causes of low work efficiency

 causes of low work efficiency

The company noted a stiff gradient in the decline in the number of its customers. The large numbers of orders that would make the telephone at the customer desk, ring all the time were now a mere three calls in a day. These few recent calls were not for making orders but customer feedbacks on the poor efficiency at which the services were being delivered. The company sent a team of auditors to survey service delivery to the customers. This paper, therefore, gives clarity on the causes of low work efficiency while offering possible solutions to the issues.

Several issues came up, but most of them touched on low work efficiency. Some clients complained that the company would take two to three days after a client had made an order before assigning someone their lawns. In most cases, these assigned workers would take much time to mow a small-sized lawn and even fail to complete the work within the scheduled period. That is not it. The clients also raised complaints on how the lawns were sometimes not mowed according to their desired standards; the employees, therefore, did shady work and in some cases, missed spots(Hoffman, 2017). Some employees were also involved in poor work ethics, like stealing or breaking things in the compounds of their clients. A few clients also complained of employees engaging them in unethical social advances. The customers were not satisfied with the service delivery, and even the loyal ones had begun seeking mowing services from other companies. Those who were left were only enjoying the discounted prices the company offered them after a long period of loyalty, but not happy with the services.

The report from the survey was then analyzed to check the areas that needed fixing. For one to fix something, one must first identify the causes of the problem that needs fixing. The team also assessed the impact of such causative agents on the quality of service delivery. One major problem that the company faced was the varying weather of Manhattan. The activities of a lawn mowing business heavily depends on the weather. Heavy rains and snow wets the grass and therefore making them clump together. Clumped grass thatches gets stuck in the blades of the mower, which destroy them hence the need for constant repair. The operator will, therefore, be required to take breaks in between while removing the stuck grass.

Furthermore, most lawns are entirely or partially submerged by water after heavy rains. Such conditions are potentially dangerous to the operators. The submerged lawn could be slippery or have a stiff slope that might make the operator slide without control hence causing physical injuries. Besides, wet lawns, either due to rain or ice, are very susceptible to damages by the wheel of the mower since the ground is now soaked and soft (Crewcut: Lawns and Gardens, 2018). These extreme weather conditions always force employees to abandon works or to work over a short period of sunny days; therefore, extending the time of completion.

The other major cause of these constraints arises from the side of the employees. The survey identified that part of the low work efficiency resulted from the suffering employee productivity. Employees deliver poor quality services whenever they are not the best fit for a particular job. Some of these operators are just people who are trying to make ends meet and therefore lack the required expertise or experience to provide better results. Poor company morale culture can adversely affect employees’ output in their work. Positive and energized work morale boosts the efficiency of employees. Steadily appreciating employees for a job well done, motivates them to do better in the next task(Mazin, 2017). Besides, the lack of a reward system for loyal and competent employees demoralizes their psyche to work for the company. Employees whining and complaining about unaddressed issues destroy their work spirit. This worsens when they undergo burnt-out syndrome due to too ineffective delegation of work, unplanned overtime, redoing of work and serving several shifts within a day. Companies with weak promotion systems suffer a lot from losses resulting from work inefficiency. Holding employees in the same rank for long years discourages them and kills their weak spirits since they do not feel recognized nor appreciated for their efforts in achieving the company goals.

Work inefficiency is also caused by poor management of a company. Poor delegation of work by the management can result in some people being overworked while others not. This can result in work not being done within the planned schedule. Poor management also results in equipment not being maintained and kept well since the management has not coordinated such efforts. Besides, when there is sparse information flow within the company, most scheduled tasks and orders will not be carried out as planned. Lousy customer service due to poor management results in incorrect invoicing, clients’ calls not being picked, hence failing to respond to customer issues.

Lawn mowing is a handy job, requires extensive and thorough training for the employees to master the necessary skills to make the best fits. Inconsistency in training results in operators missing on the basic methods on how to handle and maintain the company equipment. They end up doing low quality work because they lack the techniques. Missing training can also result in an employee missing the guidelines, precautions and warnings that are to uphold in the company. Employees who do not recognize nor understand the objectives and goals of the company are more often swayed off their feet since they cannot handle the work pressure. Furthermore, inadequate training results in undisciplined employees who report to clients late, miss deadlines and fail to check-in and check out. Lack of proper training of employees results in mix-ups in the daily activities since the employees are not aware of who to report issues or give orders.

After analyzing the possible causes and their effects on the work efficiency of the company, one should come up with relevant and practical recommendations. Crazy weather patterns are inevitable, but this does not mean the business should pause whenever there is crazy weather. Extreme weather days can be used to do office work, respond to customer feedback, check payrolls and do maintenance of the gears. Furthermore, such days can be used for day-offs, which will motivate the employees and rejuvenate the work spirit. The company should recruit skilled employees, who are the best fists. These employees should at least have documents supporting their expertise in lawn management, especially when it comes to dealing with turfgrass. Besides, the company should develop a reward system to appreciate their dedicated employees.

The management can further set working spans that employees have to achieve to be promoted instead of employees being stuck in the same department. Rotation of employees across departments can ease the tension and the customs that are set in place. The company should adopt a multi-directional organization style instead of the hierarchical style. Through this information and feedback flow from the operators to the top managers will be more comfortable. Besides, this engages all employers and gives them a sense of belonging. The management should keep a computerized schedule to ensure proper delegation of activities and to ensure all the activities are done to completion and within the speculated period. The company should employ an efficient board of directors to manage company operations. These board members should have experience in managing companies that are related to lawn mowing and be qualified to run the business smoothly. The company should incorporate effective and resilient customer care to address the feedback from the customers politely. Employees should receive adequate compulsory training on the operation and maintenance of the gears. Furthermore, the training should be inclusive of the company goals, precautions and measures while on-site and what the company expects from the employees.