February, 2011

By Douglas C. Wood

Do you accept the premise that employees should be glad to have a job? No doubt this is true, but highly engaged and helpful employees are not primarily motivated by having a job. Most people want to feel that they make a difference at work.

Think about the response from a doctor hurrying to see as many patients as possible. If you are one of his patients, will you get a chance to learn the root cause of your sickness from this doctor, or will he rush on to the next patient avoiding any explanations? He is being efficient, and he is busy and motivated to move through his schedule. Is he really engaged from a customer’s viewpoint?

Many employers report a high level of non-engagement in their employees. While this is annoying anytime, it is a barricade if you need to make rapid and permanent change happen. Non-engaged employees will stop an improvement project, processing the changes but dropping the improved methods as soon as they can get away with it.

Do you really want to throw away your investments in improvement activities? An improvement team can spend 50% of their time on a project over 3 months. With 4 people on the team, the salaries alone for such a team can cost you $17,000. Since most decent improvement projects generate 4 times the savings compared to investment cost, the failure of such a team can cost you over $250,000 a year, not counting training expense. 

There is a way to make engagement occur. By applying several proven techniques you can regain engagement and continue it indefinitely. One technique often not practiced is the team dynamics model first suggested by Bruce Tuckman in the 1960’s: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing.

Here are several other approaches:

• Kaisen
• Suggestion programs
• Change management methodology

Applying these techniques well requires both knowledge and practice. If your improvement training does not include these techniques, you are risking unsuccessful outcomes.

You also need to take into account the interests and motivations of newer workers. Recent findings show that there is a discrete set of motivators that will allow motivation for all workers. By making your managers aware of these motivators and applying them, you will improve your chance for success. Would you rather have your people think like employees or think like partners?

How to learn more

We offer a three hour webinar on Lean Involvement, including an exercise mapping inputs and outputs for various roles (people) through out the course of an improvement project. Offered on various dates as a live, instructor-led internet course from our website: DC Wood Course Registrations You may contact us for more information:

mail: click here
Address: 13817 Bradshaw Suite B, Overland Park, KS 66221
Phone: (913) 669-4173
Fax: (913) 273-1611
http://www.dcwoodconsulting.com/