As #ThursdayThoughts have become something of a tradition like eating turkey at Christmas or taking time out on a Wednesday to share a pearl of wisdom on social media; here’s an interesting one…
Do people perform or act differently when under observation?
Throughout this post we’ll be taking a look at the age-old ‘Hawthorne Effect’ phenomenon and its relevance to contemporary Human Resource Management (HR).
Derived from research undertaken in the 1920’s and early 1930’s at the Hawthorne Works, Illinois; the ‘Hawthorne Effect’ refers to the way in which the behaviour of individuals alters in response to an awareness of being under observation. The original study was introduced to determine the extent to which improvements in employees’ working conditions would enhance workplace productivity. Although the changes did initially lead to an increase in performance; there was a significant slump once the investigation concluded. In the 1950’s, Henry Landsberger deduced that workers were motivated by the interest being shown in them and this led to the upturn in productivity rather than the actual physical changes. Landsberger labelled this theory, the ‘Hawthorne Effect’.
The Hawthorne studies kicked off a series of research activities undertaken by a collection of theorists later dubbed ‘The Human Relations Movement’ whose work fundamentally led to the creation of what we now call Human Resource Management. As contemporary HR Departments are responsible for the overseeing of employee recruitment, training and development, remuneration, performance management and disciplinary procedures; the ‘Hawthorne Effect’ is still considered to be a particularly relevant concept and has been a topic of substantial debate among HR and psychology theorists for many years.
Regardless of where you stand on the Hawthorne studies, countless organisations throughout the UK have undoubtedly become more productive and profitable thanks to the CEEQUEL® EFFECT! Here’s how:
Optimal Clocking to Payroll Processes – Ceequel® Time and Attendance delivers an unparalleled employee attendance management solution. Choose from a vast array of clocking options including: biometric fingerprint and facial recognition, key fobs and proximity cards. All employee attendance data is collected and processed in real-time to the highest degree of accuracy; significantly enhancing payroll administrative efficiency whilst eradicating costly human error. Comprehensive shift rostering features are also available along with robust absence management solutions.
Enhanced Employee Engagement – The three E’s, that could catch on! Employee Engagement is all about creating ideal conditions for employees to excel within the workplace and is undoubtedly at the heart of an organisation’s HR strategy. Ceequel® Human Resource Management Software is the ultimate tool for HR. All employee information can be stored in one, user-friendly central database while intelligent automated solutions are available to facilitate key HR processes such as new employee inductions. In addition, a dynamic Training, Skills and Resource Matrix ensures that all staff possess the required skills and qualifications to carry out their duties effectively. Ceequel® also incorporates dynamic employee activity tracking software enabling organisations to swiftly identify any potential barriers to workplace productivity.
Streamlined Workforce Management – With Ceequel® E-Manager and Ceequel® Employee Self Service, workforce management has never been simpler. Through E-Manager, supervisors are able to: monitor staff attendance, configure shift rosters, accept or decline absence requests and generate reports with considerable ease. Employee Self Service reduces the strain on HR departments and is an effective aide in eliminating unnecessary paper trails. Using the Employee Self Service portal, employees can: submit absence requests, access relevant company documentation, update their personal records, view their clocking history and receive email notifications.
To learn more about Ceequel® Employee Management Software, please contact award-winning time and attendance systems providers ELF Productivity. A range of brochures are also available to download from our website, please click here for more information.