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Many
change management gurus provide a list of things that need to
happen in order for the change effort to be successful. Some
lists include: ensure management is committed, have a clear
vision, move quickly, show improvement rapidly (partly to keep
the Doubting Thomases at bay), involve people, even "burn
the camp" so there's no 'old' way to go back to. Even
with a clear understanding of all the things needed, affecting
change is still difficult. There seems to be something missing
within the advice so often handed out by us "gurus".
During
a recent presentation on strategy development and
implementation, the question was asked, "In plain
English, how do we make it stick? What is it that the
management team can do to ensure the efforts will last?"
The questioner refused to accept a rehashing of the "must-do"
list saying, "I want to hear the one thing that is the
most important, the foundation, the corner stone that makes
change management work!" The question was a valid one and
eventually prompted this answer, "Make it personal."
Making it personal means every employee finds an answer to
their "What's in it for me?" question.
One
400-employee plant where this worked had been around for a
long time with some having over 30 years of seniority. In
desperate need of change, the operation was mired in a
lethargic 'this is the way we've always done it' attitude. It
became necessary to have the workforce buy into a new
direction, a new vision for the company. In a conversation
with a particularly resistant employee, the question was asked
of him, "Have you ever had a vision?" When he said
that he hadn't, he was then asked if he owned his own home. In
fact, he did and was quite proud of it, having saved for years
to be able to afford it. He described how he and his wife had
sacrificed in a number of ways before purchasing this house on
the side of a mountain where there was a stream he liked to
fish. It dawned on him that his vision had led to him owning
the home of his dreams and that his employment had helped make
it possible. It became personal to him for the company to
succeed so he could continue to enjoy his dream home and that
fishing stream. Once it became personal, the changes necessary
to ensure the company's success were made with the full
support of the work force.
An
effort to revitalize a former state-owned enterprise (SOE) in
China, a foundry and rolling mill, revealed something similar.
Productivity was extremely low, quality was bad, worker
motivation was poor, and the housing provided by the company
for the workers was worse than anyone could imagine without
having seen it first. We decided nothing less than "burning
the camp" would be sufficient to bring about the
necessary changes. To initiate our Xin De Kai Duan (New
Beginning) everyone was fired, the plant was closed, and two
weeks of training classes were organized for anyone who wanted
to try out for positions in the new company. Less than
three-quarters of the old work force made it through the
training and was rehired. We also created a housing fund for
employees' use to access low cost loans for housing based on
such things as performance and loyalty. Within four months,
productivity rivaled a sister plant in St Louis, quality
improved dramatically, and costs reduced significantly. The
difference was we made it personal.
In
the late 90's, an SOE was a traditional command and control
type of manufacturing environment. But as part of the New
Beginning, command and control management in this facility was
replaced with team-based. We took a chance on this because we
had conducted an aptitude test of the work force and compared
it to a similar test given their U.S. counterparts in St
Louis. Everyone was surprised when the Chinese scored higher!
When they were told the results of the test, the Chinese were
proud of their accomplishment and wanted to change their
mission from "Being as Good as St Louis" to
"Becoming World Class". It became personal for them.
In
another situation, a steel fabrication plant with lots of
problems, a new shop floor control system and master
scheduling process was created by the plant personnel and the
production control staff based their understanding of the
problems of the old system. Rather than having some new system
dictated to them, they were asked to redesign how they wanted
to do it. Manufacturing cycle time dropped from 4 weeks to 5
days and on-time deliveries increased dramatically. Having
developed it themselves, the shop floor control system became
personal. They owned it; they wanted it to succeed.
Too
often the knowledge and skills of the work force are under
appreciated. Make it personal when change is needed. Long term
success comes more naturally when you do.
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