All human work requires two kinds of behavior: “technical behavior” that is defined to some degree by the specific operation, process, role or task being performed, and “discretionary behavior” that is purposely under-defined to allow for the appropriate level of human perception and response. Each of these two kinds of behavior requires a substantially different approach to work system design and management, if maximum productivity is to be achieved.

It is surprisingly common today to find even large-scale workforces performing roles that are made up by simply grouping related tasks and responsibilities or specifying the machine or information system required to support the work. Little more than an informally developed role description and training program is provided to define the work to be performed and the work system that will support it. As a result, these roles achieve far less than possible. Even popular initiatives like knowledge management, service automation, CRM, balanced scorecard, and reengineering neglect the design of work-system roles and prevent the achievement of maximum human performance potential.

“High-Definition Work Design” enables management to tell the difference between these two very different types of work and to design and manage whole work systems with greater precision and control, and for greater predictability in performance. It also allows management to pinpoint the nature of performance problems and to intervene quickly and surely to return performance to the maximum potential level.

As specialists in the design of human work systems, pepitoneworldwide recognizes that, for improving the results created by workers, managing all work the same fails to fully tap the potential inherent in human work roles and the people who perform them. And when the work requires predominantly discretionary behavior, humaneering becomes critical as a managerial technology because it assures that the work system is sufficiently adaptable to enable workers to perform in ways that achieve each worker’s best performance.

When designers of human work systems are involved in reengineering and other IT projects, these projects better achieve the desired financial results. The more common omission of work-system designers from IT projects results in information systems that may function technically, but rarely enable people to do their best work. The potential for improvement through human work-system design often amounts to a 30% or greater increase in productivity, which can make the difference between project failure and success.

pepitoneworldwide has unparalleled expertise applying the optimal combination of engineering and humaneering technologies to design, develop, and improve work systems for maximum effectiveness, productivity, and sustainability. This expertise includes the improvement of virtually every type of work system—from core competence functions to staff support operations.

What would it mean to you if your business realized greater returns on its process reengineering, knowledge management, service automation, CRM, and other IT investments? We can make it happen.

Contact pepitoneworldwide today at information@pepitone.com and tell us how we can support your work.

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