Setting clear processes at work: Episode Notes
Industrial and organizational psychologists agree that many occupational problems are caused by a lack of clear work processes.
Companies need to rely on a framework that is suitable for their size and that is flexible enough to prepare them for future growth. In the absence of a right structure however, companies rarely manage to thrive and their employees’ mental health gets negatively affected.
When it comes to organizational structure, our Guest, Felix, is particularly vocal about the importance of setting clear guidelines and conducting regular performance reviews.
- Guidelines are particularly useful to provide employees with a clear operational framework. For example, establishing a specific amount of holidays per year (rather than allowing for complete flexibility) may provide a higher level of security about what is allowed and what isn’t, which in turn reduces potential levels of stress at work.
- For performance reviews to be effective companies should make sure that they happen on a regular basis and that they are set for both individual growth and professional progression. On top of that, everyone should be assessed based on the same set of assumptions in order to create comparable standards across the entire organization.
Overall, restructuring an organization is a complex matter. Below are some additional suggestions covered during our conversation:
- Avoid rigid frameworks. Privilege a fast implementation and adopt a “build measure learn” approach.
- Clearly identify both employers’ and employees’ responsibilities, and provide them with the right training.
- When necessary, consider promoting workshops in order to address groups of 10-15 people from the same department.
- Manage your own time. For example, consider turning off notifications from communication softwares like slack or e-mail.
- Do not focus solely on perks, but rather build the right structure in order to make perks actually useful.
Our Guest: Felix Berghöfer
Felix Berghöfer is VP People at Urban Sports Club. He started working as a freelance consultant while still studying Organizational Psychology in Berlin. Later he was heading the HR departments of the Customer Care of Zalando as well as of Visual Meta (LadenZeile.de – part of the Axel Springer group).
In 2018, Felix spent four weeks in Silicon Valley researching OKRs, performance management & employer branding.
References: