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Employee
Transformation
By
Ravi Kumar
In today’s highly turbulent and unpredictable world the
principle question is how employees can deliver exceptional value? Employees
generally do their work complying with the system of corporate procedures and
rules under the supervision of managers. Managers typically are the people who
work within the system boundaries and are concerned about the efficiency of the
team that they are managing. Leaders are managers who work on the system and
are typically concerned about the effectiveness of the team.
Employees Journey from Evolutionary to Revolutionary Transformation
We
basically have seen what makes an individual an employee and/or a manager
and/or a leader by the virtue of their job functions, and these are the
conventional definitions which are transforming very rapidly in today’s modern
organizations. Initially the transformation is evolutionary and later the
changes brought about are revolutionary, as the environment external to the
organizations is relatively stable compared to the current environment
dynamics.
Stage 1:
Employees
need to simply conform to the corporate procedures and rules and fulfill the
basic job duties by working ‘hard’. There is a very little responsibility for
the employee towards the job function and the major responsibility lies with
the manager.
Managers
need to insure that the team conforms to the corporate procedures and rules and
does the job as per the requirement, thereby striving to achieve customer
satisfaction.
Leaders
work on the system and are concerned about the effectiveness of the system and
usually set a clear direction for the team/department/organization.
Stage 2:
Employees
need to manage themselves by taking responsibility for their job functions,
work within the system and continuously strive for achieving the service
quality and customer satisfaction. In order to accomplish these tasks,
employees are expected to work ‘smart’.
Managers
had to start working on the existing system, making the necessary changes in
the system to insuring consistency in achieving service quality and customer
satisfaction levels. Part of the managerial function is actually merged with
employees’ function.
Leader
functions are gradually merging into managerial function, but they are still
involved in setting up the direction for the teams/departments/organizations.
The transformation from stage 1 to stage 2 was evolutionary.
Stage 3:
Employees,
apart from working within the system, have a need to work on the system. This
need has become predominant and mandatory. Employees are expected to be working
‘smart and hard’ and continuously striving towards delivering ‘service
excellence’ and ensuring ‘customer delight’. Service quality and customer
satisfaction are no longer sufficient enough to give the competitive edge to
organizations. Customers today need to be “WOWED & WOOED”.
The
distinction between the Managers and Leaders has become very narrow and now is
typically involved in insuring and reassuring service excellence and customer
delight. Rapid changes (globalization etc.) and turbulence in the environment
forced organizations to stay competitive, and in order to do that organizations
need to insure commitment from its employees. It is because of these changes we
face challenges in our everyday work and are expected to manage or interface
with the challenges efficiently.
If
we look at these stages, it is evident that employees have transformed
gradually to managers and then radically into leaders. In current situations
‘The only constant is the Change and the Challenges imposed by these Changes’.
Some of the major reasons that brought about these changes are:
1. Ever
changing world: Globalization, rising of independent economies,
transformation of developing countries into quality, productive and cost
effective centers. Turbulence in the environment (fluctuating economies)
2. Ever
changing technologies: Today the world has shrunk to the size of a village, hence it is rightly called a ‘Global Village’. This
change was possible because of the power of continuously evolving technologies.
3. Increase
in customer demands for better lifestyle:
Customer demand, or more aptly the
customer’s right to high quality products and services to attain a better
lifestyle is increasing. Hence organizations now need to strive harder to
insure service excellence and customer’s delight.
Characteristics that Employees need to develop
First,
Employees need to acknowledge these transformations and get psychologically
prepared for managing/interfacing with the challenges as a part of one’s daily
routine.
Second,
the organization, in order to insure its survival, stability and growth must
acknowledge and facilitate these transformations by:
a. Changing its conventional systems of control and command, if
necessary, and should insure
greater
participation of employees.
b. Empowering the employees to make decisions at the operational
level. However, careful
delegation
and training is required to insure the powers are used appropriately to deliver
the
exceptional
value.
Third,
the most vital characteristics that employees need to conceive and develop to
manage their changing roles in the organizations are passion and a never give up attitude.
“Passion” & “Never Give up Attitude”.
These
are the main two features which every employee should develop for delivering
exceptional value. It can be argued that Proficiency (State of the art skills)
and Professionalism are also equally important in delivering excellence. But if
an employee has these two mission critical features, i.e. Passion and Never Give Up Attitude, all
the other characteristics or features will be automatically taken care of.
Passion for the Job:
Gone
are the days when jobs are viewed as boring & mundane routines, which
provide the necessary money to fulfill one’s needs. Jobs now are highly
challenging and the employees are even now recognized not only within
organizations, but also at a national platform for delivering excellence. If an
employee has that igniting passion for the job, in order to perform the job to
the customer’s delight, they will give whatever it needs and do what ever it
takes. If an employee has this approach and mindset then proficiency,
professionalism and job pride will become the integral features of the
employee, and managing the changes in the roles and responsibilities will no
longer be a tough job.
Never Give up Attitude:
After the passion, if there is any other feature that
an employee should ever look for indoctrinating into one’s character, it is the
“Never Give Up Attitude”. In our day-to-day jobs we
face critical challenges, and at times we need to step out of the box to handle
these challenges and it is here that we might make some mistakes. So we need to
realize the fact that “To err is Human”, but we all should try to learn lessons
from our mistakes and other’s experiences in order to insure that they are
never repeated again. Simply because we missed it once does not mean that we
should give up! We should strike back and strike hard at our past mistakes, and
then success shall be ours.
Conclusion:
Passions
and only great passions can elevate
the soul to greater heights. Changes are inevitable and employees who develop a
passion for their jobs and a “never give up” attitude as an integral part of
their character within organizations that encourage and facilitate this
development, shall achieve excellence. Look up to the leaders, whether they be organizational, National or Political. Remember, the two
characters that are common among them are a “Passion for their Job” and a “Never
Give Up Attitude”.
“If Wealth is lost nothing is Lost,
If Health is
lost something is Lost,
If Passion and
Attitude is lost everything is Lost”
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About the author:
Ravi
Kumar is a
Senior Manager & Quality Management Representative for R&D Teamworks Pte Ltd in