These employees go through the motions without adding value, negatively impacting growth and performance across organizations.
Results-generator or processor? The longer I have been in business, the more it has become apparent to me that we all have too many “processors.” These are people who show up every day – they ostensibly do the job they are responsible for – they go through all the motions – but take no responsibility for getting results that actually impact the business in a positive way.
These processors are parked in every level of our companies – from the bottom to the top. They are the CFO who accepts whatever credit and terms the bank gives them without finding a better deal there or elsewhere. They are the project manager who completes the job but doesn’t maximize the financial performance that should have been possible with the budget they started out with. They are the marketing person who puts out proposals and qualification documents that win 15 percent of the time, and that has been the win ratio for 10 years. They hurt us at every level – certainly the higher up they go, the worse their impact is on growth, profitability, morale, and more. I have personally seen and worked with processors of all brands and stripes and they all have certain common characteristics.
Those common qualities are that they put in the time, show up, do all the tasks they are supposed to do, and seem like loyal servants dedicated to the company and their jobs. The problem is they don’t add any value. So they are too hard to fire because everyone thinks they are great and there is no easy rationale for letting them go, especially when the company is doing well overall. But the issue is, it (the company) could be doing so much better! On top of it, if they were to be let go someone else would have to do their job on top of all the other jobs they are currently doing and that is always a big hurdle to cross because the company has no one better to replace them with.
Sometimes, people who start out as results-generators metamorphose into processors. What causes people to become processors? A number of things. Loss of belief in the real purpose of the organization so they get turned off. Achieving personal financial or career goals so motivation wanes. Personal problems that become more important than the job. Fear of change and resulting aversion to all risk in trying something new. There are many factors – some within the control of the company, and some not.
Obviously, you need to be concerned with the things you can control about the company that would demotivate a good person and turn them into a processor. But it’s not all within your control. And ultimately, all that matters is the individuals and how they are doing their jobs in spite of issues in the firm or outside of it. YOUR mandate is to have results-generators in every role instead of “good people” who are just going through the motions.
So the bottom line is this – if you have too many processors working for you, isn’t it time to take some real action so you are more of a results-generator yourself? I think so.
Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.
