Ask Andi: A spotlight on operations shows our manager needs improvement. She doesn’t cut hours or hire anyone new. Employees she relies on aren’t fixing the problem. She funnels their work instead of getting new people up to speed. What can I do?
Thoughts of the Day: Spotlight on operations ensures you and operations are on the same page. Check the facts. Set goals. Define improvements to be made. Agree to a list of action steps and dates to measure progress. Demonstrate your commitment to employees. Train new people so they have a better chance of doing a good job when they get called on to perform their increasing duties.
Putting a spotlight on operations
Start by checking the facts. Make time to meet with your operations manager. Find out, specifically, what you do and don’t agree on. Consider the following questions.
- What concerns you about the department? Does the operations manager see it the same way?
- Do operations feel loyalty toward the employees who have been around for a longer time?
- Does the operations manager have the motivation to mix things up?
- Is change perceived as more work, more disruptions, and more opportunities for things to go wrong?
- How comfortable is your manager at training new employees? Do they have enough time to do that?
- What consequences are considered if new people get more work than those who’ve been around longer?
Operational insights and forecasts
Explain your case, why you see it as essential to get new people into the mix. Explain your concerns about how the department performs at present. Don’t sugarcoat things. Layout the issues and then hear what your operations manager has to say.
Make it clear that you expect change. Ask operations to set goals for how the department will improve over the coming year. Then talk through how those improvements require additional personnel and changes in performance from the existing team.
Spotlight on operations. Create a structure within the department that will support quality and training initiatives. Ask the operations manager to assign responsibility for quality and training to leaders among the current employees. Get train-the-trainer help, if needed, for both the operations manager and the people assigned to be responsible for quality and training.
Decide together on specific improvements you’d like to see. Estimate a time frame for accomplishing those improvements. If you’re still committed to seeing new people get more work, make it clear how much you want them to get and by when. Put a number on the kind of cost savings or reduction you’d like to see resulting from changes such as improved throughput and eliminating errors and redos.
Deliver quality and value
Agree on measures that will help employees track and understand problems and see improvements. Post graphs of measures within the department. Hold regular employee meetings to discuss progress and obstacles.
Set up a training program to get new people up to speed. Assess current employees as potential trainers. Think through concerns you have about performance by experienced personnel. Train the new team to be free of bad habits. Pick your best people to pass on their good habits.
Break out tasks that need training into smaller units. Pick people in the organization who are excellent at performing specific tasks. Ask them to train others on how to do what they do well. Develop a training manual to codify best practices.
Wrap up by discussing how improving performance in the spotlight on operations will make life better. Recognize that there is always more than one way to make changes. Allow operations the freedom to make decisions within boundaries. Define common goals.
Looking for a good book? Try “Developing a Lean Workforce: A Guide for Human Resources, Plant Managers, and Lean Coordinators” by Chris Harris, Rick Harris.
