Do Employers Undervalue Efficiency?
Dictionary.com defines efficiency as: accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with minimum expenditure of time and effort.
It seems then, that efficiency would be required of all job prospects and would also be a skill that all job prospects would list on their resumes.
Who Values Efficiency?
If you search jobs with efficiency on LinkedIn, you get 57,703 results for job postings. Almost every type of job function requires an improvement in efficiency. Yet when you search under people using the term efficiency, you get over two-million results, from improved “brewing efficiency” to “improved energy efficiency.”
Clearly employees know the importance of efficiency and are correctly keen to mention their accomplishments in bringing it about. It’s often measurable in cost savings whether by saving time, materials, or quite frankly employees’ fondness for their jobs.
What does it say about your company when you state how efficiency is key to keeping your business at peak performance while you do not require improvements in your company’s efficiency from your prospective employees?
Having worked for companies big and small I’ve been fortunate to have access to a number of efficiency tools that make my job easier and more measurable. I’ve also had to improvise, due to small budgets, to gain efficiency that made my job more entertaining and again, more measurable. What’s most frustrating is when forced to work on a project in a way that I know is wrong. Not from an ethics standpoint but from a this-is-so-not-the-best-way-to-do-it standpoint. Excuse me, but a this-is-the-way-we’ve-always-done-it standpoint should often be tested to see if indeed it is the most efficient way to do things. Squeaky wheels are good here as mandated inefficiencies trample innovation.
What does it say about your company when you state how efficiency is key to keeping your business at peak performance while you burden your employees with outdated software and manual processes? For example does the finance team put in 15-hour days during month-end close? Every month? For the past five plus years? (Internal controls aren’t all that empowering when they are not automated.)
My favorite job title regarding efficiency is from Shepard Bros., Inc. In their “Continuous Improvement Specialist” job description, they state: successful candidates primary focus will be identifying prioritizing and implementing continuous improvement projects within the plant and delivering operational cost reductions and efficiency improvements.
Regardless of your title, your department or your employer, strive for efficiency!
