Tip of the Week: Grow Your Business 4x Faster By Giving Employees Choices

Tracking metrics is a major part of today’s business world. Many organizations use time-tracking software and other KPIs to ensure that their team is working at maximum efficiency, all day every day. Yet, some organizations are so bent on doing so that they’ve forgotten to ask the question of whether they should be doing all of this.

According to Irv Shapiro, the CEO of DialogTech, employers should be tracking results rather than time, and failing to do so could have a negative effect on the quality of work performed.

Of course, we understand that this type of model may not suit your budget or payroll. In particular, those who offer services by the hour may be hesitant to implement this strategy. However, you could still consider it for the purpose of improving internal operations. Shapiro states: "Unless your business sells services by the hour, it makes little sense to measure your employees by the hour. Instead employers should measure their employee's success by the results they produce."

Of course, letting go of the reins could prompt the horse to run loose and out of control. Yet, studies have shown that autonomous employees are generally considered to be the best employees. A study by Gensler reveals some interesting numbers concerning how employees work when given a choice in the matter:

• Employees with choice were 7 percent more focused.
• Employees with choice were 4 percent more effective at collaboration.
• Employees with choice were 3 percent more effective at learning.
• Companies that offer choice and autonomy in how their employees do their work grow four times as fast, and experience only a third of the turnover of businesses that want more control.

While these statistics might seem inconsequential, they make sense. Nobody can put forth their best effort if they’re micromanaged. If you give your team the chance to schedule themselves, they could potentially flourish and produce their best work. Plus, it makes sense to assume that your team produces their best work when they don’t have to worry about how much time it takes. This improved work ethic and performance might be just what you need to surpass the competition. Choice can make a big difference in the employee experience, improving innovation, job performance, and work satisfaction. All of these can improve by reducing control over your employees.

Instead, you can focus on the results of your employees’ work. In the production field, the end-product needs to be quality, lest you suffer the wrath of your consumers. In the service industry, the same can happen by providing a rushed or subpar service. Let’s say that you need your computer fixed; someone might be willing to resolve the issue, but they’ll do so without planning for the future, and your computer might experience the same issue again down the road due to their oversight, rushed patch job, and negligence. Instead, you want someone who can provide a quality service.

Horne & Benik can do so. We don’t care how much time it takes; we’ll provide you with the reliable IT services you need to keep operations moving forward. For more information, reach out to us at (603) 499-4400.