During my research to understand
the evolution of the Performance Appraisal System in India, starting from
the well documented MBO efforts of T.V Rao and late Udai Pareekh at
L&T, to more advanced practices suggested by leading consultants from the
world over, I came across a simple, one page appraisal format used in an
old PSU undertaking. Besides the typical parameters on performance, attitude
etc, was a simple parameter, ”uses actual working time well”
Fascinated by this little gem
that captured almost everything that a corporate should look for in an
employee, I tried to get to the source of this information. I learned that
this format originally came from a PSU bank, designed by a very senior
and highly respected banker, who was particular that the appraisal report
captured what was most essential for the job besides performance,
skills needed and areas for improvement. And for all these, he made the
effective use of actual working time as the common measurement parameter.
I liked this concept and started
a little informal survey, all on my own, among friends and working
colleagues including a very busy CEO, on the meaning of actual working time. It
turned out that most of us work real hard and conscientiously for around 4 to 5
hours in a working day. My actual average from the responses of over 100
participants was around 4.47 hrs. the lower end had the typical loafers who
would be at their desks all through but actually worked for around 2 hours with
the CEO and some in a call center, working more than 6 hours.
We all know how, even the busiest
of employees actually spend a lot of time on unnecessary add ons which could be
delegated, postponed or simply shortened. Think of the times when we have
wasted 10 minutes or more in a meeting only because the coffee
ordered comes late or the time wasted when we have to wait all afternoon
for a boss who finds time for us only after 6,with an effective 5 minute
meeting spread over half an hour due to frequent phone calls.
The end result of all our working
efforts indicates our contribution and gives legitimacy to our position in the
organization. And for this, the effective use of available working hours
matters more than anything else for maximum efficiency. A lot of people
nowadays, with flexi time and work from home facility, do have different
types of work schedules though even here it is doubtful if they put in a
lot of time at real work.
The immediate application I see
of this concept of actual working time is in manpower planning. Most organizations
do have well laid out processes such as workload identification, KRA/KPI as
well as business targets for the year based on which the required manpower is
estimated. What if we became a little more numerical, just identify the actual
time required to complete a task, assume an average of 5 actual
working hours available per day and then simply divide the task hours by work
hours and then see if the number that results is sufficient. My own premise is
that if we make sure the required staff actually works effectively, the given
task can be accomplished in less time with a lesser number.
These assumptions by no means are
intended to belittle the number of hours a large number of staff in the
unorganized sector put in. But then they are paid by the hour; many more have
fixed hours such as in a retail store, in facilities management, in the
broking/ banking sectors which have defined customer hours. My focus here is
the general office work which is not necessarily regulated by just the quantum of
work, but the eventual outcome.
Circulating this information to
my HR colleagues, some of whom may find merit in the concept and use it as a
parameter in the upcoming appraisals. Your feedback as always is most welcome.
Job Xavier
jobxavier@gmail.com
