A Basic Guide for Busy Managers: Capturing Discretionary Effort October 28, 2011
Posted by janey in : career success , trackbackBelow we talk about the following aspects of Discretionary Effort:
• What Discretionary Effort is
• Why managers should care about Discretionary Effort
• Who does a good job of capturing Discretionary Effort
• How your organization can capture Discretionary Effort
What is Discretionary Effort?
• Quite simply, Discretionary Effortis the difference between the full potential of any given employee, and the minimum required to NOT get fired.
Why You Should Care About Capturing Discretionary Effort
Often people talk about the intangible benefits of capturing Discretionary Effort. According to a 2010 survey, here are some tangible benefits:
• Productivity – is 20% better with a more highly engaged workforce.
• Retention – highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their organization.
• Safety – highly engaged peoples are five times less likely to have a safety incident, and seven times less likely to have a loss time accident.
Which Companies do a Good Job of Capturing Discretionary Effort?
There is a misconception that it is only cutting edge tech companies in the Silicon Valley that can aggressively improve employee engagement. This is not the case. Actually, it is often businesses in seemingly mundane businesses that routinely make up Top Employers Lists:
• Wegmans Food Market – Retail Food (Fortune Magazine’s Top 100 US Employers)
• Container Store – Retail (Fortune Magazine’s Top 100 US Employers)
• Luminus – Community Housing (Sunday Times Top 100 UK Employers)
• Beaverbrooks – Retail Jewelers (Sunday Times Top 100 UK Employers)
• BC Biomedical – Medical Laboratory Services (Canadian Business Top 100 Employers)
• Great Little Box Company – Manufacturing (Globe & Mail’s Top 100 Employers)
• Diageo – Manufacturing (Great Places to Work Australia 2010)
• Sentis – Education and Training (Great Places to Work Australia 2010)
How to Capture Discretionary Effort
The pool tables, concierge services, bring a pet to work policies and on-site masseuse might be effective for some companies. For others, there are some conceptually easier ways to create a great work place:
• Create clear expectations. Your employees need to have a very clear idea of what it is you want them to do. Most people want to have a sense of accomplishment, which is extraordinarily difficult if they have no idea of what the company expects from them.
• Connect employees to a bigger picture. There is an old adage about the difference between a bricklayer, and a cathedral builder. They may be doing exactly the same work, but the job has quite a bit more meaning for the latter one. How can you connect your employees to the larger purpose of the company, or a greater cause?
• Create improvement opportunities. The days of linear career paths are quickly ending. What learning and development opportunities can you provide for people? For many employees a lateral move, or a special project is better than a promotion, so what can you do to give people the opportunity to improve?
• Encourage social networks at work. People will feel much more engaged if they feel they have good friends at work. It also makes it much harder to leave an employer, if a good portion of your social network is there as well. In many cases people spend more time with their coworkers than their families, so do not underestimate the importance of solid social networks at the workplace.
• Make people feel important. Regardless of the job, employees like to feel that their contribution matters. Managers often underestimate the impact they have on people, and by doing something as simple as offering your full attention when you talk to someone, you can make them feel valued.
Improve your leadership skills! Visit www.wilymanager.com for more information about capturing employee Discretionary Effort and more Just-in-Time Management Advice.
Watch our video about Discretionary Effort:
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