Tapping into the Motivation to Change With the Time Mastery Profile

When people feel pessimistic about their company’s mission, you may hear “We’re not performing any miracles here.”  But what if an organization’s purpose really is to provide miraculous cures for life-threatening illnesses?  Employees with such important goals are not as likely to fall victim to poor morale.  But that does not mean they have all the skills they need to do their job effectively.

A large healthcare organization wanted to improve the communication skills of their workers.  The employees were responsible for the facility’s safety, alarm system, maintenance, and similar functions.  The organization’s leaders simply wanted to teach the employees better telephone skills.  However, interpersonal issues are not always that simple.

Management needed to be aware of the organization’s true problems. To uncover deeper issues, discussions were held with the center’s workers and their interactions were noted. During the discussion and observations it became obvious that the center’s workers were prone to frequent interruptions , which led to the sloppy handling of important phone calls.  The frustration among the staff was evident, and the high-tension environment did not help matters.

There was a lot of screaming and yelling over the desks and the lack of technical knowledge was so bad that some people didn’t even know how to transfer a call.

The physical layout of the office was awkward, but that did not explain all the difficulties that the workers were having.  Instead it was discovered that the employees were unable to prioritize tasks.  Improving this skill and showing the workers how to manage their time were vital goals.

With the explanation that good time management would reduce the workers’ stress and improve productivity, the center’s leaders decided to use the Time Mastery Profile.  A session was then devised that would bring the Time Mastery Profile’s insights to life as well as tap into the employees’ enthusiasm for their jobs.

Everyone in the center has a powerful mission in terms of what they are there to do.  They are driven by their role in fighting cancer.

Keeping this concept in mind, the Time Mastery Profile was introduced to the participants.  The employees responded well to the instrument’s results, although several participants were shocked at their personal scores.

Many of them didn’t realize how much of an effect simple interruptions had on their days.  It allowed them to discuss steps they could take to improve in that and other areas of concern.

The participants went on to identify what time-management skills were most significant for peak effectiveness.  The participants then devised individual action plans to implement positive changes.  But while personal improvements made for worthy goals, the participants need to expand their thinking by looking at department-wide issues.

Using the colored-dot technique, the participants were shown how individual shortcomings added up to group problems.  Each participant identified his or her two lowest scores of the profile categories.  Then the participants took individually colored stickers and placed them on a group chart.

Seeing twenty stickers in one place gave a very real visual of where the department had the biggest problems.

With the Time Mastery Profile insights on display, the participants brainstormed possible solutions.  The list of solutions led to departmental action plans designed to reinforce the participants’ new skills.  And because the employees were highly motivated to resolve their problems, they were not shy about embracing ambitious goals.

Among the solutions that the participants developed were informal policies to avoid high-traffic areas and to call one another on the phone rather than shout over the cubicles.  However, perhaps the most creative idea was to address “the popcorn problem.”

After talking about it, they realized one of the chief complaints was that the smell of popcorn drove many workers to distraction.  So now popcorn is only made at certain times or in a different location. 

It seems like a leap to go form a discussion of time-management techniques to the nuances of popcorn preparation.  However, training sessions often give workers their first real chance to talk openly about problems.  When time management is addressed honestly, healthy discussions about workplace respect and productivity can arise.

Invigorated by their training and discussions, the participants went on to apply their skills to their work.  They educated their clients about the division’s priorities and limitations, rather than just trying to cram everything in and do it all.  Even more important, the workers were better able to prioritize incoming calls, which had been a definite weak spot. 

The employees realized that they had been giving every phone call the same status, and responding to all calls as an emergency.  But now they respond to calls and requests according to a prioritized system, treating a request to adjust a room’s temperature differently than if it were a critical fire alarm.

As a result of the workers’ efforts, overtime was reduced while morale remained solid.  Furthermore, the company’s leaders noticed the improvements and were inspired to look into additional technical training and to devise new systems to identify emergency situations.

All of this came out of a discussion of time management.  The combination of the Time Mastery Profile’s insights and the workers’ dedication created an environment where innovation could prosper.

Inscape Publishing Case Study