So your organization has not replaced Mary and Joe and Nancy but reassigned their work to their former peers? Maybe your organization has actually laid off staff and reassigned their work functions to the remaining staff members? No matter whether you have reduced positions or just delayed replacement “until things pick up”, your associates will always remember how things used to be in your organization. Now that the economy is “picking up” in some markets, employees who feel overloaded with PAW’s (previous associate’s work) have begun looking around at other organizations for those who have better workload equity in the organization. Here are 5 teltale signs that your organization may suffer from workload inequities that are sure to impact employee engagement..

1. Top talent is leaving the organization– You have lost one or two top performers in your organization as they have resigned to accept positions at one of your competetitors or even a completly different line of business. They felt that they were always saddled with more than others before the economic downturn and then were given even more to do when staffing was reduced.

2. Client concerns about product or service delays are increasing. You have lost one or more clients because your product or service was not delivered within expected time frames. Clients are not very forgiving regarding the delays and are able to find your products or services faster elsewhere.

3. Productivity within your organization has declined. It seems that routine processes within your organization are now taking much longer and your associates are not responding to “the numbers” as they once did. You are struggling to find the spark that ignites the extra energy your staff once displayed.

4. Employee relation concerns have increased. Whether you are a union facility or non union, the volume of employee concerns and disagreements with supervisors and managers seems to have increased and especially noticiable is an increase in minor issues.

5. Associates are less interested in recognition events. If workload equity is an issue and associate morale is suffering as a result, your staff will have a harder time celebrating organizational success, each others’ success and even their own success in the workplace.

If your organization has reduced positions in the past couple of years, and your are experiencing one or more of the 5 symptoms above, you may benefit from some conversation with your staff related to workload equity and task assignments. Start with your top performers as they are most likely to tell you the truth about how people really feel in your organization!