The 90's brought about many variations of trial-and-error changes not only to management but also to all levels of our workforce. And, if I might say, with little overall positive lasting effect. All industries are faced with the same problems associated with a tight labor market. The primary concern today is not only "Where am I going to find good people?" but "How do I retain them while demanding more value through increased performance and efficiency?"

Workplace and workforce requirements have changed. Advancements in computer technology and the education and experience level of the worker have made a dramatic impact. Simply having a job is no longer sufficient to the average person.

If you are still trying to determine how to retain your best people I have some very good advice. Consider your present employees and ask yourself whether they really have any reason to give that extra effort, that extra percentage on an on-going basis? Is employee morale high or low? Does maintaining morale at a respectable level place an on-going drain on your management staff? I can assure you that you are not alone when it comes to resolving these kinds of issues.

GIVE YOUR PEOPLE SUFFICIENT REASON and watch the transformation take place without any excessive effort or aggressive management pressure.

Just what is all this about and what do I have to do to add reason and get results? You have to drop your old management attitude and structure. You don't need to terminate anyone (although some may do that themselves if they can't let go of the political power games), so don't concern yourself with those issues.

What I want you to do is think of and treat your people as partners in your business. From this point on you have no employees. You have partners. This shift is a major step to providing the reason for their increased involvement. I am not talking about giving the company away or giving up your ownership. I am talking about making your people partners in the improvements over which they have control in their day to day jobs.

YOU NEED TO SHARE THE ADDITIONAL PROFITS with your new partners. This is the second step. Do you see the point of this new partnership and reason? Simply put, you create innovation because you have given your people a reason to improve on a continuing basis. Like all sound partnerships this is a mutually beneficial situation, a win-win scenario.

MEASUREMENT OF PROCESSES AND EFFICIENCY'S is the third step. Think of this as follow through on the first step. Your ability to measure your key values in every phase of your business in a consistent manner is another key to reason. Turning those measurements into meaningful metrics for performance feedback is critical to this process of providing motivation. Give your new partners feedback on what is or isn't happening to achieve your company's key values or goals.

When situations turn negative as indicated by your metrics, your new partners will react at the point of action to fix and turn the numbers positive in short order. They now have a stake as partners in innovation and profit in the results. That's reason. Reason to achieve is enhanced through performance feedback on a timely personal basis. The key here is providing feedback on how the person performed compared to objective standards and expectations through performance data collected so that each person knows exactly how he/she has performed - not what someone else thinks they have done. Ultimately through this measurement - feedback system self-performance is governed by the individual.

"THROUGHPUT EFFICIENCY AWARENESS MANAGEMENT" is the result of adding that missing element reason. Making all the elements of your company available by the merging of data and feedback - together you can succeed as a TEAM.

ShopWerks Software has developed a suite of software programs to help you implement this management strategy "reason" - advancing your company to a new level of success. Your success in the new millennium will be a measurement of the degree to which you partner with your people and share not only knowledge but also the profits of that shared knowledge.

For more information contact Jim Warren at 800-619-2055 or check the web site at www.shopwerkssoftware.com