One of the human resources executive most effective tools for cementing line and staff efforts into a coordinated, cooperative undertaking is the business effectiveness task force.

Often, in the course of time, a business is in need of renewal. People and processes get sluggish; the old zip is replaced by complacency; it becomes more difficult to make a fair profit because of rising costs, poor quality, low productivity, and a general lack of concern. To provide the needed renewal in such a situation the human resources executive can work with top management to spearhead a competition designed to get as many employees as possible-line and staff, salaried and hour-paid personally involved at all levels. People want to help and will respond if the venture has appeal and personal reward and if it is well executed.

An overall unifying theme must come from the top policy-making group. A catchy title is likely to bring a good response-perhaps one goal-customer satisfaction. The theme, posters, publications, charts, and the rest can feature a boat race, a horse race, or a race around the world. Attractive, costly prizes should go to the winners. Departments should compete with one another according to a clearly stated plan to achieve a specified degree of profit improvement by reducing scrap and rework, improving shipments, or improving attendance, housekeeping, and safety.

The most senior managers should serve as judges, and a number of task force teams could be organized into functional or departmental groups; for example, engineering, marketing, manufacturing, controls, and personnel. Membership on anyone task force should be composed of middle and lower management people, line and staff, who are not ordinarily assigned to work in that particular function, department, or area. The advantages of exposure, broadening, and objectivity are important here.

Progress should be reported formally every week and should be charted everywhere. There should be weekly prizes; cake and coffee to individual and group winners in every subcategory. Employee interest is heightened with a traveling plaque that is relocated weekly and such displays as a hippopotamus, properly inscribed, for the worst attendance record and a beaver, also inscribed, for the best attendance record. These displays should be large and freestanding, and they should be placed outside the door of the appropriate department head at the beginning of the week.

This is not an excuse for a cost reduction project; it is an opportunity to get everyone working harmoniously for a common cause. It may mean the survival of the business; it may mean the difference between growth and stagnation. It is an excellent developmental tool for young people with high potential; they could chair the task force groups weekly elected by their fellow group members because of their personal contribution to the goals of the group.

The point is that, if the human resources executive is indeed to be an agent of business effectiveness, he himself must introduce change and encourage others to do likewise.

The human resources executive must take the lead role in building flexible, innovative problem-solving teamwork among responsible managers, supervisors, and individuals at all organizational levels. He must initiate activity that encourages people to work together willingly to help management to get things done through people. As management develops expertise in leadership, as individuals identify their personal goals with operational objectives, as people anticipate, plan for, and meet future needs of the business, the process of learning, growing, and adapting becomes a way of life. Good habits begin to displace bad, problems come to be viewed as opportunities, and the organization comes up with exciting breakthrough alternatives.

An organization is built not by hiring more inspectors to catch rejects, but by incorporating quality into every facet of a manager human relationships-from recruiting to utilizing to motivating to developing to compensating and, hence, to retaining his people. People considerations must become an integral part of every managerial decision from broad, overall strategic long-range planning to the tactical, day-to-day execution and implementation of active plans, policies, systems, and procedures.

The executive, using his tools of professional human relations knowledge and discipline along with his acute awareness of the nature and needs of the business, can exert a significant positive influence on the quality of human resource management-the real key to business success.

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Category: Business
Keywords: Business, Organization, Structure, capital, Development, Credit, Sales, Communication, Resources, Em