Whether you are in a supermarket, bank, hotel, car rental facility, or any service industry you may have noticed the lack of performing any work that is not efficient. When there are issues that are not standard, people stumble through the process and virtually annoy the customer. The same is true in all facets of work life and the answer is the same. There is no standard work for performing the operations, a lack or training in the unusual circumstances, and the lack of proper management planning. In many articles and books, the focus on value stream mapping and standard work is manufacturing. In reality, it affects our entire culture and lives. Little is done to assure that processes are defined and standard work created for variations to those processes. If a price change needs to occur in the supermarket or if the use of an alternate fixture in manufacturing occurs, the results are the same. The cashier should have an easy step by step menu on how to correct minor variations in processing a customer and the operator should have standard work and work arounds for the unusual cases.
Where do you begin? Take the time to hold an event and create a value stream map. Within the map flow all the work-arounds and unusual processes. Display the rework loops to a normal process and the turn backs to both internal and external customers. Assure the value stream displays reality and not opinions or the engineered belief of the process. When the map is complete, review it with everyone and assure every element in the process is addressed.
Next, compare the process analysis to reality. Witness different people performing the process on all available shifts. The variation to the process will allow you to observe the lack of clarity in your processes and the variations that can occur. Take notes and communicate with people to get input about the variations. Compile your observations and review with your entire team to determine the correct method of processing. Then recreate your future state standard work to the optimum process.
When creating the future standard work, you must consistently “step out of the box” to review if certain current steps are necessary and whether simplification of operations can occur. Always look into a leaner mentality. There is always a way of eliminating waste. Whether is simplified operations, reduction of movement, elimination of non-value added steps, or simply reducing the variation of processes by mistake proofing them, a streamlined process is the only way to operate. In the service industry, there tends to be a focus on arduous step by step intervention. For instance, checking into a hotel, standing in line and waiting can be annoying. Why isn’t there a kiosk that with the swipe of your credit card your reservation is verified and simple questions are asked on preferred accommodations (i.e. King, Queen, Floor Preference, etc.) and number of keys required is entered and the keys with the room number drop into a tray? While not all travelers may prefer that type of service, an option can lessen the lines and wait for those that do want the face to face intervention. When the waitress sits you at the table, why isn’t there a portable tablet that allows you to enter drinks and appetizers that would allow someone requiring quick service to place an order in simple easy steps? This would reduce the wait time for a waiter/waitress. Many companies are beginning to make changes and those that do make those changes are grabbing market share from others. Some medical businesses are beginning to make the change through kiosks, defined stations for check in, and lines on the floor to eliminate confusion. These all are ways to simplify the experience and eliminate unnecessary steps and costs.
Look at your service, processes and methods of operation and determine where to start. Takes small bites of you process into consideration. While manufacturing is focused on lean processes, do not believe that it is only for those types of businesses. Make your business unique and streamline it through standardization. These changes do not require a massive effort but if you do not begin the process, you may be left behind in the market place.
Inspiration – The Secret to Effective Management
There are many times we can make an impact on a business, but there is always the question of motivation to the workforce. Before you can inspire people to excel, you must first understand your workforce. I have written extensively on understanding both the paradigm or the organization and the perspectives of employees. If you do not understand the workforce at every level, you cannot motivate and inspire them to strive to be the best. You must understand your organization, understand what makes them excel, and then put the plans in place to motivate them. This is not a short process and requires communication at all levels of the organization.
1. Understand that almost everyone can be motivated.
2. Shake off pre-judgment of employees. No one gets up in the morning wanting to do a bad job.
3. Recognize success
4. Reward success in some manner
5. Give the employees the “What’s in it for me?”
6. Communicate with employees. Share challenges, goals, visions, strategic plans. Get input.
7. Realize that people are your greatest asset.
8. Socialize at all levels. Employees are people. They have children who take gymnastics, play football etc. A short social relationship will open communications to new levels.
9. Protect your employees for safety hazards
10. Provide growth opportunities for employees.
11. Be genuine and honest with employees.
12. Be ethical in your management.
If you follow these elements, you will begin to get your employees support and create motivation for them.
Work Life Balance is a Key to Success
Work Life Balance
One of the more difficult complications a leader will face is the maintenance of a healthy work life balance and how to create balance for employees. We must assure that employees also are not driven to an unhealthy lifestyle. As a leader, we can also become consumed with the job and drive ourselves to an unhealthy, unsustainable level of workload. A leader can become so absorbed in attaining goals that we raise our expectations of our team to an unhealthy level. To assure that we allow employees time to recharge themselves and become more productive, the following options should be considered.
Leadership Rules:
1. Allow employees to telework as needed. Allowing an employee the flexibility to carry on operations when employees can’t get to the office because of family complications and/or bad weather has an extreme payback. Conceptually we may think that people will not be productive while working remotely, but studies show the temporary relief will invigorate the employee’s outlook on work and will allow someone’s self-worth to increase. However, as a leader you must set guidelines as to the amount of time that is allowed and the requirements to participate on mandatory meetings.
2. Give employees the necessary technical tools to be effective. Offer to pay for part or all of devices that are necessary for the employees to stay connected. Studies show that employees will stay connected for longer hours if they have the devices that allow email and other communications to occur after hours.
3. Avoid directing employees from using the company’s high tech products for business use only. Past practices told employees that devices were only for business use. Unless restricted by information protection, the past practices have proven ineffective. Employees would shut the company’s cell phone off after hours and use their personal phones thereby limiting the benefits of having the device.
4. Set the standard that employees should not be called or emailed while on vacation unless it is urgent. Define what is considered urgent and do not violate it. Employees need the time to recharge themselves and need to feel that it is acceptable not to engage while on vacation. This also allows others to step up and demonstrate their worth and encourages their growth. If it is necessary for an employee to be available while on vacation or during down time, assure that the hours are limited. Contingencies should be planned so that there is someone that can assume the roles necessary.
5. Leaders and executives should never be off the grid for extended times. Employees must feel that they are not abandoned when the executive is gone. Emergencies do arise and leaders do need to make decisions. Employees will respect the executive’s need to be out and will not overburden them. If a leader does not accept this premise, then they are not executive material.
6. Set the standards to your team for communications when they are out. Texting and calling is for urgent issues, emails are for routine problems, and on line access to group folders is low priority. Never use social media (i.e. Facebook, Instagram etc.) to communicate company issues.
7. Establish face to face communications for important issues. This is the most effective communication and most of these can be preplanned.
8. Respect that people are different. Everyone has different priorities and we cannot expect everyone to accept ours. Let the employee return a call at a later hour if they are home. Employees have personal lives and they need you to respect their life as they respect your needs.
General Rules:
1. Manage your time. When you show up to work, know your priorities and know how to assure what is reasonable to get accomplished within the day or week. Delegate out the remainder to assure it is completed. Make time for hobbies, passions, and relationships. Few of us live for work alone and it is not healthy to do so.
2. Take time for you. It is important to remember that all your free time does not have to be available time. Enjoy some alone time and time that you do things for you. Have a social life and schedule social activities where the phone is off. Enjoy weekends and vacations. Take specific parts of those times that you are out of communication with work. Let it be known in advance that you will not be available and then follow through and don’t be available. Arrange for coverage during these times for urgent issues. Post the contingency contacts and do not violate those times with work calls.
3. Make time for your family. Set those times aside for just them. Follow the same coverage rules aforementioned but give them the one on one time they so need and deserve. If you parenting partner is tied up in work, do not abandon everyone by getting involved with work issues. Ninety nine percent of the issues that come to you can be delayed or postponed for an hour or two. Make family time special and assure them that they are a priority by not being involved with work.
4. Get your home chores done. Take time for them and plan them. Be specific in the tasks you will take on and plan them out. Take on the least favorite task early in the week as that will allow the task to be taken on without the burned out feeling from a busy work week. If you leave hard tasks for when you are exhausted, they will become more burdensome and irritating. Realize that some tasks will have to get hired out to other people so only plan for a reasonable amount of work to be completed by yourself.
5. Finally, take care of yourself. Eat a healthy diet, get enough sleep, make time for relaxation, exercise, volunteer, and be balanced person. Know when your life is out of control and if needed seek professional help.
Stepping into a New Leadership Role
One of the most difficult situations that a leader can be placed into is the new company, new role, and new organization. How you begin your new path is certainly one of the most important aspects of your team’s perception, willingness to change, eagerness to resolve, and conquering the pessimism. The first ninety days are critical to your success and not phasing in correctly can create damages that can take a year to recover. You must look at your leadership team from their paradigms and realize the impact and reservations they may have with you. There are certain Do’s and Don’ts that come with your initial participation within the organization. Be aware of them and do not make these common mistakes.
1. Don’t – Do not make any immediate changes to the organization. The first mistake you can make is to change a culture you do not understand.
2. Do – Become a sponge for fro understanding the business. You cannot make a strategic plan for a business that you do not understand. It takes time to understand the paradigms that the business is run within and the informal and formal communications, relationships, and interactions. Understand the business well before you come to conclusions.
3. Don’t – Do not overact to immediate relationships and alliances. Initially, you will be approached by and included into some casual conversations and invites. Do not refuse them but take the communications you receive as a perspective. Too often, we form early relationships but find out that they may be tainted or ones with ulterior motives.
4. Do – Reach out to the quiet and standoffs. Some of your best employees will be those that are quiet and reserved. These employees may be your best contributors so reach out to them, start conversations, and ask for input.
5. Don’t – Do not discuss your plan within the first sixty (60) days with anyone. It is essential that you arrive to your plan based on observations and inputs. However, discussion of that plan may change the way people act and react in their current operations and therefore your understanding of the work paradigms may be thwarted.
6. Do – Speak with customers to understand their concerns and observations. Speak with all customers at all levels including the ones that receive your products and perform additional tasks on them. Speak to suppliers to understand their perspectives and working relationships. Ask for honest feedback so that you can improve relationships. Some people may be conservative in their feedback and not want to hurt existing relationships. Ask for detailed information that is not only subjective but one based on data driven questions.
7. Don’t – Jump to immediate conclusions. Take the first (60) days to absorb information without forming any conclusions. If you form a preliminary option, it could allow you to roll additional inputs to support your theories.
8. Do – Reach out to all levels of the organization. The golden nuggets are usually hidden deep with the rank and file. Hold skip-level meetings and all hands meeting also. They can be invaluable in your understanding of the business.
9. Don’t – Rush the process. Form a strategic plan over time and base your opinions, actions items, and plan direction on data. Don’t make purely subjective decisions but validate your opinions with data.
10. Do – Enjoy the process as it is the building blocks for your success. Review the plan and vision with your leadership team and assure that you have consensus. This is the first steps to your success as a leader and your will be rewarded if you complete the transition successfully.
Reflections on Successful Leadership
As we walk the path of guiding organizations to success, we need to question whether we are successful. Too many leaders are greatness in their own minds and they measure success merely by business metrics. As they progress down their strategic plan, one day they are woken to realize that their workforce in disengaged, reacting only to commands, lack empowerment, seek others to represent them, and are disillusioned with what success resembles. That leader will first defend their actions and accuse the workforce of being lazy, not motivated, and simply a reflection of a poor work ethic that is a culture problem. They will increase demands and employees will react slower and with resentment. Have you ever worked for a leader like this? We all have. They end up failing and hurting companies that take years to recover. They are the egomaniacs of the world. Every other sentence is “I”. They may not have started out this way but have slipped into a false sense of self-worth and accomplishment.
There are ways to stay away from the slide as a leader. You are nothing without your empowered, engaged workforce. You cannot lead a defeated organization using the same tactics that defeated them. Below is listed ways to avoid slipping into the trap.
1. Communicate every day with someone in your workforce. A regular conversation with the people from all levels of the workforce is necessary to keep a pulse on your organization. The continued communication develops relationships and allows you to receive feedback in a real time manner.
2. Don’t dismiss criticism. There are disgruntled employees everywhere but you cannot merely dismiss complaints as those of a poor employee. There is usually a shred of truth in every complaint or statement. It may be exaggerated and at times or may be something stated with an ulterior motive, but examine what is said. Do not over-react to every comment but place some credence in it and examine if what is told you is the truth.
3. Hold regular multiple group meetings. All Hands meetings should occur monthly, sub-groups should meet weekly and work groups should have a meeting format on a daily basis. While the finance world will measure this as indirect labor charging that shows a loss, the resultants for improved productivity will far exceed those small losses. There is no format for everyone. Some people will not speak out in a large group and some will feel secure in those groups and give constructive feedback. Small groups can also be intimidating for some people and there are work group clicks that will stop some from speaking up. Finally, hold regular skip level meetings on a regular basis. They should be a minimum of quarterly intervals. Skip levels eliminate the presence and intervention of middle management. People will speak more freely in these meetings and you will receive different feedback. Caution: Do not overreact or make promises to fix problems in these meetings. Doing so will result in group leaders and middle management feeling betrayed. You are there to gather feedback, describe your vision and strategic plan, and create list to investigate.
4. Be honest, loyal, ethical, and have principles each and every day. Do not deceive your workforce. There are always business situations that do not allow you to unveil everything to the entire workforce but you can merely state “I cannot comment on that now”, “We have not made final decisions regarding that matter and when we do we can discuss it”, “I understand your concerns and when we have answers to those we will discuss at the next meeting” etc. Do not lie. Your workforce will lose your trust and everything that is discussed at meetings will be merely dismissed as a possible misrepresentation.
5. Walk the walk of you employees. Walk their job with them for an hour every year. Learn what their job is and understand their challenges. While you walk their job with them, realize they are people that work to live. They have families, children, parents, schooling issues, financial burdens etc. Talk to them as a human being and a leader. Nothing makes someone feel valued more than when you walk the floor and can say, “John, how is the boy’s baseball team doing?” Mary, how is the daughter’s gymnastics coming?”, “Harry, how is mom doing”. It may seem impossible but you can easily take 250 hours a year and dedicate it to this activity.
6. Protect your workforce. Watch and listen for unreasonable management and team leaders. Pay attention to safety and join a safety committee. Realize ergonomic challenges. Prove to people you care because you do care and react quickly to safety issues. People are your greatest asset and protect them like the jewels they are to the organization
Be a leader that people embrace. Reward, recognize their achievements, thank them and show them they are important. If you do not understand or agree with most of these items, you are on a path to failure. Don’t delegate these items to others-walk the walk each and every day.