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expert at everything...not a problem


Well... I would say sometimes there certainly is a perceived notion that one person is an expert at everything. For the worker "everything" may be defined as the specific area in which you were hired or are constantly scheduled. Our opinions are frequently influenced off of past experience, or information we've received from their coworkers. Unfortunately this only gives us partial insight to that workers expertise and often is limited to their most recent history. Narrowly focused accounting is made of the skills that this individual possess. Come on, can't we figure out a way to leverage all of the skills of a particular worker? One of the challenges has always been that relationship between the activities which need to be accomplished and the myriad skills of individuals within your workforce. In addition, even if you could inventory and get a pretty good handle on the skill sets, they are constantly changing (with any luck) and thus the ineffective process of managing these shifting sands becomes overwhelming. As a result people are commonly pigeon holed into what they or others around them perceive them to be an expert, unfortunate for all.



I venture to say that the reason that this is not done is because the entire idea of it, while logical enough, is not very simple to execute. Quantifying skill sets is very fundamental however creating relative meaning to those as they apply to the work activities is challenging and needs to be examined across all dimensions. As IoT based information becomes more actionable specific faults will require very specific skill sets.  A one-to-one match will unfortunately yield flat and lackluster results. So who is the real benefactor? People who have chosen a service career, regardless of industry, have done so because they enjoy a challenge. Confining the type of work an individual receives eventually will lead to boredom and complacency. Thinking one person is an expert at everything is ludicrous. While I agree that this is convenient, it simply is just not right for the organization or the worker. As organizations we have the responsibility to make sure that people are placed in areas at which they can create the most value. People must be able to go home at the end of the day and know that they really have made a difference. The good news is, this is not very difficult. If you have the right toolset and the commitment to follow through you will be simply amazed at the results.





The "last mile" of profitability lies within your workforces, what are you doing to address these assumptions? Would love to hear your feedback. Thanks in advance…. Greg



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Next post:  are visual inspections important?

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