Recruit, Reward, Retain – A Huge Challenge For UK Organisations

Many of our UK clients are finding it hard to recruit, reward and retain good people. Inflation is surging, household budgets are stretched, and the labour market is tight. Unusually, there are too many jobs chasing too few people. Flexible working, home working, hybrid working, four-day weeks, joining bonuses, and other innovations are just some of the “headline” ways that employers are trying to cope.

As consultants, we’re seeing the effects at first hand. More and more clients want us to provide resources they simply don’t have. We help them tackle new projects, coaching and mentoring their in-house staff. We provide concentrated part-time resource (the Operations Director that isn’t yet a full-time role). And we help them to develop a whole range of reward, recognition and incentive programmes.

Growing businesses often find that their payment and bonus systems become opaque, demotivating and no longer fit for purpose. In urgent cases, we can often recommend simple, transparent systems to relieve some of the pressure points. This buys time to follow up with a more nuanced and effective approach, yet still keeping it simple and transparent. Most importantly, the new systems need to be seen as fair, and reward the right actions and behaviours. Simple grade structures, payment for skills schemes, group productivity programmes, and individual performance reviews are all part of the arsenal! If you find your own organisation struggling with the “three R’s”, simply drop an email to info [at] nicholsonconsultancy [dot] com, and find out how we can help…

Guide to Powder Coating

Powder Coating Performance Characteristics

Manufacturers can’t succeed if their products don’t live up to customers’ expectations. This is true no matter the industry, but it’s amplified when it comes to sectors such as aerospace, automotive and defense. These industries demand more of their equipment. Whether it’s the extreme stresses placed on it through intensive use or the punishing conditions of the environments in which they’re used, the products have to endure a lot.

This is why industrial manufacturing companies and their employees rely on durable powder coatings to help protect what they build. The rugged nature of these finishes makes them superior to liquid paint in multiple ways, because they offer added protection from damage and wear. However, there are numerous types of powder coatings, and not all are created equal. Each one brings something different to the table.

Understanding a powder coating’s unique characteristics is essential for finding the right one for the specific application. For instance, choosing an epoxy finish makes the final product extremely resistant to chemicals. This finish is not UV-stable, though, so it must be used indoors to get the best performance. Its qualities are well-suited for finishing vessels or pipelines that would be used inside a chemical processing facility. Although polyurethane is more stable than epoxy, it must be cured with much higher temperatures. This limits the number of applicators that may be able to provide such services.

Manufacturers and industrial workers rely on powders to help protect their equipment, but choosing the wrong one can be counterproductive. For more information on powder coating characteristics, see the accompanying guide.

Powder Coating Guide from Rhinehart Finishing

Continuous Improvement – how far do you go?

A colleague of mine once asked a plant manager how their CI programme was going and was amused at the reply – “Oh the CI programme? We finished that a couple of years back”

Joking aside though, it’s sometimes tempting to think that our Lean / CI “journey” should continue forever – a relentless, unending pursuit of unattainable perfection. But is that true?

Back in the 1980’s, one of the many newly discovered concepts from Japan was this idea of constantly pursuing perfection – “Chasing the last grain of rice” became a well-known phrase in business. I was at Hewlett Packard at the time and like most of the managers there was running several TQM (Total Quality Management) projects. After several years of wholeheartedly buying into the TQM philosophy (aka “drinking the Kool-Aid”), senior managers began to question this philosophy and realised that “spending 10,000 dollars to solve a 500-dollar problem” didn’t make good business sense.

That’s one reason why I often remind people not to lose sight of two of the most important tools in the Improvement Toolbox – “Common Sense” and “Judgement”.

As in many aspects of life the answer to the question is: “It Depends”.

Along with Investment, Innovation and Improvement are the lifeblood for any business wanting to survive and prosper in the long term. Overall, we need to maintain a relentless focus on improvement but we also have to apply “business common sense”, and keep asking:

How likely is it that the benefits will justify the resources required?

Can we deliver the results in a reasonable timescale?

Are the outcomes / benefits we’ve achieved “good enough for now”

As part of your PDCA cycle it’s good practice to regularly review your improvement activities, check that they’re on target, and consider whether some of them should be “culled” to make way for better projects.

For help with managing your improvement activities, please contact Andrew.Nicholson@ImproveMyFactory.com

PDCA
Continuous Improvement – How Far Do You Go?

Better, Cheaper, Faster – myth or fact?

I regularly meet people in manufacturing who still see life as full of trade-offs and compromises. “There’s no such thing as perfect”. “If it goes any faster, it’ll break down”. “We can get better material but they won’t pay for it!”. “if we turn up the speed, we’ll get more rejects”.  “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys”. “We make the best, so we have to charge top dollar for it”. “We might be able to do it faster, but it’ll cost you!”.

Any of these phrases sound familiar? I’ve spent my whole working life listening to them. And I don’t believe any of them. Let me tell you why…

From the day we’re born, our reptile brains are hard-wired to learn about cause and effect. “Cry – get fed”. “Touch the stove – get burned”. As human beings, we’re very good at seeing these links. So good in fact that we can see links that don’t exist! And soon, many of these false links come to be accepted as true.

“You only use 10% of your brain”, “Alcohol helps you sleep” “Humans lose most of their body heat throgh their heads”. Common knowledge? Common myths, in fact.

And the moral of the story? If you’re serious about making step changes in your manufacturing performance, start with your own myth-busting. Challenge preconceptions, focus on the facts and run some experiments. Change the dialogue – “Where’s the data?”, “What’s the evidence?”, “Show me the facts”, “Humour me – let’s try it.” Many’s the time I’ve seen a machine run faster with absolutely no decrease in quality at all.

So what’s your own experience – and which myths have you helped to bust?

QCD - Quality, Cost and Delivery

QCD

 

So what is Continuous Improvement then?

Earlier this week a colleague and I were grumbling about all of the jargon and acronyms around Lean and CI, and a general lack of plain English. “So what’s CI then?” asked another member of our group. Cue two red faces. Here were our attempts at explaining what Continuous Improvement is about:

“It’s about following the improvement cycle – Plan, Do, Check, Act. First, Plan what it is that you want to improve and why. Second, have a go – Do it! Thirdly, step back and Check how it went. Fourth, decide what worked and what didn’t, and take further Action as required. Finally, keep on going through the cycle until you get the results you want.”

“Make sure the team understands exactly what they want to improve and why. What will success look like, how will they measure it, and how will they go about it? Then put the plan into action – try it; experiment! Review what happened. If you like the results, keep at it – “lock in” the new “Best Way” through training, standard procedures, etc. If you didn’t get the outcome you planned for, what have you learned and what will you do differently next time? Make some changes, and plan your next approach. Keep at it until you get the results you want.”

So – how would you explain “CI” in plain English?

PDCA

The Improvement Cycle

 

Getting Things Done – Managing Tasks and Projects

“Too much to do, too little time!” is a cry that we hear more and more often recently.  When you’re trying to tackle a dozen projects, a hundred initiatives and a thousand “to do” tasks, it can feel so overwhelming that it’s hard to even make a start.

So here’s a “quick and dirty” way to make sense of it all.

  1. Make a list – a full list. The first step is to face up to the challenge and list out all of the projects, tasks, initiatives and “to do’s”. It might look like a long list but don’t be put off – this is the first step towards regaining control.
  2. Split the list into two – “Tasks” and “Projects”. Tasks are things you know how to tackle, don’t take up a lot of resource and can be achieved in a few days. Projects are things that take longer, maybe need some research or data collection, and involve more people.
  3. Take the “Tasks” and prioritise them using an “Ease and Effect” grid. Start with the tasks that are Easy to implement and have the highest Effect or Impact. Then tackle the tasks that are Easy to implement and have a medium Effect. Put these tasks into an Action Plan and track progress using “traffic lights” (also known as RAG – Red, Amber, Green) – Red items haven’t yet been tackled, Amber items are those currently being tackled and Green items have been successfully completed.
  4. Translate the Projects onto a simple timeline or “Gantt Chart”. Split the timeline into three – (a) items to be tackled in the next 12 weeks, (b) items to be tackled in the following 12 months, (c) items to be tackled in the following year. Agree who will be accountable for each of the projects and set realistic start and finish dates.

That’s it! Yes it’s rough and ready but it’s the quickest, most effective way to regain control of “too much stuff” – try it!

And if you need some help to manage and deliver some of those projects, contact Andrew.Nicholson@ImproveMyFactory.com.

The Number Two Motivator – “I have the tools and equipment I need to do my job right”

People want to do the job right and they expect to be provided with the right equipment so that they can do just that.

Sadly this is still a real wake-up call for some manufacturing owners and managers. Here’s my advice:

Tools that aren’t easy to handle and clothing or PPE that’s uncomfortable become a real problem after a 8- , 10- or 12-hour shift. If you’re serious about quality and serious about treating employees well, invest in good quality gear – go for good value not just the cheapest. Would you want to wear those cheap nasty safety shoes day after day, week after week?

BYOT (Bring Your Own Tools). Get with it folks – this is the 21st Century not the 19th! Do you really expect your people to buy and bring their own tools to work? How do you control the quality? What if a tool fails and injures someone? What about sharing tools? What about 5S shadow boards? What about theft and “borrowing”? In my view, employers need to supply all of the right kit to do the right job to the right standard. Period.

The Number One Motivator – “I know what is expected of me at work”

Expectations detemine outcomes, Expectations motivate us, Expectations keep us on track. So it’s no secret that the best organisations – and the most effective Leaders – are all over this.

So here are some simple tips – aimed here mainly at manufacturers.

Long-term: make sure everyone clearly undertands the common goals of the organisation and why you do what you do. Is there an answer to “Why am I here” and “What’s in it for me”?

Medium-term: spell out the three most important goals this year, this quarter. Back them up with SMART objectives for each and every team member (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timescaled).

Short-term: provide simple visual “target and actual” measures in each workplace. Every team member needs to see for themselves what’s required and how well they are doing. At the end of each shift / day / week every team member should know – without waiting to be told – how well they’ve done, and what they need to focus on next time.

What really motivates them (and us!) – part 1

“Bosses get the workers they deserve, and workers get the bosses they deserve!”. I first heard this at the age of 18 and it’s stuck with me ever since.

Far too often I hear “They’re only interested in money”, “You can’t motivate that lot”, “I / We / Managers / Directors are motivated by challenges, doing a good job, a sense of achievement… but that lot are only motivated by money – that’s all they’re here for!”

The reality is that most of us in the workplace are motivated by the same things, A huge amount of research has been carried out in the field of motivation but for me one of the most useful approaches – based on many years of research with thousands of employees – are the Top 12 Motivators.

“First Break all the Rules” is a great book that describes these Top 12 and I’d recommend it to anyone in a Leadership role. Let’s look first at Number 1 – the Top Motivator for most people:

“I know what’s expected of me at work”

This seems so simple and abvious that many folk I work with don’t actually believe it! But think about it for a moment. How desperate it can be when you really don’t know what you’re aiming to achieve. If your organisation and your boss don’t explain the “what and why” of your role, you don’t have anything to aim for and you feel directionless, lost, and not important.

So the first task of a Leader in any organisation is really simple – make it very clear to each and every person exactly what is expected of them, and why. It really is that simple!

Brexit – immediate actions for UK Manufacturing Leadership

Manufacturing clients that we’ve been working with at a strategic level already have well-rehearsed plans in place for Brexit. For those who are still reeling with shock here are some of the short-term actions that Manufacturing Leaders might consider – the “Six R’s”:

Reassure: the first essential role of Leadership in turbulent times. Ramp up the communication, make yourself available, get out and about in the workplace. Let people know that despite recent rhetoric no-one’s job will be lost this month or next. In particular, reassure migrant workers that they are valued and wanted and will continue to be so.

Resilience – time to update your business risk assessments and make sure that you have robust plans in place and contingencies for the things that won’t go to plan! In particular, consider broader supply chain risks (see below).

Rates 1 – Exchange Rates: the pound will be weaker for a while so ramp up the exports and continue to use Lean to in-source materials and components. De-risk the Supply Chain and take manufacture and control in-house.

Rates 2 – Interest Rates: we simply don’t know if interest rates will go higher or lower so shorten your payback periods slightly but keep on investing. Short-term turbulence often leads to cheaper asset prices so look out for bargains – don’t put off that acquistion but instead go flat out and bargain for a lower price.

Routine: now is the time to reinforce Standard Work, One Best Way and all of the “boring but important” daily disciplines that make for successful long-term business.

Remember: turbulence doesn’t change the world but it makes for bigger opportunities and bigger threats – update your SWOT review, spot the opportunities and act decisively.

Courage mon brave!