5 Ways to Make Your Employees Happy At Work

No matter what type of business you run, you’re going to need your employees to perform well in order to be successful. If you get the most out of your employees, there is no limit on how far you could go. In order to get the most out of your employees, making them happy should be a priority. Here are five ways that you can help your employees be happy about work.

1. A sense of meaning: Whether on the widget-line or in the executive suite, every employee feels happier knowing that their hard work benefits not just the business but the larger world.
2. Opportunities for growth: People are happier when they are learning, and they are happier doing their jobs when they feel that they are enjoying continuous opportunities to grow.  A lot of those people are even happier when they know that growth is helping them get to the next rung on their desired career ladder… or lattice.
3. Offer autonomy to workers: Allowing workers to perform tasks related to their jobs in their own way will not only make workers happier. It will also make them more productive since they will not have to waste time waiting for approval from superiors.
4. Offer a good training program: Employers shouldn't underestimate the impact training has on employees and their future happiness. A company-sponsored mentorship or structured training sessions are likely to lead to engagement among employees.
5. Create a favorable office environment: Employees are happier if they like where they work. Simple things such as reducing the length of meetings, providing food to employees in the office, and recognizing employees after a job well done make employees happier. Communication with employees also helps to alleviate many concerns they may have about their job since it helps workers feel happier and more secure at work. Communication either in person, in an email or with a handwritten note all helped to make workers feel better at work.

In general, workplaces that make us feel included, valued, cared for, and competent bring out our best efforts. And while happiness alone may not cause productivity, it’s a pretty solid start. Happier workers stick around longer, bring more energy and enthusiasm to their tasks, and help maintain organizational morale.

No Time for Improvement Means No Improvement

Whether a company has just switched to Lean production or is still using a traditional manufacturing approach, if it does not establish an official improvement time policy, very little improvement will ever happen there.

We have seen this everywhere, even in companies which loudly proclaim their commitment to continuous improvement. Little or no actual time is set aside to do the very improvement the company says it wants.

It is an age-old battle — production time versus improvement time. Two worthy rivals attempting to occupy the same narrow 24-hour space. The issue is not which is more important. Production is! This is as it should be: a company is in business to sell its products and services. It must first make them. And that takes time. Production time always comes first.

Without an improvement time policy, however, the danger is that needed improvements will never happen.

Too often improvement is left to chance and the ingenuity of the willing to eke out small pockets of time — and make magic happen. We all know these people. They see the vision burning brightly before them and are determined to make it happen. Time and again, these people prove — with their own mental, emotional, and physical health — the familiar adage: Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

In a sad and important way, these quiet heroes do their companies and the rest of us some bit of harm. When they make magic happen, in the absence of a clearly defined, improvement time policy, they unintentionally send the message that separate time is not needed. Wise, indeed, is the company that sees through this double-think and takes steps to establish the policy nevertheless.

Improvement doesn’t just happen.  It takes time, and in the pressure pot of our day to day activities, there is never enough time to improve our situation. The structure of Lean permits and requires time be set aside for improvement. If managers do not definitively provide time for the task of improvement, then people will know that they are not serious about making improvement a formal part of the work.

Most of us don't set aside time in the day, much less the week, just to improve. It doesn't take much time or skill, mainly just will. We need to be encouraged and reminded that it only takes a few minutes to do kaizen. Without assistance from management, people have no good way to make time for improvement within the workday.

There can be no improvement without the time and resource commitment from management to solve problems.

Jidoka: Automation With a Human Touch

There is no room for compromise in Lean when it comes to quality. Jidoka incorporates quality checks into every step of the production process by providing machines and operators the ability to detect when an abnormal condition has occurred and immediately stop work. This enables operations to build in quality at each process and to separate men and machines for more efficient work.

The term Jidoka used in TPS (Toyota Production System) can be defined as "automation with a human touch." At Toyota this usually means that if an abnormal situation arises the machine stops and the worker will stop the production line. Autonomation prevents the production of defective products, eliminates overproduction and focuses attention on understanding the problem and ensuring that it never recurs.

It is a quality control process that applies the following four principles:

1. Detect that something has gone wrong.
2. Stop.
3. Fix the immediate condition.
4. Investigate the root cause and install a countermeasure.

Jidoka highlights the causes of problems because work stops immediately when a problem first occurs. This leads to improvements in the processes that build in quality by eliminating the root causes of defects. In this way, Jidoka is often used in conjunction with structured problem-solving tools.

The implementation of Jidoka relies on a mix of cultural concepts and Lean tools that are summarized below.

Developing a Jidoka mindset. Many people are trained to react to problems and to put in place quick fixes. The concept is to keep things running for as long as possible and work around problems as quickly as possible. A Jidoka mindset is different in that it says that, in the long run, efficiency will come from addressing the root cause of problems and that investing time in solving problems is a valuable investment.

Empowering staff to ‘stop the line’. Do your staff feel that they are empowered to say ‘stop’ when they see an unsafe act or a problem occurring? Many organizational cultures, through the words and actions of managers, disempower staff from stopping a process. Developing a culture where people feel that they are able to raise a real issue – and that far from being penalized they will actually be thanked for raising the issue – is very important in jidoka.

Installing andons. Andons are audible, or more commonly visual, signals that something has happened.  The aim is that andons quickly alert managerial and technical staff to a problem having arisen so that they can get to the source of the problem and begin to investigate it.

Solving the root cause. Quick fixes are typically just that. Jidoka relies on the implementation of an immediate fix to stem the potential damage and on the longer-term fix that comes through root cause analysis.

Utilizing standard work. Having implemented the changes it is vital to document what has been done and to carry out any training required on the new process.

Selective automation. Selective automation is about investing in technology to detect – and more ideally prevent – errors arising wherever there is a business case to do so. This means wherever there is either a high probability that things will repeatedly go wrong, or where a problem arising has significant impact (such as the ability to cause harm), then it means investing in sensors and other systems to enable you to control the process and detect problems as early as possible.

As you can see, Jidoka combines the concepts of mistake proofing, TPM, standard work, structured problem solving and the creation of a Lean Culture – the clustering of concepts under one heading is a feature of many higher level Lean tools and concepts. Jidoka is about quality at source, or built in quality; no company can survive without excellent quality of product and service and Jidoka is the route through which this is achieved.

Lean Quote: Lean Manufacturing Provides Employees Freedom and Independence

On Fridays 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.

"Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom." — Albert Einstein

Lean manufacturing provides your workforce the freedom that they need to own and maximize their productivity. In a Lean production plant, the "freedom to control one's work" replaces the "mind numbing stress" of mass production. Armed with the skills they need to control their environment workers have the opportunity to think actively even proactively to solve workplace problems.

Lean is more than the traditional metrics of improved efficiency, reduced costs and increased throughput. The people-centric approach to the application of Lean creates a better future, driven by empowered individuals working in teams, committed to continuous improvement. It is this culture of responsible freedom and trust that allows employees and their organization to realize the positive benefits of Lean and achieve a successful outcome.

The real power of Lean manufacturing is to fully engage our heads and hearts to create habits that result in achievement and fulfillment. This is accomplished by creating an inspirational environment in which people are encouraged to embrace, implement, and live Lean concepts. Lasting results are driven by the spirit of honesty, integrity, responsiveness, freedom, and creativity, built on a platform of committed relationships.

Lean Manufacturing is a business method that extends employees independence. It provides more employees with the tools, methods and authority to make decisions. It creates teams to measure progress and devise new techniques. This leads to higher employee motivation and productivity as workers are asked to come up with solutions to problems as opposed to having to work with flawed procedures. There is much to be said for greater worker independence in the execution of a Lean philosophy. We may not have a day to celebrate independence like the US but the message is no less important.

 

Happy Birthday, America!

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.

Today, we celebrate and enjoy the freedom that comes with the event that made this day so special. Independence Day is a patriotic holiday for celebrating the positive aspects of the United States. Above all, people in the United States express and give thanks for the freedom and liberties fought by the first generation of many of today's Americans.

The United States is truly a diverse nation made up of dynamic people. Every day thousands leave their homeland to come to the “land of the free and the home of the brave” so they can begin their American Dream. We invite all nations to celebrate with Americans on this Fourth of July.

Happy Birthday, America!

The Value of Transparency and Why You Should Embrace It

In Paul Borawski’s recent post on A View from the Q he asks if you are in favor of transparency and why.

Good leadership is all about communication, and the best leaders are completely transparent with their staff. I believe that with knowledge comes power and the more information we share the quicker with can improve.  Creating a culture of openness and free-flowing information can be a competitive advantage.  Here are five reasons you should embrace transparency:

1. People assume the worst when they don't hear from leaders. Silence from the executive office causes a lot of fear and resentment, which certainly doesn't contribute to a productive culture. Maybe the news is bad, but maybe it's not as bad as they are imagining. And even if it is, once they know the truth they can plan and act accordingly.

2. Transparency helps employees connect to the why. When employees are working in a vacuum, they can't see the financial "big picture," and decisions leaders make may seem ill-advised or unfair or simply inexplicable. Transparency connects them to the why—and that understanding propels them to act. You can ask people to change their work habits and established processes all day long. But if they don't know why they're being asked to change, they won't change—at least not for long.

3. Transparency allows for consistent messaging across the organization. When you commit to transparency, people don't have to get their (speculative, distorted) news through the company grapevine. They hear what's really going on, in a controlled and consistent way, from their managers. This, in turn, creates organizational consistency. When everyone is hearing the same messages from their leaders, everyone is motivated to respond in similar ways. And this consistency trickles down to the customers, who get the same basic experience regardless of who they're dealing with.

4. Transparency leads to faster, more efficient execution. When times are tough, execution is everything. And the ticket to good execution is good alignment: All sectors of an organization must understand exactly what's required so they act in a coordinated and collaborative fashion. Transparency is what facilitates that kind of alignment. It's all about a shared sense of urgency.

5. Transparency facilitates the best possible solutions. In transparent cultures, leaders encourage employees to solve problems themselves. And because those employees are the people closest to a problem, and because they must live with the outcome, they almost always design the most effective, efficient solution.  And, of course, they'll also have instant buy-in.

Be honest and open with your staff on matters that affect them and could ultimately put their mind at ease. It is important that you involve employees where you can with decision making to make them feel valued. As a manager, your aim is to have an open and honest working environment where your staff feels confident in coming to you with the truth about matters, whether they are big or small.

Let them in on what is going on within the company as well as how their jobs contribute to the big picture. When you keep you employees informed they tend to feel a greater sense of worth. Keep communication hopeful and truthful – do not be afraid to share bad news, instead be more strategic about how you deliver it. Improve performance through transparency – By sharing numbers with employees, you can increase employees’ sense of ownership.

As we have learned from Lean Thinking, this too cannot be a flavor of the month.  Being open and honest with your employees requires long term commitment if you want your organization to continuously improve.

I’m part of the ASQ Influential Voices program. While I receive an honorarium from ASQ for my commitment, the thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own. 

Guest Post: Cat Got Your Confidence?

Today I am pleased to present a guest post by Tony Ferraro of Creative Safety Supply (one of our sponsors). Tony talks about confidence in the workplace and how you can help build confidence. This topic is critical in a continuous improvement culture.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many people just assume that confidence is a black and white topic, either you have confidence or you don’t. However, most people fail to realize that confidence is usually in the grey area, and is not simply one way or the other. A person who is confident doing one thing may feel like a complete fool attempting to do another. For instance, I may be confident and comfortable lacing up a pair of skates and playing a little street hockey; however, I am nothing but a clumsy nincompoop when it comes to baking in the kitchen. The fact is that everyone has things that they excel at easily and other things that take a little more time and dedication to truly master or experience success with. This concept plays out similarly in the business world.

Confidence in the Workplace          

We’ve all seen it before, the boss who struts up and down the business walkways exacerbating his or her position and levels of confidence. This practice is often similar to that of a peacock showing off his feathers in order to let everyone else know how beautiful he is. However, many times when extreme levels of “control” or “arrogance” are displayed it is not truly confidence, but instead insecurity. Insecurity is often fairly easy to point out when you know the right signs and behaviors to look for. For instance, bosses who are insecure may insult others versus inspire them, seem stressed or way too busy to provide assistance, make unjustly excuses, and just simply reject others thoughts or ideas in fear of seeming inferior themselves. Arrogance is simply a cape of inauthentic confidence.

Tips to Help Build Confidence

It is time for a change. Many workplaces are moving towards the concept of lean. Going lean is all about eliminating waste and improving customer satisfaction and value. Well, if you are going to truly strive for a lean work environment, one of the first wastes that ought to go is arrogance which should be replaced with confidence. One important trait behind many successful businesses is confident leaders. You don’t have to be born confident, however, you can practice some tips to help build confidence. For example, instead of strutting around like an untouchable piece of artwork too important to be tampered with, a truly confident person is approachable and ready and willing to offer assistance when needed. Furthermore, another important component of building confidence is to accept your own strengths and weaknesses. Just as described earlier we are all good at different things. So if you aren’t the best at brainstorming ideas to help with the new configurations on an industrial production line, listen to the thoughts of others, support their ideas, and work together to create a successful plan. Don’t confuse the letters in who and how, it is not really about “who” came up with the best idea, it is more about “how” the idea is implemented and “how” it can be successful. Lastly, be kind and smile. My grandmother always used to say that her smile was her best accessory. A smile makes you approachable and tells others that you care and do feel emotions just as they do.

Confidence is achievable and attainable, but first you must be comfortable with yourself. There are many “fakes” out in world of business and it is often quite easy for customers to see right through them. Accept yourself and all your peaks and pitfalls and understand that nobody is truly perfect, there are only those who pretend to be.

About Author: Antonio Ferraro - On behalf of Creative Safety Supply based in Portland, OR (www.creativesafetysupply.com). I strive to provide helpful information to create safer and more efficient industrial work environments. My knowledge base focuses primarily on practices such as 5S, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and the Lean mindset. I believe in being proactive and that for positive change to happen, we must be willing to be transparent and actively seek out areas in need of improvement. An organized, safe, and well-planned work space leads to increased productivity, quality products and happier employees.