsibilities,
not tasks. If your
staff regularly have to come to
you or your supervisors and
ask: ‘What do you want me to do now?’, you should re-examine
the way you lead — they should know what is expected and how
long it should take, without having to ask. Every time they ask
they are fracturing their work flow as well as yours.
An amusing aspect to the whole subject of productivity is
that I keep seeing business owners who staff their operations
with what we call warm bodies; i.e, those who spend little time
recruiting, those who pay the low wages and provide little or no
training. They think they’re saving money, but they often have the
highest labour costs — the result of poor productivity.
Tony Eldred is the Managing Director of hospitality management consultants Eldred
Hospitality Pte. Ltd. For more information visit www.eldtrain.com.au or email
Tony directly at teldred@eldtrain.com.au
48 HOSPITALITY MALDIVES OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2006