Every entrepreneur wants his company to perform better; For this, it looks for systems, equipment, technology and everything that allows it to produce more; better serve customers; provide a more complete service; increase sales volume and guarantee a high and constant level of quality in services and products.
However, in practice everything seems to indicate that achieving these levels of excellence is extremely expensive. Thus, organizations are faced with an apparent paradox: they need to invest in technology, systems and training to provide a quality product or service, but achieving these objectives implies a very high outflow of capital, calling into question the convenience of the cost-benefit of the investment, in addition to reducing the liquidity of the company.
The reality is that currently this race for excellence is ceasing to be an ideal to become a requirement to remain in the market; since currently offering quality services and products are essential qualities in companies. The organization that lacks any of these two characteristics is destined to give ground in the market, with the high risk that this implies. Let's look at some examples: A few days ago I took my car to a mechanical workshop to do a simple job. An important point for me was the time it took to get the job done, so I got a promise that the car would be ready in three hours. So first thing I left the car in the workshop. In order not to make the story long, despite making several visits and phone calls to put pressure on the business owner,I received my car until the following day in the afternoon. The result was simple: I won't take my car there again.
Keeping us in the same industry, I also took my car to an oil-change quick service business. To be honest I am a client of the competition of this business; but I wanted to try their service because it is located in a place that is more convenient for me.
The attention I found was poor compared to what they have accustomed me to in the other service and the parts that they recommended me to change to my car, they did not sell them, so they suggested that I look for them elsewhere. My conclusion was: "best return to where ever".
How do you feel when the waiters in a restaurant have not served you correctly and make you feel like they are doing you a favor ?; Are you willing to keep buying from a supplier who does not take care of you when you are in trouble or misunderstanding, with another company giving you the same price? Would you invest in a pizzeria that guarantees that your food is delivered to your home in about an hour.
The way of doing business has definitely changed, so currently investing in the continuous improvement of organizations is a rigorous cost to consider, just as investments to meet environmental standards are. This should not be left for when there are "surpluses" in the budget; It should be considered as a necessary expense for the company to maintain itself and gain market share.
Despite the fact that more and more entrepreneurs are aware of this situation, we find many cases in which, despite the fact that large investments have been made in high-tech equipment and in the design of customized systems, the expected results are not achieved.
Of course there are improvements, but a feeling of dissatisfaction reigns among the executives and directors of the institution. In most cases I have found that the missing piece is "the people". The best system in the world will not deliver the planned results if the staff does their part well; the most advanced technology will not lift a company if the part of the administrative process corresponding to people is not executed with the right attitude and times. To develop this important area, it is necessary for the human resources department to prepare a training, development, follow-up and control plan for company personnel, including both managers and operatives here.
Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs consider the training and development of their people exclusively as a way to motivate them from time to time, ignoring that the human resource is the one that can increase production the most with the least investment cost.
Let us think about the following: What will be the cost of updating any industry with high-tech equipment that allows it to increase its productivity by 20 or 30 percent ?; On the other hand, wouldn't it be more economically convenient to develop a good program for the use of human resources that allows us, at a much lower cost than that of technological infrastructure, to make the same personnel increase their productivity by 15 or 25 percent ?; Or what use will it be to invest in technology to produce more and with better quality if the salespeople, executives, supervisors and other team members do not do their part well? What good is it to the garage to repair the car well if your client left so as not to return? Staff is the resource that can always give more for the same cost or for a relatively low investment.The strength of the companies is in the quality, attitude and commitment of their people; but this does not arise over time or by spontaneous generation; It must be something planned, promoted and implemented by the company and with a clear objective. Consider how your work team is, since in the new way of doing business, quality and excellence in service are not something extra that companies offer, but something that current customers demand.but something that current customers demand.but something that current customers demand.
