Peter Klugsberger shares advice on how to manage unwieldy workloads and low productivity without employing more people.
Massive workloads? Terrible NPS? Low productivity?
‘Adding more people’ will not fix that…
In my client work with CHROs, I have seen this play out repeatedly.
“We need more people” is the most common quote in employee surveys that surface productivity issues.
The most frequent reaction from senior leadership?
“Wrong answer. Try again.”
Employees are expected to get on with it.
Work harder. Stretch further. You get the picture.
Until the next employee survey shows even worse results.
So what is the actual root cause behind this vicious cycle?
The answer is straightforward:
→ Your BAU stopped evolving. It is no longer fit for purpose.
What has changed?
1️⃣ Key stakeholder expectations are through the roof.
2️⃣ Internal processes have not been updated in years.
3️⃣ Leaders feel out of control and start micromanaging.
The rules of the game have markedly shifted.
Yet you are still trying to win with yesterday’s playbook.
When your BAU is outdated, the most rational short-term response left to employees is to outwork the problem.
That is happening right now: excessive work hours, constant firefighting, and a slow, inevitable descent into burnout.
All for minimal performance gains that barely shift the dial.
The unexpected twist?
Adding more people to a misaligned BAU makes things a lot worse, not better.
What to do instead:
→ Diagnose how work is prioritised and managed. Are you really working on the right things?
→ Evaluate processes, systems, and routines for fitness for purpose. Are they still doing what they were designed to do?
→ Help leaders see the bigger picture. What can be let go of that is no longer critical?
If you are a C-suite leader or CHRO facing similar issues get in touch by sending me a DM.