Engaging people on the shop floor: Turn underutilized employees loose

Meet Pete. He is a machine operator … or assembler … or maintenance tech … or …. He is one of our valuable employees who does his job every day. We can rely on Pete to get the job done. But let’s look at a “day in the life” at work for Pete.

He arrives, starts his shift at his machine, and begins making parts. As long as Pete is making parts, his lead people, supervisors, and company executives all are satisfied that Pete is doing a good job and contributing as best he can.

Pete’s job occasionally requires attention, calculations, and adjustments, but it’s still largely routine and repetitive—eight hours a day, every day. Put yourself in Pete’s shoes. His job seems boring and mind-numbing. How can we expect him to get fired up about coming to work?

Manufacturing leaders who came from the floor understand the routine nature of many front-line jobs. Those who haven’t may not really understand the routine nature of these positions and, therefore, assume that these jobs are engaging and satisfying.

If yours is an organization traditionally run through command-and-control methods, top-down orders, and not much attention paid to the human spirit, you might employ a lot of Petes. If yours also is an organization pursuing operations improvement (by whatever acronym), you probably find it challenging to motivate and engage all the Petes to step up and embrace the effort. So how do we effectively engage our front-line employees in ongoing improvement?

Ways to Engage

Employee engagement can take a variety of forms. The challenge is to create the time for engagement without compromising the primary mission of satisfying customers’ needs. But if the engagement is creative and focused, leadership should expect positive results from the investment. Here are a few specific methods to engage the Petes at your company.

Get Employees Involved in Performance Metrics. Metrics drive behavior. Aligning metrics from the top floor to the shop floor helps set and manage priorities across operations. Employees who have input into the process metrics and are actively engaged in executing them are likely to understand the desired outcomes better.

Usually we focus intensely on productivity metrics in each work area, but there is more to measure that drives behavior. Have employees collect, chart, and interpret data about the operation. See how Pete can be a contributor with performance metrics in his area.

Institute Ownership and Accountability in 5S. 5S helps build the foundation of an effectively run operation. As leaders, we can either do 5S to the employee or with the employee. With is much more sustainable. Train employees in 5S and then provide opportunities to make improvements consistent with the training. Finally, engage them in an audit process so they can evaluate (against a standard) their 5S performance. Expect them to chart results and be responsible for achieving targets. This engages Pete to take ownership of his area without prodding and nagging.

Have Employees Hold Daily Stand-up Meetings. These 5- to 7-minute meetings help people understand what is important today and tomorrow in a given work area. Everyone has a voice. They hear about the state of things and share problems that will affect their immediate operation’s success. Consider rotating the meeting’s leader to include individuals from the work group. Maybe ask Pete to lead the meeting next week.

Institute Peer Audits. Auditing progress in operations improvement, 5S, and daily or weekly preventive maintenance compliance can be a focused way to engage front-line employees in sustaining improvement. To conduct peer audits, employees in one area audit another group’s area. For example, Pete might be the primary 5S auditor for another work center, department, or process in the plant. If done in an objective and constructive way, peer audits allow employees to use their judgment and knowledge.

Institute Autonomous Maintenance. This means operators or others who work directly with a piece of equipment also maintain it. Trained on what to do and what to look for, they clean filters, oil components, check lubrication, and wipe down surfaces. Of course, this means they need to have time set aside to perform such maintenance. Do you think Pete will take ownership of his machine if given the opportunity to be responsible in this way?

What’s in It for Me?

Of course, freeing up time for all these activities has its costs. Our businesses are not social experiments to create environments where everyone feels good, so what are the benefits, both for the employer and employees?

For the answer, consider just how different employees’ jobs can be after instituting these engagement activities. Your company will be acting upon knowledge from those who are closest to the action. Who knows better what is really going on than the person doing the work? Sometimes employees develop workarounds to problems that have not gotten proper attention, and management may never know.

When front-line workers are engaged, both managers and employees win. Employees develop and grow their operational knowledge, and managers can free up other resources (technical and supervisory) to tackle problems suited for their role. They have no need to micromanage, because employees take care of the items now within their control.

You also drive decision-making deeper into your organization. The more effectively this happens, the better you use resources. By using standard work and having clearly defined processes, you avoid many of those “hey boss” questions that managers expect employees to know, yet frustratingly, they still ask day after day. Provide the employee with knowledge, drive decisions deeper, and avoid the “hey boss” questions.

Engaged employees also take ownership of their areas. Ownership is a powerful idea. It’s a motivating force that can drive desirable behaviors. By engaging employees in tangible and meaningful ways, you reinforce what is expected and transfer ownership of an area to the people who actually work there. If Pete has ownership of his workcell and equipment, he will be motivated to keep it in excellent shape.

Perhaps most important is that all this engages the mind, which addresses an often overlooked waste: underused human potential. When employees engage their minds, the entire organization benefits. In return, employees have jobs that are more fulfilling and challenging. Why should Pete check his brain at the door when he comes to work?

Pete’s Revised Day-in-the-Life

Being engaged means that Pete is asked to develop ideas and is respected for his contributions. He’s using his brain. Pete’s day-in-the-life picture looks very different, and he’s eager to come to work.

This engagement busts the traditional approach of “keep your nose to the grindstone, never stop the machine, and just do as I say.” For company leaders, implementing this engagement approach takes a lot of effort.

If engagement initiatives are implemented well, all the Petes in your plant can contribute, come up with good ideas, and have a hand in sustaining improvements. Some will absolutely jump at the chance to be engaged; others may be cautious but willing to give it a try. A few may resist.

Work with those Petes who are willing to be engaged. Success will breed more success. As the doubters see how being engaged in improvement can lead to a much more desirable workplace and job, those who resist will become more receptive.

Engagement is hard work, but the benefits are substantial. When business leaders create the environment and clarify the priorities, they truly can turn underutilized talent loose.