all points, but he had one more question. It was a simple one: “Am I doing a good job?” I couldn’t believe my ears. Here I was, a young kid, and this very experienced manager needed to hear me say, “You are doing a great job!” It was feedback that justified his extra efforts.
How do organizations know how well they are doing in liv- ing their values? Like employees, we need feedback. Some of the best feedback is from an employee engagement sur- vey (which is very different from an employee satisfaction survey). Many large organizations use the Gallup Q12 sur- vey, but it is very expensive. At Dotson, we used WIPFLi Consultants and their Quantum Workplace survey. It was still expensive, but well worth it to get unbiased results.
We summarized the results of the 35 questions by showing the 11 question areas in which we had fantastic results (Fig. 4) and the four question areas in which we scored the lowest (Fig. 5). This showed our strengths and where we needed to improve.
An additional significant benefit from the survey was the an- ecdotal responses where employees could comment about anything.
8) reinforcement, rewards, and Consequences for Behaviors
Over the years, we had tried many types of individual and group bonus plans along with different feedback approach- es. Essentially, every program had unintended consequences and some level of gaming. We have gradually moved to a point today such that 70% of the company-wide bonus is based on profits. The balance is customer focused and paid on parts per million (PPM) rejects and on-time delivery per- formance. The profit bonus doesn’t start until pre-tax profits exceed 5%. The on-time delivery bonus starts at 96.6% and the PPM starts at 10,000.
For annual pay adjustments, we use a matrix that values performance against market salary range. Individuals on the low end of performance receive 0% of the 100% aver- age increase, while those on the high end can receive 200% of the average. This is then offset by where the individual lands in a market salary comparison. The table (Fig. 6) shows these relationships.
Part of the performance value is based on how well the in- dividual is living up to the company’s core values. One of the very hardest things to do is let go of a superior perform- ing individual who is not in sync and not living the values. While it is hard to do, the rest of the organization will cheer when it is done and productivity will increase among others to more than cover the loss of the superior performing, but out-of-sync individual.
I recently read that the best procedural worker is about two times better than the average worker, while the best creative
12
Figure 6. Dotson’s matrix for adjusting salary compensation.
International Journal of Metalcasting/Fall 2011
person is ten times better than the average. I don’t know if there is any research to back this up, but I think it is some- thing to keep in mind when reviewing compensation/re- wards for the creative individuals who can lead the company from good to great.
9) Track and Communicate progress and Success
As previously mentioned in the “Harvard Business Re- view” article on motivation, people are most engaged when they are making progress. But where are we going? Once you have engaged employees and you have empow- ered them, it is essential that all the teams are aligned. At Dotson, we have used a modified form of Hoshin Kanri planning to define the strategy and initiatives that move us closer to our vision. There are six key elements in the plan- ning process as outlined in the November 2007 ‘Industry Week magazine: 1. Hoshin planning is driven by the organization’s vi- sion, not today’s problems.
2. It is a system to translate the vision into tangible and measurable objectives for achieving break- throughs.
3. Alignment is created by cross functional planning to achieve short-term objectives each year.
4. Hoshin planning fosters learning through the review process. You become better planners every cycle.
5. The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle of continuous im- provement is at the heart of the Hoshin process.
6. “Catchball,” (the regular iterations with the shop floor), is the driving force of alignment, clarifica- tion and employee involvement.
Once the strategy is defined there needs to be regular reports regarding goals. Again, at Dotson, we are using the shop floor touch screen kiosks to visually show progress against goals (Fig. 7). The advantages of the touch screens is that with a single touch, different time periods of the data are displayed along with relevant items such as specific late shipments for the period. We also use this same system to report progress on the initiatives using the Plan-Do-Check- Act cycles.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80