In Clear Reporting Lines we looked at the importance of knowing why we do the job we do, what we are required to do, how we do it, and who we do it for. Having clear reporting lines helps to address who we do it for and even touches on why we do it, but to understand this more closely and gain understanding of what we do and how we do it, we must look at how we can build role clarity for our people.
This is where SMART Work Design comes in. According to their research, the Centre for Transformative Work Design found that, employees need:
jobs that are Stimulating
to be able to Master what they’re doing
Agency or a sense of control around what they’re doing
to develop supportive Relationships
to do all of this in a way that doesn’t exceed their limit for Tolerable demands.
Ensuring that we SMART-ly support our people will not only lead to improved engagement and wellness currently, but also help to prevent stress and burnout in the future. For example, if role clarity is an issue in your business, it is critical to address it so that people understand their roles and are able to perform their responsibilities to meet your organisational objectives.
When we understand how our role contributes to our organisational goals, we are more engaged, perform better and are able to be more creative and innovative in how we achieve those goals. Having this sort of role clarity can improve wellness and even lead to a sense of thriving.
As Professor Sharon Parker, for the Centre for Transformative Work Design explains in this video, Designing Motivating Work, there is another type of job redesign that is of rotation, enlargement, enrichment and self managing teams.
“Research from the University College of London looked at the extent to which individuals experienced a sense of boredom at work within a three year period (20 years previously). The researchers then looked at the relationship between boredom and heart problems.
It was found that those who frequently experienced boredom at work were 2.5 times more likely to die of a heart problem than those who were not.”
The principles in the SMART approach address many of the work-related factors:
For more infomation about how to prevent and manage employees’ work-related stress, visit WorkSafe Victoria’s website to download the guide for employers: Preventing and Managing Work-Related Stress.
Some of the ways leaders can apply the SMART approach
ENGAGE EMPLOYEES IN THE PROCESS
Provide context and connection to the bigger picture, including the organisational strategy.
Share targeted feedback about people are performing and the impact this has on the organisational goals.
Start each day or shift with a short ‘huddle’, to touch base with the team and discuss priorities and opportunities to provide support.
Openly communicate change and give people an avenue and opportunities to voice concerns and feel heard.
PROVIDE TOOLS AND RESOURCES
Take into account the systems that support the organisational processes and activities; the physical work environment the employee will perform the work in, including plant, equipment, materials and substances used, and the vehicles, buildings and structures that are workplaces.
On an individual level, we also need to consider the physical, emotional and mental capacities, needs and experience the employee will need to do the job.
Ensure employees are given a variety of tasks to reduce repetition and task-fatigue, and consider role or task rotation to allow for breaks or ‘time out’ from emotionally demanding work.
Group tasks into a meaningful job flow so employees can perceive how the end product or service contributes to the organisation’s objectives.
ROLE-MODEL THE CHANGES YOU WANT TO SEE
Give and seek feedback around their tasks and guide them where to look for feedback.
Take an active interest in advancements in your field and actively work on your own development, to inspire your team to seek different methods to achieve their goals.
Use difficult discussions and challenging change decisions as a learning opportunity for your team. Examine and discuss events and challenges as a team and share your thought processes.
Develop your skills and understanding of how to safely allocate workload.
SUPPORT EMPLOYEES IN THEIR ROLES
Have regular check-ins with your people to check that they are sufficiently challenged by the tasks they are doing and provide regular and constructive feedback on their performance.
Routinely evaluate employee performance against a set criteria of tasks and capabilities, such as Key Result Areas (KRAs) / Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Support your people in creating and implementing their own development plans.
Take extra care to monitor workloads during periods of high demand and provide adequate support where it is needed.
For more information and tips about incorporating SMART Work Design into your organisation, visit Centre for Transformative Work Design’s SMART Work Design page.
Call To Action
There are many ways that leaders can apply the SMART principles to improve wellness.
For example: when redesigning job descriptions, or designing new roles, you will want to maximise the degree of skills and abilities the job requires.
You can do this by expanding the range of tasks performed in the role, and increasing the degree to which the employee is required to ‘think outside the box’. When developing job descriptions, ensure the job involves: skills variety, task variety and problem solving opportunities.
When communicating changes to job descriptions, or inducting new employees, ensure the employee clearly knows what is needed and expected of them.
Provide quality feedback of how they are performing in their role and look for opportunities to take a task from beginning to end. This provides the employee with role clarity, mechanisms for feedback (both ways) and increases identification of tasks the employee is able to do.
When managing employees in their role, allow some autonomy in the role by increasing the extend to which the employee is able to organise their own schedule and allow choice in the methods in which work goals are achieved.
Allow employees to make judgements and decisions individually by allowing input into work scheduling, work methods and decision making.
Ensure the individual feels supported by those they work with, including supervisors. Clearly articulate how the work is important in relation to the lives of others and society more broadly.
Ensure the person feels their work is appreciated - this provides them with social support, a sense of the significance of their tasks and social worth.
On a day to day basis, ensure that an adequate amount of time is provided to complete the work. Reduce the occurrences of the work creating emotionally demanding situations and provide consistent feedback, instruction and demands on the individual.
When we reduce time pressure, emotional demands and role conflict, we can increase employee engagement by ensuring demands are challenging and present at appropriate levels.
Taking it Further
Whereas job enrichment applies to an individual job, self managing teams concerns the redesign of a group of jobs. In self managing teams, groups of employees work together to achieve shared goals. Autonomy means that the team is responsible for making its own day-to-day decisions, such as deciding who will do which tasks.
Autonomous workgroups have been successfully introduced in many organisations, with research showing these almost always result in more satisfying and engaging jobs for people.
You may want to consider what groups of role descriptions you can redesign, with the aim of creating an autonomous workgroup in mind.