From the CEO

Turbulent economic challenges to businesses today demand that managers have a panoramic view when balancing operational resources with revenue and cost.

As we alluded to in the last issue, the “efficient utilization” of human resources has the attention of SSC management. We believe that efficiency directly affects the bottom line.

We have purchased new IT equipment and are in the process of progressively implementing and training its use. This should help us to be more efficient, allow more operational productivity, and better serve our customers.

Even so, technology is limited without people who understand objectives and efficiently manage time. Management has the responsibility to convey the vision and set objectives. The responsibility includes being able to consistently communicate, reiterate, and align team focus to timely move step-by-step toward the objectives.

We must “inspect what we expect”. In a speech at Galesburg, Illinois, Bill Clinton said, “…if you are having a problem with people you are not alone. Running a country is a lot like running a cemetery; you’ve got a lot of people under you and nobody’s listening”.

He certainly is not alone when it comes to feeling as if no one is listening to you. Someone said that one of the biggest myths about management is that if you tell employees to do something they will do it.

Well, I certainly do not believe that myth at SSC, but must admit that often the timely expectations have not been met. The challenge may be due to the fact that a deadline has not been clearly set or communicated; the assignee deems timeliness as not important; or just simply poor time management. Although the task requested is accomplished, the results lose effectiveness because it was not done in the allotted time frame. This inefficient use of human resources affects the business ROI.

To maximize all operational resources, human resources must be first maximized. IT and support tooling without proper and timely use results in a less than expected outcome.