Barriers to Success & Limiting Factors
As companies continue to focus on increasing their productivity and competitiveness, it becomes obvious that there are critical factors that can limit the degree of success achieved by any change efforts or interventions. If you are launching such an effort or contemplating one in the near future, take some time to consider how each of these factors could impact your organization’s results.
Lack of skills (managers and employees):
- due to changes in the job or environment
- poor hiring decisions
- mismatch between skills and interests (poor job-person fit)
Negative attitude:
- regarding change (specific or generalized) that spreads to others and/or creates unnecessary obstacles
- of managers toward employees (unfair treatment, retribution for honesty, unprofessional conduct)
- of employees toward management (not adhering to policies, disregarding warnings, insubordination)
Lack of investment and commitment to training (time, money, interest) in:
- remedial / basic skills
- new technology or techniques
- growth, personal development
Poor performance management – keeping or rewarding the wrong people which:
- perpetuates the current culture or performance level (status quo)
- destroys morale
- undermines the change effort
- prevents the hiring of new, highly skilled employees due to staffing constraints
No succession planning:
- leaves the organization unprepared to handle the future (particularly in the event of a sudden departure)
- minimizes the value of career planning
- overlooks opportunities to develop and nurture skill development through coaching and job shadowing.
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