PRINCIPLES OF EFFICIENT STAFF UTILIZATION

Unconventional doctrine should be utilized to cost effectively build the most talented, loyal and valuable asset any company has…your employees.

Create a mutually beneficial business relationship with new employees without secondary degrees offering great opportunity they would not receive elsewhere. Do not overpay for degreed staff unless for an area with a defined expertise like design, marketing, accounting, programming, etc. With exception of certain technical areas, the greatest value of a new employee brings your organization is not what is learned in school, but is the inherent potential for future success buried inside their being. The more disadvantaged a person is in the labor market, the more loyal that staff member will be if given growth opportunities.

Businesses always think they need more people…most of the time some of the people they have may be working hard, but are unproductive, wasting time. Spend energy evaluating individual positions, productivity, methods to automate processes and take some of the cost savings increasing compensation for a smaller, more productive and loyal staff. The first measure of success is not how many employees are on the payroll, but instead profitability which is the foundation for future security for employees.

Ignore conventional hiring, compensation and wage increase methodologies by focusing on market rates, productivity and personal employee technical knowledge and responsibility growth. Do not adhere to yearly increases based on inflation or some imaginary reason for across the board increases. Do not reward lesser performers with raises regardless of company performance until performance warrants increases. Always reward employees increasing productivity, enhancing knowledge or responsibility regardless of company performance…always reward improvement.

Building a loyal employee team is enhanced when the team knows the rewards are based on productivity, speed and improvement. Rewards include opportunity for growth into management if that is desired by an employee. Too often managers are hired from the outside as if they have some magic elixir you don’t know about when you have a great employee in your hand. Take the time to grow your managers and provide additional education resources if needed for this growth.

Focus high compensation for management and technical staff that are integral to the core operation of your organization. Always get the very best talent for non-core areas on a part-time, outsourced basis…paying less overall for preeminent talent. Network management, database management, payroll/benefits, legal, tax, programming and other functions should be contract or outsourced unless core.

Reserve highest dollars to key executives and managers that are integral to success of core mission. Sales/Marketing, Customer Service, Operations related to core are the key areas to spend your dollars. Outsource other high level expertise to contract business partners. Focus money and time on making money in your business, not in non-core sideline functions.

Preserve extremely flat operational and reporting structure with limited layers to reduce staffing costs, create more direct accountability, encourage innovation and increase speed of response to changes, errors and improvement. Keep the fewest number of managers relative to employees possible…income producers generate income…managers are overhead.

PRINCIPLES OF OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY

Instinctively Challenge Every Function in Every Area to Improve Productivity!

METHODOLOGIES FOR INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY

Be Prepared to Modify Any Process, Equipment or Staff to Escalate Efficiency!

Staff Observation Provides Most Significant Savings!

Review visually physical employee movements and workflow for adjustments to expand output. Evaluate information flow for each employee for redundancies, inefficiencies, and deficiencies. Look for opportunities to use software tools to speed functions, reduce delays and improve information flow.

Equipment Supplier/Mgmt Review Business Processes

Work with equipment suppliers to analyze opportunities for automation utilizing updated technology. Evaluate cost/benefit info to compare depreciation versus reduced staffing costs. Focus on generating more revenue per employee.

Expert 3rd Party Consultants Review Business Practices

Collaborate with business partners to provide outside perspective analyzing all facets of operations seeking innovative best practices to streamline procedures. Effort should be concentrated on eliminating unnecessary work and reducing hours per dollar of revenue.