Meridian Group's Newsletter Number 20, 6-15-03

This is the third newsletter in our series discussing the evolutionary nature of company culture change. Evolution involves taking one value-based step at a time, each step depending on what happened when you took the last one. This issue shows how one caring supervisor led a plant to becoming the company flagship.

The plant was a typical manufacturing operation with 200 employees in four departments: Production, Maintenance, Engineering, and Administration. The Plant Manager hired Meridian Group after visiting one of our other clients and seeing a highly-motivated and responsible workforce.

Poor Relationships Start at the Top—Impair Performance

After meeting briefly with the plant's leadership team, we interviewed each of them individually and talked to a cross-section of managers and employees—about 15 interviews in all. Among other issues, the interviews revealed poor relationships between the three main operating departments. In the field, first-line Operations employees and Maintenance mechanics blamed each other for problems. They both saw Engineering as distanced and unhelpful. When we shared the interview themes with the leadership team, their antagonistic discussion of the issues showed us that they as leaders mirrored the problems we saw in the field. Relationships between the department managers were poor.

We expected this. Usually in work cultures, a problem in one area is mirrored in another. This is particularly true with poor relationships. You don't find them at low levels unless they are also present at upper levels. People follow leadership's sanction on this. We soon found that this was a particularly difficult problem because it was also the corporate-wide norm, supported by a structure that separated the operating functions clear to the top of the corporation. Understandably, this plant's resistance to change was very high. Over several meetings with the leadership team, we discussed cooperation, but made limited progress.

The Plant Manager Takes a Stand

The roots of this problem were deep and broad. Here is one small example. Each department manager would meet one-on-one with the plant manager. Together they would make decisions that affected the other departments without involving them. With Meridian Group's prompting—difficult though it was for them to do this—the team agreed to postpone decisions that affected others until the group met as a whole. The plant manager committed to not meet one-on-one with department managers. At first, this was like pulling hen's teeth. But putting all decisions into the group significantly improved teamwork and cooperation. The managers actually admitted that they liked this new approach to decision-making. This new cooperation at the top was the talk of the town across the business unit. It gave permission for new patterns of cooperation between people in the field.

The Power of "Thank You"

Meanwhile, we searched for people who were demonstrating a commitment to building solid working relationships. We found a supervisor who had begun writing thank you notes to maintenance mechanics who did a particularly good job. In the macho culture of this plant, his thank you notes were derided by managers as "wimpy". ("Why should we thank people for doing a good job. That's what we pay them for.") But these managers could not deny the open appreciation expressed by the mechanics, nor could they avoid the improved relationships and performance in his area.

Involving the People Affected

Based on this limited success, the same supervisor and his superintendent decided to invite first-line maintenance mechanics to the daily early-morning production planning meetings. In the past, only maintenance supervisors had attended these meetings—not those who actually did the maintenance work. At first, the supervisors and their mechanics were very resistant.

Over the years, the mechanics had grown comfortable being told what to do and then taking out their frustrations by complaining. Now, they were being asked to get involved in planning the day's activities and to take responsibility for scheduling and managing their own work.

Over several weeks, some of the mechanics rose to the occasion. After two months, all the mechanics were on board. They liked planning and managing their daily work and their efficiencies improved significantly. Rework on maintenance repairs dropped from being a major problem to almost zero.

Mechanics now saw themselves as allies with the Production employees instead of as antagonists. This change in the relationship was noticed by senior managers and by supervisors in other areas who, always under pressure to improve performance, and with a little gentle arm twisting from the plant manager, began following suit.

Trailblazing: Outsiders Notice, Change Follows

Changes like this that run counter to a combative corporate culture don't come quickly. It took 18 months before cooperation became the norm across this plant. The productivity and profitability numbers were noticeably improved. At corporate headquarters, people spoke of the more cooperative and pleasant attitudes now distinctive at this plant.

In this company, all the plant managers would visit a single plant each year. By chance, it was this plant's turn. One of the visiting plant managers attended the morning Production planning meeting where he saw maintenance mechanics actively engaged in planning their day.

When the visiting plant managers met for lunch to discuss what they had experienced that morning, this plant manager excitedly described the meeting. Two other plant managers had attended similar meetings in other parts of the facility. They all agreed that this was a radical and positive departure from corporate norms, one they would like to see adopted at their own plants.

This was just one of many positive experiences the visiting plant managers described. When the visiting managers left, the plant leadership team congratulated themselves on what they had achieved. It had been long and hard but very rewarding work.

Leading the Way

Over the next two years, with strong encouragement from the national Vice President of Operations, the other plants adopted many of the practices they had seen that day.

These evolutionary changes had begun and blossomed largely from a small, unplanned and unexpected event—a brave supervisor' s care and attention to people. The simple act of writing thank you notes eventually led to people across the plant being more deeply engaged and committed.

Culture is the Real Bottom Line

A work culture's affect on financial performance is dramatic. Through care and attention to values and people, this small plant had developed a positive and distinctive culture. It had evolved into the flagship, leading the way to improved corporate-wide performance.



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	A Better Workplace --- Meridian Group's Newsletter, Number 20, 6-15-03

	This is the third newsletter in our series discussing the evolutionary nature of company culture change. Evolution involves taking one value-based step at a time, each step depending on what happened when you took the last one. This issue shows how one caring supervisor led a plant to becoming the company flagship. The plant was a typical manufacturing operation with 200 employees in four departments: Production, Maintenance, Engineering, and Administration. The Plant Manager hired Meridian Group after visiting one of our other clients and seeing a highly-motivated and responsible workforce. Poor Relationships Start at the Top—Impair Performance After meeting briefly with the plant's leadership team, we interviewed each of them individually and talked to a cross-section of managers and employees—about 15 interviews in all. Among other issues, the interviews revealed poor relationships between the three main operating departments. In the field, first-line Operations employees and Maintenance mechanics blamed each other for problems. They both saw Engineering as distanced and unhelpful. When we shared the interview themes with the leadership team, their antagonistic discussion of the issues showed us that they as leaders mirrored the problems we saw in the field. Relationships between the department managers were poor. We expected this. Usually in work cultures, a problem in one area is mirrored in another. This is particularly true with poor relationships. You don't find them at low levels unless they are also present at upper levels. People follow leadership's sanction on this. We soon found that this was a particularly difficult problem because it was also the corporate-wide norm, supported by a structure that separated the operating functions clear to the top of the corporation. Understandably, this plant's resistance to change was very high. Over several meetings with the leadership team, we discussed cooperation, but made limited progress. The Plant Manager Takes a Stand The roots of this problem were deep and broad. Here is one small example. Each department manager would meet one-on-one with the plant manager. Together they would make decisions that affected the other departments without involving them. With Meridian Group's prompting—difficult though it was for them to do this—the team agreed to postpone decisions that affected others until the group met as a whole. The plant manager committed to not meet one-on-one with department managers. At first, this was like pulling hen's teeth. But putting all decisions into the group significantly improved teamwork and cooperation. The managers actually admitted that they liked this new approach to decision-making. This new cooperation at the top was the talk of the town across the business unit. It gave permission for new patterns of cooperation between people in the field. The Power of "Thank You" Meanwhile, we searched for people who were demonstrating a commitment to building solid working relationships. We found a supervisor who had begun writing thank you notes to maintenance mechanics who did a particularly good job. In the macho culture of this plant, his thank you notes were derided by managers as "wimpy". ("Why should we thank people for doing a good job. That's what we pay them for.") But these managers could not deny the open appreciation expressed by the mechanics, nor could they avoid the improved relationships and performance in his area. Involving the People Affected Based on this limited success, the same supervisor and his superintendent decided to invite first-line maintenance mechanics to the daily early-morning production planning meetings. In the past, only maintenance supervisors had attended these meetings—not those who actually did the maintenance work. At first, the supervisors and their mechanics were very resistant. Over the years, the mechanics had grown comfortable being told what to do and then taking out their frustrations by complaining. Now, they were being asked to get involved in planning the day's activities and to take responsibility for scheduling and managing their own work. Over several weeks, some of the mechanics rose to the occasion. After two months, all the mechanics were on board. They liked planning and managing their daily work and their efficiencies improved significantly. Rework on maintenance repairs dropped from being a major problem to almost zero. Mechanics now saw themselves as allies with the Production employees instead of as antagonists. This change in the relationship was noticed by senior managers and by supervisors in other areas who, always under pressure to improve performance, and with a little gentle arm twisting from the plant manager, began following suit. Trailblazing: Outsiders Notice, Change Follows Changes like this that run counter to a combative corporate culture don't come quickly. It took 18 months before cooperation became the norm across this plant. The productivity and profitability numbers were noticeably improved. At corporate headquarters, people spoke of the more cooperative and pleasant attitudes now distinctive at this plant. In this company, all the plant managers would visit a single plant each year. By chance, it was this plant's turn. One of the visiting plant managers attended the morning Production planning meeting where he saw maintenance mechanics actively engaged in planning their day. When the visiting plant managers met for lunch to discuss what they had experienced that morning, this plant manager excitedly described the meeting. Two other plant managers had attended similar meetings in other parts of the facility. They all agreed that this was a radical and positive departure from corporate norms, one they would like to see adopted at their own plants. This was just one of many positive experiences the visiting plant managers described. When the visiting managers left, the plant leadership team congratulated themselves on what they had achieved. It had been long and hard but very rewarding work. Leading the Way Over the next two years, with strong encouragement from the national Vice President of Operations, the other plants adopted many of the practices they had seen that day. These evolutionary changes had begun and blossomed largely from a small, unplanned and unexpected event—a brave supervisor' s care and attention to people. The simple act of writing thank you notes eventually led to people across the plant being more deeply engaged and committed. Culture is the Real Bottom Line A work culture's affect on financial performance is dramatic. Through care and attention to values and people, this small plant had developed a positive and distinctive culture. It had evolved into the flagship, leading the way to improved corporate-wide performance.