Employee Recognition

People basically work for rewards. There are numerous forms of rewards and not everyone enjoys the same rewards. I have found this book by Bob Nelson a great source for ideas on different ways to reward employees.

When it comes to rewards in the workplace public employee recognition is one most powerful in terms of cultural transformation. It is especially important to engage in good employee recognition practices when you want to develop a productive workplace. Unfortunately, many either don’t do this or don’t do this well.

The best formula I have found for recognizing employees for their efforts is:

1) Thank them by name.

2) Specifically state what they did that is being recognized. It is vital to be specific because it identifies and reinforces the desired behavior.

3) Explain how the behavior or activity made you feel (assuming you felt some pride or respect for their accomplishment!).

4) Point out the value created by the behavior or activity to the team or organization.

5) Thank the people again by name for their contribution.

Every time you make life at work more satisfying for your employees, you are increasing the rewards they reap from doing their jobs well – and you make them want to continue to do so.

Meeting Codes of Conduct

In a previous post I talked about the use of SPACER (Safety, Purpose, Agenda, Conduct, Expectations, and Roles & Responsibilities) as a technique to improve team meeting efficiency and effectiveness.

Safety – is always the top priority, discuss safety protocols like evacuation, PPE or safety equipment needed in the facility, bathroom location, etc.
Purpose – “what is the meeting for?”, discuss what is in scope and what might not be.
Agenda – no matter what type of meeting or for how long there should be some sort of plan
Conduct – what are the rules the team participants should adhere to while in the meeting like cell phone us, side discussions, etc.
Expectations – what do we expect to get out of this meeting especially if it is a training session?
Roles – what are the roles of the participants in the meeting, is there a note taker or time keeper for example.

Today, I want to discuss codes of conduct in more detail. Codes of conduct are merely a set of guidelines by which a team agrees to operate. Such codes are guidelines designed to enhance the productivity of team meetings. The following are a few common examples of codes of conduct:

• Arrive on time for scheduled meetings.
• Stick to the agenda.
• “3 Knock” rule if any team member deviates from the agenda (this is when a person politely knocks on the table to provide an audio indicator that the speaker is going off track of the agenda topic being discussed).
• Everyone’s ideas will be heard.
• One person speaks at a time.
• No sidebars.
• “Parking Lot” for out of scope ideas (this is a place on the easel pad where topics are placed for consideration on the next meeting agenda because they are not appropriate for the meeting at hand).

This is just a sampling of common sense ideas to give an idea as to what team meeting guidelines can be like. As you adopt your own codes of conduct it may be beneficial to frame and post these in meeting rooms. This will provide a simple visual reminder that will encourage people to abide to the guidelines in an effort not to waste other people’s time.

If you enjoy this post you may want to connect with me on Linkedin or follow me on Twitter.  You can also subscribe to this feed or email to stay updated on all posts.

Lean Quote of the Day February 19, 2010

On Friday’s I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

Feel free to share some of your favorites here as well.

"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."  — Dwight D. Eisenhower

There are a lot of definitions of Leadership.  Ultimately for me it comes down to people.  Check out the 6 qualities of Leadership that start with the letter P for People in this post.

Don't forget to subscribe to this blog via email or feed under the right hand column. You can also follow on Twitter or LinkedIn as well.

Mistake Proofing Help

We all make mistakes, to err is human.  The questions are why does it happen and how can you prevent it.  Mistake-proofing is the use of process design features to facilitate correct actions, prevent simple errors, or mitigate the negative impact of errors Poka-yoke is Japanese slang for mistake-proofing, a term coined by Shigeo Shingo.

John Grout has researched mistake-proofing extensively for the past 17 years. John is dean of the Campbell School of Business at Berry College, Rome, Georgia, and the David C. Garrett Jr. Professor of Business Administration. In May 2007, John's book "Mistake-Proofing the Design of Healthcare Processes" was published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality as a government document that is distributed free to the public and can be downloaded here (pdf). In 2004 John received the Shingo Prize for his paper, The Human Side of Mistake-Proofing with Douglas Stewart.

For resources on mistake proofing visit John Grout's Mistake-Proofing Center.  John's suggests, starting by looking at some everyday examples, then taking a look at the Brief Poka-Yoke Tutorial.  I would suggesting following this up with a review of bad designs, a scrapbook of illustrated examples of things that are hard to use because they do not follow human factors principles.

I think is particularly worthwhile highlighting this section from Grout's tutorial which originated from Shigeo Shingo who formalized poka-yoke:

The ability to find mistakes at a glance is essential because, as Shingo writes, "The causes of defects lie in worker errors, and defects are the results of neglecting those errors. It follows that mistakes will not turn into defects if worker errors are discovered and eliminated beforehand"[Shingo 1986, p.50]. He later continues that "Defects arise because errors are made; the two have a cause-and-effect relationship. ... Yet errors will not turn into defects if feedback and action take place at the error stage"[Shingo, 1986, p. 82].

…

According to Shingo [Shingo, 1986, p.71], "Defects will never be reduced if the workers involved do not modify operating methods when defects occur." The willingness to take corrective action is a function of the attitude and commitment of both managers and workers, not an intrinsic attribute of a particular approach to quality management.

You should also visit The Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) to view Grout's healthcare webinar on mistake proofing to reduce medical errors (or view slides).

John suggests there is a new attitude to preventing errors requiring a new remedy:

"Think of an object's user as attempting to do a task, getting there by imperfect approximations. Don't think of the user as making errors; think of the actions as approximations of what is desired." Source: Norman, The design of everyday things. Doubleday 1988.

"The remedy is in changing systems of work. The remedy is in design." Donald Berwick hopes "that normal, human errors can be made irrelevant to outcome, continually found, and skillfully mitigated."

John Grout says you need to think about how to stop mistakes like your life depends on it because it just might. Get started today learning how you can stop mistakes with these great resources.

Lean Demonstrated at Subway

Last week while visiting one of our plants I had lunch at a Subway restaurant.  During lunch I had the opportunity to observe many Lean concepts in practice.  I don’t believe Subway advertises themselves as a Lean corporation but their restaurants seem to employ some basic Lean principles.

For starters they make their sandwiches to customer demand.  Subway makes the exact sandwich the customer wants at the time the customer orders it.  They process one customer at a time in what is referred to as 1 by 1 or single piece flow.  This method dramatically reduces defective product and overproduction of sandwiches.

During higher volume meal times Subway utilizes teamwork. Several people will assembly parts of the sandwich passing it from one another along the line.  Each person performs a specified sequence which we often refer to as standard work. 

Now think of the layout and organization of the restaurant.  The sandwich area is laid out in the form of an assembly line from taking your order to paying for your order.  There are signs with pictures along the assembly process to support the customer order.  Everything used to make the sandwich is displayed on the line through clear viewing panels.  This concept is an element of visual factory and 5S organization.

While the sandwich is made just in time the materials to make all the sandwiches have been prepared before hand.  Due to the need for freshness and longer cycle times the bread is baked, cheese is sliced, and vegetables are cut prior to the store opening.  The raw materials are stored at the point of use in bins in the assembly line.  They are placed in the order in which the sandwich is prepared creating a standard while mistake proofing the preparation sequence.  The amount of the vegetables prepared and the location in the line is based on the popularity of the produce.  For example, lettuce and tomatoes will be found closest to the “sandwich artist” in multiple large size bins while the hot peppers and olives will be in smaller bins further away.

Some of the inventory is kited for accuracy and efficiency like the meat.  This allows Subway to produce the same size sandwich every time for a 12 inch or 6 inch sandwich in every restaurant.  The kit also helps control inventory by knowing how much is consumed for each sandwich enabling a simple replenishment scheme.

I even observed a kanban and FIFO system at work during this visit.  As the sandwich artist was preparing my sandwich he consumed the last lettuce leafs in the bin he was using and turned to the refrigerator behind him to replace the lettuce bin.  He slid the older bins closest to him and placed the newest bin in back of the others.  This technique meant the customer was getting the freshest produce while not spoiling their inventory.

As I was there eating my sandwich I saw an experienced employee training a new employee from the customer’s viewpoint.  During orientation of the sandwich preparation process the experienced employee had the new employee stand in front of the counter, where the customer would stand, while demonstrating the process.  This gave the new employee the perspective of the customer which is so important to understand. 

While not all of Subway’s practices are Lean in nature this is a good case study.  If you want to reflect on some basic lean principles or could use an outlet to teach others some basic lean principles try a visit to your local Subway restaurant.  Food is always a good motivator.


If you enjoy this post you may want to connect with me on Linkedin or follow me on Twitter.  You can also subscribe to this feed or email to stay updated on all posts.

Lean Quote of the Day February 12, 2010

On Friday’s I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve. \


Feel free to share some of your favorites here as well.

"The rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up even more in the next few decades."

— John P. Kotter, Leading Change

This quote reminds me of the Bear Story.  Not familiar with the Bear Story then check out this post on Lean, Competition, and the Bear Story from last fall.

Don't forget to subscribe to this blog via email or feed under the right hand column.  You can also follow on Twitter or LinkedIn as well.

Think Systems to Avoid Pitfalls in Lean Management

A management system is the framework of processes and procedures used to ensure that an organization can fulfill all tasks required to achieve its objectives.  A Lean management system consists of the discipline, daily practices, and tools you need to establish and maintain a persistent, intensive focus on process.  It is this process focus that sustains and extends lean implementations.

Peter Senge, an influential systems thinker from MIT and author of book "The Fifth Discipline", suggested 11 systems laws that help us understand systems better.  The laws are:

1. Today's problems come from yesterday's solutions.

We, humans, are happy when we solve problems. We often don't think much about consequences. Surprisingly, our solutions could strike back and create new problems.

2. The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back.

We have this stubborn reaction to push our way through when things are not working out as we want. We charge without time to stop, think and find better alternatives. Sometimes we solve problems, but often we find ourselves up to ears in the swamp of other problems.

3. Behavior grows better before it grows worse.

Short-term solutions give us a short break and temporary improvement, but don't eliminate fundamental problems. These problems will make situation worse in the long run.

4. The easy way out usually leads back in.

We learn few solutions in our life, which brought easy success earlier. We try to vigorously apply them in any situation disregarding particular context and people.

5. The cure can be worse than the disease.

Sometimes the easy or familiar solution is not only ineffective; sometimes it is addictive and dangerous.  They may even induce dependency.

6. Faster is slower.

When we get a taste of success we start to advance at the full speed without much caution. However, the optimal rate of growth usually is much slower than the fastest growth possible.

7. Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space.

We are good at finding causes to our problems, even if they are just symptoms and far from real root causes.

8. Small changes can produce big results-but the areas of highest leverage are often the least obvious.

Most obvious grand solutions like changing company policy, vision or tag line often don't work. Small ordinary, but consistent changes could make a huge difference.

9. You can have your cake and eat it too - but not at once.

We often face rigid "either-or" choices. Sometimes they are not dilemmas if we change our perspective and rules of the system.

10. Dividing an elephant in half does not produce two small elephants.

Inability to see the system as a whole could often lead to suboptimal decisions.

11. There is no blame.

We like to blame and point fingers to other people or circumstances, sometimes we even believe in this. But we and the cause of our problems are part of the System.

Lean management is a thinking system where much the same rules apply. These laws serve as an excellent aid to avoid Lean implementation pitfalls.  As we implement Lean solutions we need to learn and understand the processes involved. There are many challenges to this way of thinking.  Many can be defeated by gaining and using knowledge of how systems work.  But the most serious challenge is our own contradictory human nature.  Our passions, emotions, and instincts could easily defy this rational and systematic way of thinking.