Reasons for Interest
This article discusses issues on how a manager who is utilizing the strategic management skills may be able to utilize and effectivey manage the average employees within the organization in a manner that ensures that they are at least optimally productive while at the same time identifying their potential to grow and move up the productivity and official ladder.
At the same time, the manager may be able to identify the ordinary employees who are comfortable to their positions and their level of productivity (Tjan). In addition, the manager may be able to identify the employees who add no value within the company and who should be gotten rid of.
This article helps in identification of the management skills that are required for every organization to effectively manage its labor resources in a manner that ensures that it lies above average in its operations and productivity. This aspect is hence very important in the discussion of strategic management that is being undertaken within our class.
Synopsis
Key Issues:
Business builders managing their talent base within the average employees, performing regular and specific performance feedback, fit-test point, catering to the top-of-the-pool talent, Worker productivity.
Summary of the Article
Strategic management of the average employees is a skill that requires viewing the employees from a different perspective. It is not the average employees that really count in the organization but rather the employees that are way above average.
Every skill builder within the organization should focus on attaining an above-average level from all employees since the average will always cost the organization a great deal yet without a lot of returns. The manager should hence focus on this factor through different strategies that are at hand so as to ensure best productivity levels from the employees.
The main challenge in any organization is usually not obtaining employees but rather tending their talents so as to ensure that all talent is tapped properly and utilized in the organization for best results.
Most of the times, it is very hard to identify, manage, utilize and nurture talent within an employee in a manner that is beneficial both to the employee and more importantly to the company. Every manager should have a strategy that is aimed at talent realization within the employees as well as ensuring that the identified talent is fully utilized for the good of the company.
The manager should always conduct specific and regular performance analysis of the employees so as to determine their level of productivity as well as their progress as far as improving their skills is concerned. Any employee who portrays positive progress in their skill-building and productivity levels should be encouraged to move on the same trail. However, anyone with no progress as well as those with a negative trend should have their issues addressed and probably eventually gotten rid of from the organization (Tjan).
There should also be carried out fit tests to determine in which areas an employee is best fit and more productive. Over time, it is easy to discover the actual positions that employees should hold so as to ensure that they are not only productive but also they place the interests of the company in the forefront as well as ensuring that the employee is satisfied and happy at their position.
In this way, the organization is able to place its employees “where they belong” hence achieving the best combination of employees so as not only to achieve maximum productivity but also to ensure that there is quality production and reduced costs hence increasing the revenues for the company through optimal utilization of its labor resources.
Every organization should not focus on utilization of all the employees that are present within its premises or ensuring that they stay within the company under any circumstances.
Rather, managers would ensure that they only maintain then best talents within their organizations even as they sort out those that are “average”, knowing that they may be of better use in another organization all together (Tjan).
Key Lessons
The main agenda of the article is that in any organization, there should be a main focus on the employees who are above average so as to ensure not only their productivity but also the well being of the organization.
There should be strategies to ensure that the organization is able to identify the talents present in each of its employees so as to be able to identify the positions in which they may fit best within the organization so as to ensure they are fully utilized. The organization should hence concentrate on above-average employees and ensure that the talent for the average employees is nurtured to grow so that they may also find a place within the organization.
Works Cited
Tjan, Anthony. “The Challenge of the Average Employee: How to manage the 80 percent of workers whose performance is neither stellar nor abysmal”. Bloomberg Business week, 4 Oct. 2011. Web.