Performance Workload Model

In the world we live in now, we are all being asked to do more with less. Along with this, as we build our way back to normal, there have been many changes in the workplace that have now transformed the expectations of how we do our job.

The pressure of delivering more for your company often comes in the form of more revenue, but not always. This "do more with less" mindset has been a steady mandate from leaders for as long as businesses and bottom lines have existed. The issue with this comes from the notion that we can just keep adding more and more responsibilities to people without adding resources or time to counterbalance it. I have seen this many times, not just in the sales world, but in all walks of business. It comes in the form of simple and compounding requests to do just one more thing. Essentially, please keep driving more results year after year, while ignoring the workload required to drive and facilitate those results. It can seem non-sensical and can show a lack of awareness and empathy that may not be intended at all.

I came up with this Workload Model to help leaders and others illustrate the main components of a situation when someone asks for more results and how it effects the workload of that person and their long-term outlook of doing that job.

On the left, you see the expectations both in revenue and duties, along with the trajectory of their job long term. On the right are the tools, resources, and time they have to get the job done, along with their mental state, while performing their job.

The entire model is predicated on the overarching notion that once you are in an optimal workload state, you have enough healthy pressure to perform, while having the tools and resources needed to counter balance that pressure. You see here in this model that the balance is almost perfect between the expectations on the employee and resources and tools needed to get the job done while maintaining a healthy work/life balance.

When this becomes unbalanced, the first thing we need to look at is the current and existing equation of "Workload" vs "Resources and Time". Is the current state of your responsibilities in line with the resources, tools, and time you need to get the job done? Let's say you have a great job selling widgets. You have a widget sales plan of 1,000 widgets per quarter, and you consistently perform to plan year after year, and you are able to grow your revenue and new widget sales accordingly. You have time to prospect for new business when old business leaves, and your work life balance allows for optimal energy and focus when you are at work.

Then... a great co-worker of yours decides to take a role with another company, and your boss decides to save money on labor by having you take over his accounts. Overnight, your boss has doubled your revenue responsibilities. In addition, you no longer have the proper prospecting time to replace client turnover, and administratively, you are swamped with paperwork and all your former colleagues' duties. Not to mention the future conversation with the boss who put you in this position about why your sales have suffered, and client retention is down 30%... This is called being "overworked" in its purest form. You have a plan, you know what to do, but you just do not have enough time to execute it.

In the Workload Model, it looks like this: You have added expectations in both duties and revenue requirements, but you have not been given any new resources or tools to help offset the added duties. If you give someone added duties or responsibilities, you have to consider the fact that they will need more resources to help them, or more time to complete the tasks. To be clear, this is a manageable place to be in the short term.

As an example, you might have a big project with a tight deadline that needs acute focus and time dedication. You have to have people on your team that can take these on while having a "bend, but don't break" mentality. That being said... If you are a leader and your employees are forced to stay here too long, your employees will reach their breaking points and eventually quit or even worse... they will stay and poison the well with other employees about how unhappy they are.

Before some leaders jump on the defensive... there of course are certain cases where companies are not optimized, and there is plenty of more room to become more efficient without employees feeling overworked. When evaluating these scenarios, you are likely to find that people differ greatly on the Workload Model, based on a variety of factors, including:

• Competive Drive and Work Ethic
• Intelligence and Apptitude
• Background and Education
• Experience and Passion For the Role

When you have people that can naturally handle more workload than others, you can fall into the trap, thinking everyone can handle the same set of responsibilities and duties... This is a very slippery slope, for sure. That being said, sometimes you will find a person who seems to have more resources and time than anyone else, while their workload is easily managed without stress or worry. When this happens, it is called "coasting", and it looks like this.

You can see that this person may develop a sense of complacency in their role. People who are driven internally find it hard to be here, while it is a slacker's dream job. They have more time than they know what to do with, and their careers often end up in a "Run Out the Clock" mindset.

A lot of leaders operate in fear of this scenario, or at least have some worry thinking some of their employees are just sitting around all day with their feet up. We all know this is not the case, but is it not strange how some employees are given more than their fair share, while others seem to get by doing the bare minimum?

The reason for the Workload Model is to show that the ideal scenario for all of us, is one of balanced expectations, executed by toughminded/focused people, who when you need to add more to their plate, you also consider the tools and resources needed to complete the new tasks. It seems pretty simple to me.

I hope you can find this useful next time you are asking teammates or employees to take on a bit more than usual. The bottom line is that some people are more equipped than others, but everyone has their "Optimal Workload State" that we all need to seek to understand and find in everyone we work with.