At HORNE, our recent growth, combined with a leaner organization we have created, is causing a capacity problem. I am thankful that our plan is working and we are experiencing smart growth, but with this growth and the accompanying capacity issues, I worry about the R.O.T.
What could be rotten about growth you may ask?! Limited people capacity gives me worries about Retention, Opportunities, and Training…R.O.T.
If we do not understand this challenge and address it aggressively as a team, our organization begins to ROT and the decay comes from several areas that are critical to having a high performance team.
The “R” stands for retention, as when we have insufficient capacity, retention suffers. We lose people because their flexibility in work dwindles and achieving some personal goals may suffer. This stress can cause people to search for that flexibility with other companies. Limited capacity works too few people, too long and too hard. Too many times it’s the best of the best that incur many of the requests to help because they are who the management group relies on. When people can’t learn new things and grow, they become stagnant and disenchantment spreads.
“O” stands for opportunities, and they are precious. When we are stretched with limited capacity, we miss opportunities that are right in front of us because we do not have the time, energy or strategic vision to see them and cultivate them. Most firms miss the opportunity to grow during their busy season because they are too busy, yet more opportunities are available then. In our current economy, we can’t just do more of the same and expect to grow. We must be innovative, energized and passionate about bringing solutions to the market place. Insufficient capacity stifles the forces that bring opportunities to us and therefore diminishes our growth.
The “T” stands for training. In every time crunch, the first thought is too often to throw the training overboard. Our consistency and ability to move in the same direction is immediately impacted. Our effectiveness takes a nose dive. Even though we know that every management study shows that training has an impact on effectiveness, growth and a large return on investment, we do not have time. When we cut back on training, we are taking a short-term view. To succeed in the long run, leadership has to identify training needs, develop tools and implement the transfer of knowledge.
People, growth and consistency all suffer when we have inadequate capacity. That is why I believe we begin to ROT if we do not treat this challenge as critically urgent. Are you committed to addressing the challenge?
