boost your group_s performance

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3 8 www.cepmagazine.org Septem ber 2005 C E P

Career Catalyst

Most of us think we aregood at our jobs. Weleave home for work

intending to do a good job. Pride demands it.We often hear water cooler conversation about how

certain individuals do their jobs, but we seldom have con-structive, structured or organized discussions of what itmeans to do a good job. Typically, each person develops hisor her own understanding of good.

Managers talk about getting operators and supervisorsmore involved and engaged in their work. Managers alsomoan and groan about why employees dont do a better

job or take more ownership and initiative. Unfortunately,there is seldom any action.

One of the most effective things a leader can do to

improve the performance of an organization is to definea good job. If there is a dialog that leads to a consen-sus about what a good job is, people will generallystrive toward that ideal. The dialog can be as simple asinformal conversations individually or in small groups,or scheduled and structured large-group workshops.Conducting workshops will create more discussion andmore rapid and deeper participation.

This may be obvious and simple, but it works.However, obvious and simple dont necessarily add upto easy.

Boost YourGroups Performance

Charles F. Gillard

C.F. Gillard and Associates

Working with employees to definedoing a good job

can improveorganizational performance

as well as employee satisfaction.

Some Dos and Donts

Do sta rt with wha t a go od ma nage r or supervisor is; be pre-pared to hear what the employees need or want from you. be prepared to listen to things tha t keep the operators and

supervisors from d oing their job s w ell. collab orate with Human Resources be fore sta rting a ny for-malized program. listen to every person, not just thos e w ith the most e xperi-ence or best ideas.

Dont let the co nversa tion turn into a g ripe ses sion. allow neg ative disc ussion about spec ific people presentor past. think of this a s a job d esc ription effort.

If you are well-prepared, the discussion or workshop will go well.


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Lay the groundwork

It is essential to prepare before starting these conversations.

As a manager or supervisor, you need to have a clearunderstanding of your own role and responsibilities and youneed to be comfortable with them. Have a conversation withyour direct supervisor on this subject, and any bothersomeaspects, in advance.

You will probably hear a lot of things from the opera-tors that you dont like, so think that through ahead of time. You most likely know what many of these issues are,but you should be prepared to discuss them once the con-versation begins.

The operators will tell you what irritates or troubles them.Is overtime too high? Have there been a lot of work sched-ule changes recently? Has the vacation scheduling been amess? Have benefits been reduced? Has the company beenslow to hire replacements for operators who have retired orquit? Has disciplinary action been taken recently?

The operators will also tell you what keeps them fromdoing their jobs well. Perhaps they think the plant isnt wellmaintained, or some of the equipment doesnt work, or thetechnical support staff doesnt provide the needed support. Isthere a long-standing problem that hasnt been resolved?How will you respond if one of these comes up? I cant doanything about that isnt a very satisfying response, andcertainly shouldnt be used very often. Is there somethingthe operators can do to help solve the problem?

Think about how you will respond to these types of issues.Is there someone in the work group who is a prob-

lem? Someone who doesnt do his or her share of thework? Someone who bullies others? Someone who doessloppy work? Is there friction between crews or shifts? If you can anticipate some of these problems, there may bean opportunity to provide constructive feedback to the indi-vidual(s) privately.

There may also be opportunities for you to providecoaching on how to resolve conflict or improve communica-tions. If you dont feel qualified to do such coaching your-self, you may need to bring in a facilitator or other assis-

tance. Find out where such resources are available in yourcompany and outside.

Is there someone in the workgroup who is always nega-tive and influential? Tell that person what you are thinkingand ask for their support.

If there is a natural leader in the work group, talk withthat person ahead of time. Ask for his or her reaction to yourideas, and seek that persons support in the endeavor.

Hold the discussionsWhether you have one-on-one or small-group discussions

or hold a workshop, start with a short introduction. Explain

why you are initiating the conversation and what benefits theemployees can expect to receive. Emphasize that you want it

to be an open two-way dialogue.Be patient. It may take some time for the employees towarm up. Although people love talking about themselvesand their work, they start to measure themselves when thetalk turns to what it means to do a good job. This puts themunder pressure, they feel uncomfortable, and conversationmay stop or not even begin.

This can be avoided if you take your turn first. This alsoallows you to set a constructive example. Start with a discus-sion of what a good manager or supervisor is. Begin with ashort list of some obvious items for instance, you couldchoose some from the example in Table 1. Then ask whatelse should be on the list.

Table 1. The good supervisor

Cares about people.Has fa ith that most pe ople want to d o the right thing.Routinely s ay s Thank you verba lly and in writing.Allows people to ma ke mista kes, and ensures they learn

less ons from them.Asks people to explain why ta sks a re not completed rather

than being accusatory.Address es the few w ho are not d oing their jobs .Recog nizes that peo ple ha ve varied skills and tries to iden-

tify eac h employees talents and w here they ca n con-tribute most.

Meets regularly with employees.Keeps peo ple informed a bout w hat is ha ppening in the

company, especially any changes that may affect themor their jobs.

Listens.Ge nerally supports upper manag ement dec isions, doe s his

or her best to explain decisions, and tries to s often theblow of unpopular decisions.

Provides feedback to superiors about changes and new programs and how they will impac t employees.

Doesnt make promises that ca nt be kept, and keeps

promises made.Helps e mployees ba lanc e home a nd w ork life.Se ts a minimum standa rd on the bas ics of the job, ideally

eas ily mea sured items (such a s a ttenda nce, s urveillanc e,taking me as urements, e tc.), a nd holds everyone to thesame s tandard.

Finds o ne positive thing to sa y to a t least o ne personevery day.

Ge ts help from support orga nizations as needed .Is positive, supportive, and nice 99% of the time, but gets

tough when necessary.Meets with each person to discuss ca reer planning, or at

least find out what they like doing.

C E P Septem ber 2005 www.cepmagazine.org 3 9


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Then wait until someone says something. Dont help themout. Let there be two minutes of silence (which may seem

like an incredibly long time). If no one has spoken after twominutes, ask a specific person who looks like he or she mighthave an idea. Ask questions for understanding, but dontargue any points. Try to get ideas from as many people aspossible. Then combine similar comments and summarize.

Accept your responsibilities and accountability, and admityour mistakes. People are usually generous and kind to aperson who admits mistakes and makes a commitment to dobetter. Avoid getting defensive and making excuses.

People many times like to complain that manage-ment or they did something wrong. A response suchas Actually, I am the person who decided I made amistake, and Im sorry for that might be appropriate. If the complaint is broad and sweeping, such as Theynever or They always , saying Actually, I amresponsible for most of that. Can you be more specific

about what bothers you? is a good way to begin a dis-cussion of the issues.

If you are not responsible, ask for specifics and sugges-tions that you can communicate to those who can changethe situation. Then do so, and report back to those whoraised the issues.

Use the same approach for the good operator discus-sion. Select some of the points from the example list inTable 2 as a starting point.

If you encounter an employee who doesnt care and is notinterested or claims to be not interested in the qualityof the work, give that person some time to adjust. Dont doanything for six months. After that, sit down with that indi-vidual to talk about it. Be patient. Let pride do its job.

Follow upAfter the session, distribute notes summarizing the work-

shop and written definitions of what a good supervisor and agood operator are. These should go to everyone who partici-pated or contributed. If some employees did not take part,solicit their comments, and if they are substantive, revise andreissue the summary and definitions.

If the session indicates that changes are needed, prioritizethe changes, choose a small number of the highest-priorityproblems that realistically can be solved in a year or less(ideally in three months), start working on them, and issueperiodic status reports. As the higher-priority problems aresolved, begin tackling the lower-priority ones.

Revisit the descriptions of a good operator and a goodsupervisor in discussions or workshops one year later, andrefresh the problem list as needed.

If significant progress was made on the managementproblem list, but not many changes were made in the per-formance of the employees, add a discussion of how itought to be versus how it actually is. Challenge theemployees to make a commitment to work toward the ideal.Get them help if necessary.

Continue in this manner as long as the employees feelvalue is obtained. C E P

Table 2. The good operator

Is safety conscious.Understands and ca res ab out the environmental limits a nd

takes a ction to prevent incidents.Has g ood a t tendance, w here goo d is def ined as perfect or

near perfect, a nd show s up on time.Takes a ction on rea dings, d oes nt just ta ke the rea ding.Troubleshoots , doe snt just pa ss along the problem to

someone else.Completes ta sks on time or explains why they w ere not

completed.Is open to new idea s, b ut cha llenges them profess ionally.Trains othe rs.Communica tes well.Is flexible.Works to exec ute the ma intena nce plan b y preparing the

eq uipment for maintenance and expediting the need edpermits.

Makes rounds early on shift and a t the end of the shift .Works overtime a s nee de d.

Contributes ideas .Manages systems if required, not just a unit or individual

equipment.Works we ll with engineering a nd o ther groups.Ca res ab out the overall performance o f the department and

the plant, including costs.Works we ll with contrac tors.Trea ts othe rs fa irly.Follows procedures and recommends changes.Pa rticipates in special ass ignments or projects , such a s

turnaround planning, safety teams, fire crew, etc.Learns and uses the computer programs req uired to d o

the job.

CHARLES F. GILLARDis Principal, C. F. Gillard and Associates, consultantsto the process industries (3845 Olympia Dr., Suite 101, Houston, TX77019; Phone: (713) 871-9797; E-mail: [email protected]).He worked for Shell Oil Co. for 35 years in a variety of operations,engineering and information technology positions, finishing his Shellcareer as Vice President, Continuous Productivity Improvement andChief Information Off icer at Shell Deer Park Refining Co. He has a BS inchemical engineering from Purdue Univ. and is a member of AIChE.

AcknowledgementThe author wishes to express gratitude to Mr. Jack W. Armstrong for hisyears of mentoring and coaching, and thanks Mr. Larry Riley for hisassistance and contribution to this article.

4 0 www.cepmagazine.org Septem ber 2005 C E P

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