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Writer's pictureDr. Marvilano

Overview of Strategy Tools: High Commitment Management


The modern workplace experience is evolving from the traditional control-based and pyramid structure to more independent and flat organizational structures. Business leaders are slowly adopting more flexible management styles that devolve power and responsibility further down the power chain. And one such style is " High Commitment Management," a practice that aims at staff empowerment and motivation.


With High Commitment Management (HCM), employees are encouraged to make inroads into positions of influence and to take up increased responsibilities. And it has gotten the best out of them in ways that wouldn't have been possible without incentivizing the process. This article discusses HCM and the difference it can make in the workplace.


HCM model: Instead of pushing people to perform, make them want to perform.


What is it?

High Commitment Management is a management system that motivates employees to do their work. It seeks to promote a self-sustaining and dedicated workforce that can be relied on to get the job done at all times.


With HCM, managers encourage employee participation in critical issues of discourse. Employees are reimagined as critical value-creating resources, not just as a means to an end.


The goal of HCM is to build a corporate culture where regular employees are capable of unsupervised work and can take up increased responsibilities. It is premised on the belief that workers can make much more impact and provide increased value when they're comfortable and committed to their job.



When do we use it?

High commitment management (HCM) is an important workplace resource that provides value in the following ways.


To tackle expansive projects

There's an increased need to get all hands-on deck when the tide rages on all sides. Likewise, businesses that take on huge projects need more employee participation to meet their goals. And a committed workforce makes it easier to do this.


To build workplace advantages

With HCM, you can leverage workplace advantages from employee skills and competencies to create competitive advantages. An HCM approach can help build a staff with independent thinking and critical decision-making—two key workplace qualities.


To improve brand recognition

A company that draws the commitment of its workforce will be seen in a good light by all its stakeholders. In the corporate space, it speaks of a well-managed, fair, and socially responsible company.


To encourage open innovation

A business that encourages employee participation will have a larger pool of resources to draw from. They can get creative and unconventional ideas and inputs from employee buy-ins.



What business questions is it helping us to answer?

High-commitment management can provide answers to the following questions as part of its primary purpose in the modern workplace.


How can I build trust in the workplace?

A workplace that is built on trust will be mutually beneficial to its stakeholders and everyone across the power chain. With HCM, managers build up confidence in their employees with the hope that they are ultimately capable of independent and committed work.


How can I get my employees to work unsupervised?

Managers across all levels can’t sustain the traditional control-based work strategy for long. And most businesses can achieve their goals mostly by building a confident and independent workforce. An HCM approach can set your staff well on the path to self-sufficiency.


How can I build workplace competencies?

An HCM approach encourages workers to aim for personal growth and development while fulfilling their duties. And in doing so, employees can develop workplace competencies from consistent practice.


How can I get more from my employee?

Do you feel that your employees are not delivering up to their potential or that you can get more out of them? Why not motivate them to reach the heights you expect from them and give them the required leg up?



How do we use it?

While there's no specific template for HCM, below are a few guidelines to help you adopt the approach.

  • Create ground rules for the HCM approach. Set boundaries and define the roles and responsibilities of every party.

  • Devolve power and control over sectors to the right persons across the value chain.

  • Create seamless executive levels-to-work floor communication channels.

  • Place measures to encourage employee participation. Provide growth opportunities for staff and avenues to integrate their inputs.

  • Make work fun. Loosen the control grip and throw the floor open.



Practical Example

Very few companies embody the HCM workplace culture as much as Google. The company is known to live the "work should be fun and challenging" mantra in ways that benefit the company and the employee.


Google's employees find outlets to express themselves, from weekly "TGIF" meetings with chief executives to idea contests and self-initiatives. Google also manages to strip the top-bottom hierarchical structure to more inclusive processes that have birthed many of their most innovative advances.


The result is that workers are encouraged to contribute their quota and commit to their duties, knowing that their efforts count for something. And the company has a bigger idea and resource pool to draw from.



Advantages

It increases workplace morale

A workplace with staff in high spirits is more likely to meet its productivity targets. And one surefire way to raise staff morale is to ensure their voice counts. An independent, self-sufficient staff is always good for business, and HCM provides a path to achieving this.


It creates a more diverse and expansive idea pool

The brightest workplace inputs can come from people further than the power chain. With HCM, the floor is thrown open for everyone to pool in their efforts. And this can motivate regular staff to provide innovative solutions at work.


It builds healthy management-staff relationships

HCM encourages regular staff participation in important workplace activities that would have ordinarily been reserved for those in higher offices. This arrangement can help build the top brass's trust in the staff and extract even more confidence from them.


It promotes increased productivity

A committed and motivated staff is crucial to achieving workplace goals. With the prospects of personal growth as a reward for their commitment, your staff can be encouraged to do the work. And it'll positively impact the quality of work that they do.



Disadvantages

It can create manager-employee boundary conflicts

It is important to draw the line between HCM and unwarranted incursions. Employees must be well aware of their boundaries, so they don't breach them. And management must not take advantage of the committed staff to exert any undue influence on their work.


It may cause some disruptions under certain circumstances

Not all organizations are set up to encourage employee participation. And it'll not be smooth sailing for those that seek to introduce HCM in workplaces with large existing management-staff divides. It may call for structural reforms that take time to settle in.


Risk of psychological contract breaches

Every manager has certain unspoken responsibilities to their staff and vice-versa. And an HCM approach puts these responsibilities under an increased spotlight. The committed worker must be rewarded for their efforts or risk losing trust in management.


It needs the right people to execute

HCM needs workers capable of self-development and independent work to succeed. So it is crucial to identify people with such descriptions or those who you can train to fit the picture.



 

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