Conversely, I had a consulting assignment for a 100-employee manufacturer where the company was hemorrhaging from poor quality, high waste and lost customers. Many in this organization felt pressure and uncertainty in their jobs. They felt stuck in their work and frustrated by not knowing what they needed to do in order to get the business moving forward. Every time I walked out of that company, I felt mentally drained. This feeling clearly stemmed from the lack of positive energy and action in the client’s organization.

Why does one organization "generate energy" in its people, while another "drains energy," and thus life, from its staff? How does your company compare? Here are 6 elements to examine when looking at your own business.

Business Purpose and Strategy

An organization that has well defined both its corporate purpose and business strategy, and has communicated those to its employees, experiences greater energy and commitment from its staff. By sharing with employees "the big picture" as to what business the company is in, people feel included in something larger than themselves. If employees can relate their daily work to this "big picture," they will strive for loftier goals and achievements. Also, by continually communicating the company’s purpose and strategy, your company will attract employees who feel excited about them, and weed out those who don’t. Clearly, City Year's staff and volunteers were fired up about its purpose. Is that true in your organization?

Company Stakeholders

Balancing the interest of internal company stakeholders (management, family-business members, unions, etc.) and external stakeholders (outside investors and debt holders, vendors, community, government, etc.) is very important in any business. Family strife in family businesses, impending bank lien/foreclosure, and employee grievances or strikes in a union environment, can drain the life out of any business. Building collaborative relationships with relevant stakeholders, and providing them appropriate ongoing attention, will generate close bonds that focus on mutual success. In City Year’s case, by building bridges with corporate sponsors and community partners, they generated enormous feelings of good will that yielded them sources of funding and projects for their organization. How well does your company build committed partnerships with all its key stakeholders?

Organizational Structure, Processes and Systems

If people are not clear about their job roles and accountabilities in the organization structure, then a lot of inadvertent "stepping on toes" or work omissions could occur. This leads to feelings of personal frustration as people try to go about their daily duties. Work processes and information systems need to be designed for quick response to customers and for effective decision making by both management and employees. Otherwise, people will feel like they are working in the dark or "spinning their wheels" instead of properly serving the customer. At the manufacturing company above, management jobs were ill defined and overlapping. Also, their work processes were not flowing smoothly, causing much personal frustration and wasted energy on quality problems and delayed deliveries. How well is your company attending to its organization structure, work processes and information systems?

Resources and Capabilities

An organization can be stymied by the lack of suitable resources (suitable raw materials, sufficient financial capital, available job candidates, and proper equipment or technology) to fuel the business. Knowing how frustrated people can get when their personal computer or the office photocopier breaks down makes it easy to understand how it feels to not have good resources. In addition, having the wrong person "peg" in the wrong job position "slot" will cause aggravation both for that individual and all the other people around him or her. Again, in the manufacturing company case, aggravation was rampant with many people either not experienced for their job, or operating machines and equipment that were not well suited for the required production. How well is your company acquiring the right resources and people capabilities for its business?

Management and Human Resource Practices

Inadequate management and human resource practices (employee recruitment and retention, performance management and reward, and training and development) can lead to a de-motivated workforce. When people feel that they are treated fairly, they spend more time and energy taking care of customers and being innovative in their work. Also, by developing people to work in teams and giving them the authority to make decisions, they can better and faster solve customer’s problems, and feel a stronger sense of organizational community. City Year worked hard to treat all its volunteers and staff as partners in the organization. Even so, some people felt overworked and underpaid. Yet their attention and dedication to staff and teamwork was undeniable, and a source of much employee commitment to the work of the organization. How well is your organization managing, developing and paying attention to its people?

Leadership

The old adage that "an organization is only a reflection of its leadership" is very true when it comes to helping employees feel personal drive, enthusiasm and commitment to their job and the business. No matter what kind of organization, effective leadership can engage followers to rise to their best, both individually and collectively. City Year permeated its whole organization with competent leadership, which generated much employee drive and commitment. Conversely, the manufacturing company’s leadership subtly berated people for poor performance; therefore people did not feel enthusiastic about giving their all and their best.

Paying attention to and investing in all these six areas will energize the people within your organization and pay handsome returns for you, them, and your business.


Harvy Simkovits, CMC, President of Business Wisdom, works with owner managed companies to help them grow, prosper and continue on by offering innovative approaches to business development, company management, organization leadership and learning, and management education. He can be reached at 781-862-3983 or .