In an increasingly competitive global environment, doing more with less has become a mantra in many organizations. However, this expression evokes skepticism since it often implies that the management is raising the bar on goals and expectations while spending less money.
For valuable and motivated employees this could be frustrating. Managers should focus on those who want to give their best, but cannot because of organizational barriers. They should shift the focus from what employees have to do in order to do more with less to how leaders need to respond.
There are at least four ways to increase productivity even with resource constraints:
1. Specify “must-win” battles
2. Avoid the trap of routines
3. Design and treat training as a process, not an event
4. Provide “freedom to act”
Read more on the Business Week’s article By Mark Royal and Tom Agnew
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