Richard Grimes, MPA, C.P.T.

Course Outline

This online course provides practical and easy-to-follow guidance for organizational change agents who want to identify and remove the invisible obstacles within their organization that are restricting productivity. Systematic explanations and guidance help users understand what may be limiting productivity so they can either make changes themselves or gain the support of senior management for help in doing so. The objective of this course is to provide guidance to motivated individuals who want to improve the productive environment at their workplace without incurring significant expense.

This course includes a multiple choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will know:

• Whether there is any real motivation for employees to perform in the organization
• Who influences an employee's motivation to work
• Who controls the employee's motivation to work
• How a performer's self-confidence relates to the extent of their achievement
• The five essential elements of motivation
• The difference between work tension and work stress
• Methods of reducing work stress on themselves and others
• The employment dangers inherent with undefined expectations
• The three essential components of meaningful expectations
• How to clarify employee performance expectations
• The critical difference between being productive and just busy
• How to determine if activities in the work place are actually productive or just time consuming
• How to develop a performance measurement range for objective and subjective activities
• How to define "soft skill activities" such as teamwork, oral communication, and customer service
• How to develop a Likert scale for use in measuring subjective activities
• The value of a performance feedback system and how to develop one
• How to deliver corrective feedback to any employee and still retain good will
• How to use a performance problem flowchart to identify invisible obstacles to productive work performance
• How to provide feedback that rewards desired performance
• How to coach the 'super star', 'average star', and 'falling star' employees differently to get maximum performance
• How to identify if the organization has any performance support systems
• How to develop effective performance support systems or improve existing ones within the organization
• How to design a simple, yet effective, employee job satisfaction survey
• How to identify if counter-productive job interferences exist
  

Intended Audience

The intended audience is anyone with a position of leadership or influence within an organization.

Course Introduction

Impediments to productivity can develop unintentionally as an organization evolves. When all focus must be on rapid growth for survival, there is rarely time to develop detailed structures for defining performance ranges, performance feedback systems, mentoring programs, and new hire training programs.

However, once momentum stabilizes and routines begin to appear, "fine tuning" of the organization with these thirteen issues can align management and employee efforts toward a common vision of success. Strategies that we describe are, essentially, without cost or expense beyond a willingness to try something new to discover the hidden potential within the workforce.

Course Content

Table of Content

#1 INCREASE THEIR MOTIVATION TO PERFORM
WHAT WOULD MOTIVATE YOUR EMPLOYEES?
THE FIVE COMPONENTS OF MOTIVATION

1 Tell Me What You Expect of Me
2 Give Me a Chance to Perform
3 Let Me Know How I Am Doing As I Go Along
4 Give Me Help and Guidance When I Need It
5 Reward Me With Pay or Praise When I Succeed

#2 CLARIFY YOUR PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS
THE VALUE OF SETTING MEASURABLE GOALS
The Elements of Effective Goals
DEFINING "HARD" AND "SOFT" MEASURABLES
Defining "Hard" Measurables
Defining "Soft" Measurables
#3 DEVELOP FEEDBACK SYSTEMS
CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK
COACHING TO CHANGE PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE PROBLEM FLOWCHART
REWARDING FEEDBACK
#4 DEVELOP PERFORMANCE SUPPORT SYSTEMS
A SAMPLE EMPLOYEE JOB SATISFACTION SURVEY
#5 ESTABLISH SELF-MANAGED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
#6 ALIGN INCENTIVES AND CONSEQUENCES
#7 ELIMINATE COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE JOB INTERFERENCES
#8 DEVELOP STRUCTURED TRAINING FOR NEW HIRES
#9 CREATE PERFORMANCE REINFORCEMENT SYSTEMS
#10 STRENGTHEN EXISTING TRAINING
TIPS FOR STRENGTHENING EXISTING TRAINING
#11 DEVELOP A MENTOR PROCESS
BENEFITS OF A CORPORATE MENTORING PROGRAM
IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF A MENTORING PROGRAM
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
#12 STRENGTHEN PERFORMER SELECTION SYSTEMS
THE "SOUTHWEST AIRLINES" APPROACH
#13 DEVELOP A 'FUTURE LEADERS' PROGRAM
Objective:
Application Process:
Eligibility
Extra Curricula Activities
ABOUT OUTSOURCE TRAINING.BIZ LLC

Course Summary

ROI, Return on Investment, is a critical calculation for every business that expects to survive in today's competitive economy. Organizations willing to invest the small cost of this course can realize huge returns through improved employee morale, higher productivity, less rework, and faster cycle times in the production process.
Application of these thirteen simple, yet powerful, strategies can create a significant improvement in an organization's bottom line and profits.

Some, such as strengthening performer selection systems, can be accomplished quickly while others will take some time and experimentation. If executive management will create and maintain an open dialogue with the workforce that they are implementing these strategies as a means to make work life better, employee morale and subsequent productivity will begin to improve. That higher productivity will become a way of life as these strategies mature and the organization's culture adapts to them.

Bonus Materials

The author would like to offer his "The Volunteer Organization's Development Handbook" free of charge to users who take this course. Just download the handbook in PDF at the beginning of the quiz!

If you are part of a volunteer organization whether it is a professional engineering chapter, a youth sports league, or a booster group at your child's school, this handbook will be useful. Please feel free to share it as much as you want.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.