Organizational Best Practices

I am just penning down some "Organizational Best Pratices" that I would love to implement in any Organization I am involved with - someday - when I do have the Power to do so:

• Work from Home – based on Role, Feasibility, Convenience etc. - This is such a time, energy & motivation-saver that I am really amused that this trend has not caught on like bushfire, across the corporate world. In an increasingly Internet, Mobile & Videoconferenced world, it is really easy to replicate the physical workplace and have Quality output - even when working from home. (In fact, I think the Quality would be higher because one is so much more relaxed.) And the likes of IBM have already proved this time & again. I don't why others haven't caught onto this.
• 5-day Week - I would give Saturdays off, even if I may extend working hours between Monday-Friday. Everybody I know agrees to this concept, yet some organizations simply won't change their Saturday-working routine - even when they know that employees don't do much on Saturdays except waste their resources.
• Flexi Hours - With traffic & travel becoming increasingly cumbersome, I cannot imagine why companies won't extend the "Flexi Hours" concept to their employees. Set a simple mandate of, say, working 8 hours a day irrespective of the time you clock-in and clock-out. This not only relieves the pressure of late arrivals & absenteeism, it also gives the employee the time to make the most of his day.

While I have experienced all the 3 Options I have noted above during my Work Experience so far, I am even really impressed and inspired from Best Buy's ROWE (Results Only Work Environment) Practice: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_50/b4013001.htm

Wow, if a $40-Billion Retail Company like Best Buy can make it work, why can't others?

• Ask New Joinees What They Think is Wrong with the Company - within a Month - I can't help noting that it is Human Nature to gauge quickly (and probably instinctively) what is wrong in some place (or in some body). This trait must be captured for an Organization's benefit, as New Joinees are likely to come up with insightful observations on improvements which the Old-timers probably miss on a daily basis.
• Track Work - Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Macro - "To Do" Lists, Status Reports, Notes, etc. must be shared within a Team on a regular basis - to gauge the efficacy of the work that is being done and develop new perspectives. Wasn't it said by someday - what gets measured, is what gets done.
• Clear Job Descriptions, KRAs - Nothing is more irritating to an employee than to not know his Job Deliverables & KRAs. Organizations often do not outline and communicate these items to their employees - with the idea that they can then dump any work on the said employee, at different points in time. However, I have noted that this actually is counter-productive because the employees then begin to set boundaries on their own and wash their hands off on tricky assignments, playing on the role ambiguity. Not only does the organization suffer, but it gives the employee also a chance to get away with rewards (and without punishment) for a performance that wasn't measured.
• Empower, Treat as Equals - I would assume and trust that every employee in an Organization works for its betterment, because it eventually helps his cause in the long run. Hence, I would empower every one of them "to do the right thing" all the time.
• Share General Information Regularly - They say Knowledge is Power. So, exploit it. I don't see any point in one employee not sharing data with other employees. In fact, in the highly dynamic business environment today, it is imperative to let everybody know what's working or not working for the Organization. The quicker people adapt to the new information, the better it is for the Organization.
• Lunch Together, Once in a While (Say, Friday) - It really helps build a Team Spirit, like no other. In fact, some of the best conversations and learnings in my corporate life have come through such Informal sessions at Pizza Huts. I guess, everybody will agree that there is more to be learnt in a group of people hanging out together, than from the confines of a cubicle.
• Visit Individual Seats and Chat Up - A variation of the above point, I think there is much to be learnt about business & life (in general) through a 1-1 dialogue over coffee, at somebody's cubicle.
• Variable Pay Disbursements > Quarterly - There are companies who give out the Variable Pay Component (based on Performance) on a Yearly basis! When your business results are being tracked and reported to the world on a Quarterly basis, why should the Variable Pay be made at the end of the year? Quarterly payments are not only a morale-booster for the employees, but it also relieves the company of a huge payout at the end of the year by breaking these down in 4 sets. Also, it is easy to track and comment on Quarterly basis, than it is to summarize performance for the entire year.
• Give Free Time - Google pioneered this concept, by allowing its employees 20% of their corporate time to pursue their individual experiments - which could aid the company in the long run when they institutionalize any particular successful concepts, under the Google umbrella. Variations of this practice, can be extended in every company. For example, a Retail Company can probably ask its employees to go Mall-Hopping once a week and check out what other retailers are doing. A Financial Services firm can sponsor refresher courses for its staff. And so on.
• Track ‘Best Companies’ Annual Reports - Annual Reports of companies provide with fantastic insights on Growth Strategies, Business Environment, Risk Management, Philosophy & Objectives, etc. So, these reports should be actively read and takeaways be summarized for your own business.
• Benchmark Key Operational and Financial Ratios Openly - These should not only help you keep a watch on the Market and Best Practices of other companies, but also act as an inspiration for improving performance at one's own company. For Retail, these could include Footfalls, Revenue/Sq.Ft., Inventory Turnover, GMROI, Average Ticket Value, etc. and these ought to be benchmarked against figures from the likes of Walmart & Tesco or Pantaloon (in India). Communicate the 'Target' figures to every employee and highlight them on a periodic basis, to enable a Organization-wide focus on a goal.