Tool Box
Issue No. 43 - October/November 2008
Before hiring, get more out of staff
by Penelope Herbert
Australia’s business operators needn’t be unduly alarmed about the skills shortage, according to Adelaide productivity expert Graham Wright. Graham, senior coach of the Academy of Enhanced Performance, says increasing the effectiveness of an organisation’s current people can have a dramatic effect on a company’s productivity and ‘bottom line’.
“There’s often a misconception in the marketplace that businesses need an increased number of staff,” Graham says, noting almost half of the firms surveyed in a recent KPMG Private Companies survey said finding suitable employees was their biggest challenge.
“Many organisations do not realise that it costs three times as much to recruit and induct a new employee as it does to elevate the performance and leadership of current key people.
“It’s our experience that many businesses don’t need more people, they need the staff they have to work at an advanced performance level.”
Graham says radically enhancing staff performance is an under-appreciated but often easily achieved method of achieving the same outcomes as salary enhancing and recruiting drives. “For a much lower outlay, employee satisfaction and productivity is improved – sometimes dramatically,” he says.
“A lot of people don’t want to be pushed to work harder — they already feel they are working as hard as they can. They just need help to be able to work more effectively.
“More often than not, when they’re working more effectively they’re getting more out of it themselves and their job satisfaction increases accordingly.
“When more than one employee is working closer to peak performance, morale lifts and so does profitability.”
Graham’s background is in sports psychology and he uses sports analogies to make his point. His Academy aims to improve the productivity and profitability of organisations and assist people to become, achieve, obtain and enjoy more of what they ...
