Boosting workplace commitment [Archives:2002/52/Business & Economy]

The Road Ahead
BY RAIDAN A. AL-SAQQAF
[email protected]
In order to thrive a business needs to have a working culture of commitment and loyalty. They are critical factors to the overall success of the organization. People are an organization’s most competitive asset: the more commitment they have, the greater competitive advantage the organization has.
So how committed are your employees? Employee commitment is of five levels. At the lowest level there are those who spend eight hours at work and go home. For them, work is where they can earn money and support themselves. Their commitment is limited to their pay.
Next come those who are committed to a job as a means to something else, for example working for the experience. They see their current job as an interim move towards what they really want and their commitment is short-term.
Then comes the level of those people who are committed to their professions; they provide an excellent service to the organization, but as soon as the organization no longer satisfies their needs they move on to another.
The forth level consists of people who are committed to the work or the work’s product. If they have a job, they finish it even if they have to do the work of several other people, make personal contributions or look for a greater workload. They are workhorses that work without considering the organization’s long-term objectives.
The fifth level is made of those who link their own success to the success of the organization. They focus their skills and abilities for the sake of achieving the organization’s broad objectives and they know how the business performs in order to achieve these objectives. Organizations usually put the highest value on this type of commitment; because they are the people who build its future and ensure its success.
Now, is commitment dead in your organization or not? The answer depends on the commitment levels of your employees. Nevertheless, it’s good to make their work more enjoyable by injecting a feeling of fun and happiness, to capture the hearts of the employees and hence help in retrieving commitment to work. This makes them feel they are a vitally important part of the organization and more connected to the organization; In fact, information sharing within a company is one of the best ways of assuring employee commitment and hence superior performance for the organization.
Encouraging employees to feel liberated while they work, helping them to be creative and think outside the box is critical for success. As a matter of fact, derived learning and training helps employees emancipate their actions and improve their performance. They are the ones who are committed and want to ensure the success of their organization. After all, the reward of the organization’s success is their reward.
Remember: People can and do make different commitments, so enhance their commitment to ensure their personal success, as well as the long-term success of the organization.

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