3. Most of us want interesting, challenging jobs where
we feel that we can make a real difference to other
people's lives. As it is for us, so it is for the people
who work with or for us.
So why are so many jobs so boring and
monotonous? And what can you do to make the jobs
you offer more satisfying? (By reducing recruitment
costs, increasing retention of experienced staff and
motivating them to perform at a high level, we can
have a real impact on the bottom line.)
One of the key factors in good job design is job
enrichment, most notably promoted by psychologist
Frederick Herzberg in his 1968 article "One More
Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?". This is the
practice of enhancing individual jobs to make the
responsibilities more rewarding and inspiring for the
people who do them.
With job enrichment, we can expand the task set
that someone performs. Provide more stimulating
and interesting work that adds variety and challenge
to an employee's daily routine. This increases the
depth of the job and allows people to have more
control over their work
4. Five factors of job design that typically
contribute to people's enjoyment of a job:
Skill Variety – Increasing the number of skills that individuals use
while performing work.
Task Identity – Enabling people to perform a job from start to
finish.
Task Significance – Providing work that has a direct impact on
the organization or its stakeholders.
Autonomy – Increasing the degree of decision making, and the
freedom to choose how and when work is done.
Feedback – Increasing the amount of recognition for doing a job
well, and communicate the results of people's work.
5. Job Enrichment Options
The central focus of job enrichment is giving people more control
over their work (lack of control is a key cause of stress, and therefore
of unhappiness.) Where possible, allow them to take on tasks that
are typically done by supervisors. This means that they have more
influence over planning, executing, and evaluating the jobs they do.
In enriched jobs, people complete activities with increased freedom,
independence, and responsibility. They also receive plenty of
feedback, so that they can assess and correct their own
performance.
6. Here are some strategies we can use
to enrich jobs in our workplace:
Rotate Jobs – Give people the opportunity to use a
variety of skills, and perform different kinds of work.
The most common way to do this is through job
rotation. Move them through a variety of jobs that
allow them to see different parts of the organization,
learn different skills and acquire different experiences.
This can be very motivating, especially for people in
jobs that are very repetitive or that focus on only one
or two skills.
Combine Tasks – Combine work activities to provide a
more challenging and complex work assignment. This
can significantly increase "task identity" because
people see a job through from start to finish. This
allows workers to use a wide variety of skills, which can
make the work seem more meaningful and important.
For example, we can convert an assembly line process,
in which each person does one task, into a process in
which one person assembles a whole unit. We can
apply this model wherever we have people or groups
that typically perform only one part of an overall
process. Consider expanding their roles to give them
responsibility for the entire process, or for a bigger part
of that process.
7. Here are some strategies we can use
to enrich jobs in our workplace:
Implement Participative Management – Allow team members to
participate in decision making and get involved in strategic planning. This
is an excellent way to communicate to members of your team that their
input is important. It can work in any organization – from a very small
company, with an owner/boss who's used to dictating everything, to a
large company with a huge hierarchy. When people realize that what they
say is valued and makes a difference, they'll likely be motivated.
Redistribute Power and Authority – Redistribute control and grant more
authority to workers for making job-related decisions. As supervisors
delegate more authority and responsibility, team members' autonomy,
accountability, and task identity will increase.
8. Here are some strategies we can use
to enrich jobs in our workplace:
Increase Employee-Directed Feedback – Make sure that people know how
well, or poorly, they're performing their jobs. The more control we can
give them for evaluating and monitoring their own performance, the more
enriched their jobs will be, consider giving each team responsibility for
their own quality control. Workers will receive immediate feedback, and
they'll learn to solve problems, take initiative, and make decisions.
Job enrichment provides many opportunities for people's development. If
we give them lots of opportunity to participate in how their work gets
done, and they'll most-likely enjoy an increased sense of personal
responsibility for their tasks.
9. Managerial Applications
Vertical Loading
Loading a job vertically involves giving employees responsibilities and
tasks that were formerly reserved for managers. Specifically, vertical
loading includes empowering employees to: set schedules, determine
work methods, and decide when and how to check the quality of work
produced; make their own decisions about starting and stopping work,
taking breaks, and assigning priorities; and seek solutions to problems on
their own, rather than immediately calling for a manager when problems
arise. Giving people such responsibility for the work performed increases
the level of autonomy the job offers these employees.
10. Managerial Applications
Natural Grouping
Rather than having several workers each
perform a separate part of a whole job, have
each person perform the entire job. This natural
grouping increases skill variety, task identity,
and task significance. For example, the work of
a garage owner-operator who does electrical
repairs, rebuilds engines, does bodywork, and
communicates with customers provides skill
variety. A cabinetmaker who designs a piece of
furniture, selects the wood, builds the cabinet,
and finishes it to perfection has high task
identity. who handles the diverse needs of
patients in an intensive care unit of a hospital
has high task significance
11. Managerial Applications
Opening Feedback Channels
Jobs should be designed so that employees are
provided with as much feedback as possible.
Because people invest a substantial amount of
their time at work, they want to know how well
they are doing. Furthermore, they need to know
often because performance varies, and the only
way they can make appropriate adjustments is to
know how they are performing presently.
Feedback may come from the job itself or from
customers, supervisors, or coworkers. For
instance, salespeople might be encouraged to
keep personal records of their own sales; keep
sales/customer ratios; and establish good rapport
with customers. Moreover, salespeople might be
encouraged to observe and help each other with
sales techniques; seek out information from their
supervisors; and invite customer reactions
concerning merchandise, service, and so on.
12. Implementing a Job Enrichment
Program :
Step One – Find out where people are dissatisfied with their
current work assignments. There's little point to enriching jobs and
changing the work environment if you're enriching the wrong jobs
and making the wrong changes. Like any motivation initiative,
determine what your people want before you begin.
Surveys are a good means of doing this. A form is attached by
means of which we can understand the job satisfaction level of
each employee. What they want to do if opportunity comes and
what they really don’t like in their present job
13. Implementing a Job Enrichment
Program
Step Two – We can share a Skill matrix template with all the employees
(template attached) they will fill up these based on their self evaluation.
We may prepare the list by considering what are the skill set which is really
important for the organization and the distribute. In this way we will create
a Skill data bank with us readily available. This can be shared with all the
new joiners and then add them in the bank. Therefore when an
opportunity or any special/new project will come we can see what we
have internally. Consider which job enrichment options we can provide.
You don't need to drastically redesign your entire work process. The way
that we will design the enriched jobs must strike a balance between
operational need and job satisfaction. If significant changes are needed,
consider establishing a "job enrichment task force" – perhaps use a cross-
section of employees, and give them responsibility for deciding which
enrichment options make the most sense.
14. Implementing a Job Enrichment
Program
Step Three – Design and communicate the program. If we are
making significant changes, let people know what we're doing
and why. Work with the managers to create an enriching work
environment that includes lots of employee participation and
recognition.
15. Applicability
This can be applied in different small projects by involving a
small group of people without hampering their current job
responsibility
Or for a major project by involving some of the employees
from different team based on the requirement and
availability.
16. Merits and Demerits
Merits
Different small projects can be done along with present job
The skill of different employees will be enriched where they are are really
interested
Create a satisfaction level will be fresh air from daily routine
Will create a readily available data bank.
Demerits
Opportunity can not be proved to all same time which can create a dissatisfaction
whether can be counseled.
If some one give more time to special project will be problem for the present t
departmental deliverables.
17. Survey and Analysis
To check the effectiveness of the process and enthusiasm among the employees regarding
these conducted an indirect survey with around 10 employees without revealing the
purpose of the discussion
It is evident 5-8 years of experience group is mostly interested in these as they think they
are saturated in their present role and in these way can get a lateral growth in their career
so they are considering it as an alternative of good promotion.
For 2-5 years of experience they are more excited about the possibility of using new
technology and getting exposure of other task, not very enthusiastic about independence
For 0-2 years show less interest.
