Shotguns vs. Lasers

One of the jobs of leadership is FOCUS.  Organizations become more effective when everyone sees the vision clearly, understands the strategic part that they plan in bringing the vision to pass, and continues to execute with discipline on the priorities of the organization.  Skip Reardon calls this 'workforce alignment'.

A study by the Gevity Instutite found small businesses that follow a set of "workforce alignment" employee management processes experience:

• 22.1% higher revenue growth
• 23.3% higher profit growth
• 66.8% less employee turnover

....compared to companies that do not follow the identified processes.

The workforce alignment processes they examined included:

• Hiring employees to fit in with company culture rather than just based on a job candidate's individual skills. (Finding and keeping the right people)
• Trusting employees to manage themselves rather than enacting strict controls. (Building organization-wide accountability)
• Using company team-building events rather than trying to motivate employees solely through monetary incentives. (Creating a family-like environment)

The study found that businesses with more than 50 employees in competitive environments and high growth rate goals gained the most impact from following these processes.