As one of the 8 Wastes of Lean, the waste of non-utilized talent is, in some ways, the saddest and most frustrating waste. But, fortunately, there are solutions.
It is sad because one manifestation of it is “wasted potential.” If you have employees with potential – to learn, to stretch, to do more – and you don’t give them an opportunity to do so, it is the fault of management. This lack of opportunity causes poor morale, which increases turnover. That is an expensive problem for a company.
Luckily, this waste is easy to solve. Set up opportunities for training, opportunities for growth, opportunities for promotion. Open all opportunities to everyone. The investment you make in your team will reap benefits for the company. And the abilities of your team might surprise you!
On the other hand, the frustrating aspect of non-utilized talent are the employees who don’t have enough work to do but, instead of asking for more, take their light load and sandbag.
Sometimes, a light load is temporary and can be advantageous. For example, while working at a company that published a monthly magazine, three weeks of every month were spent in overdrive, writing, laying out, proofreading and printing the magazine. The fourth week was spent at a slower pace, cleaning up from the past issue and prepping for the next one. But this was also the week for brainstorming story ideas, meeting industry friends for lunch and recharging one’s batteries. All good ways to take advantage of the lighter workload.
But sometimes, a light load is just that. It could manifest in someone who takes a one hour task and expands it to two, or someone who arrives late every day and leaves early. Or someone who has another job on the side that they attend to during regular work hours. While management might not be aware of these details, their colleagues usually are and this is also bad for morale.
Solving for a poorly distributed workload is harder to do. The solution starts with being able to “see” the problem. Every business needs policies that are clearly communicated to employees. Every manager needs metrics that are based on those policies to manage their resources. Your best source for solutions for improving work distribution are your employees – the people doing the work. Engaging them in solving the problem will improve morale and improve your business.