How Lean Is Too Lean?

	What are some indicators to look for if our workforce has become too lean after our company went through a workforce reduction two years ago? Last year we had an additional 27 people exit the company voluntarily. What signs should we look for to indicate the employees are overworked and stressed out? —Not Enough Cooks, administrative assistant, utilities, Giddings, Texas
	There are three reliable sources of information that can indicate how employees are managing with workload. First, there are behavioral indicators. Are more people taking sick leave now compared with pre-reduction? Are there more complaints, more team conflict? Is the loss of 27 employees higher than your previous turnover rate? What's the conversation like in the break room—or do employees no longer have the opportunities to mix and chat? Are employees routinely working longer hours and weekends? Have leave applications slowed down? Have customer complaints increased? To support these behavioral observations, your organization ideally would gather empirical data from former and/or current employees. Employees who have decided to leave can provide reliable information about the impact of workload. Implement an effective exit interview process to enable the organization to understand the true causes of loss. For example, of the 27 who left last year, how many did so for reasons that your organization could have influenced? If those resignations reasons relate to overwork, then conduct a cost comparison: How much does it cost to replace staff and retrain new people to full productivity compared with how much it costs to reduce workload pressures through various means? For example, let's presume the breakdown of the 27 people as follows: Reason for resignation # affected Overwork, long hours, poor work/life balance 8 staff Adverse manager practices or behavior 4 staff Low pay 4 staff Lack of challenge and development 4 staff Conflict with team 3 staff Prefer full-time parenthood 2 staff Return to study 1 staff Overseas travel 1 staff To replace eight employees with an average salary of $60,000 (using a conservative 30 percent of salary as replacement cost) would equal $144,000—some of which should be reallocated to fund workload reductions through, for example, additional staff, additional skills or improved processes. The third source of reliable information comes from current employees. Only if your organization is prepared to address overwork issues should you approach current employees to ask about their experiences of life at work. Conduct a survey with a sample of staff and explore what people consider to be great (and not so great) about working at your company—and how they would change it if they could. Employees will identify means of reducing workload other than just employing more people. Workflow improvements, removing red tape, skills improvements—a range of simple solutions can emerge from asking staff questions about improving life at work. If you currently believe there may be an adverse reaction to workload pressures, then proactively gathering information "from the horse's mouth" can reduce the future risk of losing staff and represents a sound risk management strategy. SOURCE: Lisa Halloran, Sydney, Australia