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The Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training.

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In the 1960s, Douglas MacGregor defined "Theory X" as the belief that workers are inherently lazy and will avoid work if they can. Today many managers don't believe in Theory X unless a computer tells them to.

Computer programs look over workers' shoulders counting keystrokes and downtime and calls handled per hour. It's not Theory X. It's the quest for efficiency. At least that's what the people selling the programs tell us.

Managers who should know better measure good work by what the programmers and consultants tell them it is. "If the computer can't measure it," they figure, "we won't worry about it."

That's what's going on with the slice and dice retail scheduling programs covered by the Wall Street Journal earlier this month in an articled titled: "Retailers Reprogram Workers in Efficiency Push." The article featured a program in use at Ann Taylor, a woman's clothing retailer.

The program chops the day up into fifteen minute segments and defines the time for everything, from folding a shirt to "clinching a sale." According to Scott Knaul, director of store operations, they've "helped turn more store browsers into buyers."

Maybe. But at what cost? The system allocates five minutes for a sale. In fashion retail that means that salespeople are making quick sales, which are usually small sales and often only accessories. The best salespeople in the industry don't work that way.

The best sales people build both sales and relationships. That takes time. The computer system can't measure the difference between top sales people and the middle of the pack in terms of productive time, so it goes with the average.

My guess is that Ann Taylor will lose its best salespeople because they will find that the system does things that keep them from making money and developing the long term relationships that will help them make more in the future. But that won't show up for a year or so.

It will be the good folks, the ones who can work anywhere who will leave. What will be left will be the people can't find anything else. They may not be able to build big sales but they can fold shirts really fast.

Mr. Knaul can not acknowledge any of this. This should be a big resume-booster for him so he'll share details of that parts that work, like converting browsers to buyers. He does tell us that the store managers like the ease of scheduling, but doesn't share any of their comments about the system's affect on morale or turnover. He doesn't share any comparative sales-per-square-foot figures.

The system must be portrayed as magic. The things it can't measure, like morale, are simply ignored.

The most telling quote I saw in the article was from Mr. Knaul describing why they gave their system a name (ATLAS). It "was important because it gave a personality to the system, so [employees] hate the system and not us."

I wonder if he thinks the people who work in Ann Taylor's stores are that dumb. Maybe he should ask the computer.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.

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Wally Bock has helped people learn to be great bosses for more than a quarter century. His latest book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership, makes learning key leadership principles almost effortless by teaching through a story and providing lists of resources for further growth.

Click here to find out more about Wally's coaching services.

For weekly tips and resources pointers, check our Wally Bock's Three Star Leadership Letter.

Click here to find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.