Calgary Quality ConferenceFriday November 6, 2015

Calgary, Alberta

Creating an Engaged Workforce to Sustain Continuous Improvement

Gordon Masiuk, PresidentMasiuk Consulting Services Ltd.

www.business-performance-excellence.ca

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Presentation Topics

• What is “Sustainment” ?

• What is “Employee Engagement” ?

• What is “Reinforcement” and how does it lead to engagement of people and teams to sustain CI initiatives?

• Real life examples of reinforcing activities, structures and processes that can work in any organization.

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Engage

ReinforceSustain

The “Engage – Reinforce – Sustain” Cycle

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What Does Sustainment Look Like?

• Fully Implemented

• Repeatable results

• Standardized

• Consistent

• Proven CI methods fully utilized:– All of Deming’s 14 Points, not just a few you like– PDCA, not just “Opportunity” and skip to “Act” – DMAIC, not just “Measure” or “Control”

• “It’s how we do things around here!”

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Leadership, Communication, Support, Structures and Processes

A CI/Sustainment Model

Vision

Improve

Measure Implement

Plan and Prepare

Engage and Reinforce!

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A CI/Sustainment Model – ‘EE Perspective

Vision: Where are we going? Why are we doing this?

Plan and Prepare: How are we going to get there? What’s the plan? Who is affected?

Implement: What is my role? What will change for me? How will I be successful? What new skills will I need?

Measure: How are we doing? How am I doing? How will I know? When will I know?

Improve: Are we doing things better? Am I doing things better? What new things can I do? Has anyone noticed?

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Employee Engagement

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The First Step to Sustaining CI Efforts is to Engage Your People

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Levels of Engagement

• EngagedEngaged employees work with a passion and feel a profound connection to their company. They drive innovation and move the company forward.

• DisengagedDisengaged employees have essentially “checked out”. They’re sleep walking through their workday, putting in time, but not energy or passion into their work.

• Actively DisengagedActively Disengaged employees aren’t just unhappy at work, they are busy acting out their unhappiness. Every day, these workers undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish

Source: The Gallup Organization

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Employee Engagement

• Employee engagement is how people feel about:– the work they do and what is expected of them, – the organization they work in, – the leader they work for,– how they are treated

• These feelings manifest themselves in job performance including quality initiatives.

• High wages, job security and the potential for promotion assist in attraction and retention, but do not create engagement for employees.

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Employee Engagement: What Employees NeedEngaged Employees:• Feel connected to the organization and know how they

contribute to the success of the organization• Know what their goals and responsibilities are• Receive frequent performance feedback• Receive frequent positive reinforcement• Have immediate supervisors that show interest in their work,

appreciate their efforts, and care for them as individuals• Work with co-workers who are committed to quality work• Have the right tools and training to do the job right• Have a supportive social network at work

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Bowling – An Analogy For Engagement

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Bowling – An Analogy For Engagement

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How We Typically Support Employees

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Recent Studies: Employee Engagement

On average, only about 30-40% of employees are engaged!

Source: The Gallup Organization Source: Towers-Watson

2% Increase in Engagement from 2013 5% Increase in Engagement from 2012

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So, we have a disconnect between what people need, and how they feel about their work environment!

Sustainment of anything is challenging when only about 1 out of 3 people are actively engaged in your organization!

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2014 Gallup Findings – Business Impacts

• Gallup research also shows that active disengagement (17.5% of employees) costs the U.S. an estimated $450 billion to $550 billion annually.

• On the other hand, Gallup finds that the 30 million engaged employees in the U.S.:– Come up with most of the innovative ideas,– Create most of a company’s new customers, – Have the most entrepreneurial energy.

Source: The Gallup Organization

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Actively Disengaged Employees

• Significantly less productive• Report being less loyal to their companies• Less satisfied with their personal lives• More stressed and insecure about their work• Are absent 3.5 days more per year (almost

2 FTE years equivalent absenteeism per year, per 1000 employees!)

Source: The Gallup Organization

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“At first I was really sceptical about this quality stuff. But now, even if the company

were to cancel the program, I would still operate my field and facilities this way

because it’s become “my operation” and it’s the “right thing to do”

Field Operator

An Actively Engaged Employee

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Reinforcement

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Questions…

• How many organizations here today have a well defined employee attraction process?

• How many organizations here today have a well defined employee development process?

• How many organizations here today have a well defined employee termination process?

• How many organizations here today have a well defined, positive reinforcement process for employees? i.e.: a process that is designed to provide positive reinforcement for every employee and all projects on a timely basis?

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Why don’t we consistently reinforce and support employees in a meaningful way, and on a timely basis?

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What is the primary role of a supervisor, manager or leader?

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Reinforcement is the secret that sustains Continuous Improvement initiatives and

engages people to new levels of performance!

The “Secret” to Sustaining CI

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Anything that is meaningful to an individual or team, is reinforcing!

What is Reinforcement?

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Reinforcement and Consequences

Consequences That Decrease BehaviorConsequences That Decrease Behavior

Consequences That Increase BehaviorConsequences That Increase Behavior1. Positive Reinforcement

2. Negative Reinforcement

3. Punishment

4. Extinction

Get something you want

Avoid something you don’t want

Get something you don’t want

Don’t get what you want

Behavior

Source: Aubrey Daniels “Bringing Out The Best In People”

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Results of Reinforcement

Target(Desired

Performance)

Punishment

Extinction

Negative Reinforcement

Positive Reinforcement

(DecliningPerformance)

(HighPerformance)

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Why Is Reinforcement Important?

• Positive Reinforcement is the only form of reinforcement that leads to continual improvement!

• Reinforcement is the key to engaging people and sustaining CI Efforts

• Positive Reinforcement is aligned with what we expect people to achieve

• It lets people know that they are working on the right things in the right way and continually improving

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How Leaders Can Engage and Reinforce

• Provide clarity on expectations, results and outcomes

• Focus on the strengths of individuals

• Deliver frequent performance feedback, coaching, support and positive reinforcement to individuals and teams

• Train, train, train! JIT and adult learning.

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SMART Positive Reinforcement• Specific: Positive reinforcement needs to be delivered for specific

behaviors and results• Measurable: Illustrating improvement graphically, or numerically

always serves as a trigger for delivering positive reinforcement• Available: Positive reinforcement needs to be available to the

receiver• Reinforcing: Positive reinforcement needs to be meaningful to the

receiver – positive reinforcement is only meaningful if the receiver sees it as positive

• Time Based: Positive reinforcement needs to be provided immediately in order to reinforce, shape and sustain positive behaviors and results. 7 days is the maximum timeframe, or it is not reinforcing.

• How many of you have received performance feedback or positive reinforcement in the last week?

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Customer Satisfaction – Performance Feedback

Customer Satisfaction Score - Joe K's Sales Team

92

93

94

95

96

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Week Number

% C

us

tom

er

Sa

tis

fac

tio

n

2% increase in customer satisfaction in 10 weeks

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Cycle Time Reduction - Performance FeedbackDowntime Minutes and Categories:

Performance Before and After Improvements

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Time Frames

Avg

Do

wn

tim

e M

inu

tes P

er

Day

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Nu

mb

er

of

Cate

go

ries P

er

Week

Avg DT Minutes/Day # of DT Categories/Week

Avg DT Minutes/Day: 19.65

Avg DT Minutes/Day: 4.5

Baseline Avg: 19.68 minutes DT, 6.75 Categories/Week Improvement Avg: 4.5 Minutes DT, 2.5 Categories/Week

First 30 minutes of Operation

77% reduction in Down Time!

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“If I had 1 hour left to live, I would spend 55 minutes planning,

and 5 minutes executing”

Albert Einstein

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Reinforcement Planning• Get leaders engaged by making reinforcement

planning part of their daily planning and work responsibilities

• For each CI initiative, plan how you will reinforce the team/individuals

• Provide regular feedback on performance to employees: at least weekly!

• Make their efforts and results visible. • Recognize and celebrate efforts and results

regularly

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Engagement Approaches for Sustaining CI• Start with engaging/training leaders first!

• Formal company structures e.g.: CI Councils

• Weekly CI Updates – with team member names and accomplishments

• Monthly to quarterly CI Reviews

• Living Storyboards – CI Project Wall (use charts, graphs, results, and highlight people)

• Company CI Intranet site

• Formal company awards

• Immediate, low cost reinforcement

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Examples – CI Project Wall

Division A

Project Name

Goals

KPIs

PlanDoCheckAct

Charts

Division B

Project Name

Goals

KPIs

PlanDoCheckAct

Charts

Division C

Project Name

Goals

KPIs

PlanDoCheckAct

Charts

Division D

Project Name

Goals

KPIs

PlanDoCheckAct

Charts

Division E

Project Name

Goals

KPIs

PlanDoCheckAct

Charts

Company/Division Priorities:1. Improve Production2. Reduce Cost Per Unit3. Improve Safety

“Living Storyboard” Posted in a High Traffic Area in the Workplace

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Tracking of Initiatives on Company IntranetCumulative Average Cycle Time

2006-2008 Rig Release to Onstream Comparisons

164

155

145142 144

147150

153157

154158 159

129 127

9592 92 94

99 98 96

8580 80

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Cyc

le T

ime

Day

s

2006 (Baseline) 2007 (Baseline) 2008 Actuals 2008 (Target)

143

131

49% reduction in Cycle Time,Resulted in $43MM increase in Cashflow!

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Results Charts – Cost and Cycle TimeVendor Contract CI Process Redesign Initiative

12,250

5,850 6,400

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

Original Process Redesigned/StreamlinedProcess

Difference (52%Savings)

Cost of Original and Redesigned Processes

Do

llar

s (A

nn

ual

)

Vendor Contract CI Process Redesign Initiative

627.76

192.5

435.26

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Original Process Redesigned/StreamlinedProcess

Difference (69%Reduction)

Cycle Time of Orginal and Redesigned Processes

Ho

urs

- P

er C

on

trac

t

52% Savings

69% CycleTime Reduction

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Production Improvement TrendsLost Production/Shortage After Improvement - Pareto Analysis

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Reasons for Lost Production/Shortage

Bar

rels

of O

il

Lost Production/Shortage After Improvement - Pareto Analysis

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Reasons for Lost Production/Shortage

Bar

rels

of O

il

The reduced downtime generated a 92% reduction in lost production In this category

92% reduction in production loss

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Sustainment Examples – Flag Wall

The “Flag Wall” used in an electronics company assembly plant to show employees what existing and new country their products were being sold to, along with current and trended sales volumes by country.

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Formal Awards/Certifications

• Baldridge

• ISO

• Company Performance Awards

• Government Awards

• Operational Excellence Awards

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Additional Examples/Templates

• 12 key engagement questions

• CI Steering Team and Council Structures

• Leadership engagement, training considerations

• CI Weekly Update Template

• Monthly/Quarterly CI Review Agenda

• Living Storyboard Template

• Formal and informal/immediate reinforcement examples

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What have we learned?• We need to engage our people… 2/3 are not fully

engaged – the potential is HUGE!• Reinforcement is the secret to sustainment – plan

for it and make it meaningful!• Starting CI initiatives is hard, sustaining them is

much harder! Leaders play a key role.• There are many ways to sustain CI efforts, and

many practices, processes tools and ideas to leverage – use them or create something new!

• Create a culture of quality every single day!• Challenge: Next week find some way that you

personally can help to sustain your CI efforts, and find some way of delivering positive reinforcement to a deserving individual or team!

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Final Thought…

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Questions?

Contact Information:

Gordon Masiuk (403) 880-0917gord.mcs@gmail.com

gord.masiuk@business-performance-excellence.ca

www.business-performance-excellence.ca

Thank You!

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Additional Slides and Templates

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12 Key Questions To Assess Employee Engagement

1. Do you know what is expected of you at work? 2. Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is

important? 3. At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day? 4. Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work

right? 5. In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow? 6. Is there someone at work who encourages your development? 7. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your

progress? 8. In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing

good work? 9. Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as

a person? 10. At work, do your opinions seem to count? 11. Are your fellow employees committed to doing quality work? 12. Do you have a best friend at work?

Source: The Gallup Organization

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Steering Teams

• Steering teams and Councils need to represent cross functional leaders/sponsors who are actively engaged in the CI effort and have decision making authority.

• The team must be well versed in the CI strategy and aware of all initiatives and issues.

• They need to meet monthly at a minimum to ensure they are providing the required support, resources and reinforcement to the CI efforts, and proactively addressing issues.

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Sustainment Examples: CI Council• Process Owner

– Accountable for the end to end process – usually a VP accountability

– Identifying process interface issues– Providing resources for CI

• Process Manager– Accountable for identifying CI opportunities within a

defined process

• CI Team Lead/Facilitator– Supports and coaches the CI project team, identifies

opportunities for reinforcement, helps to identify and remove obstacles, supports the Process Manager and Process Owner in implementing improvements and delivering updates to the Council

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Leadership Engagement - Examples

• Every leadership meeting starts with an update on CI status, and how the individuals and teams are being reinforced

• Senior leaders visibly on site asking staff 2 questions (and following up afterwards):– “What are we focusing on improving?”– “What can I do to support your efforts?”

• Shift focus from just directing work, to removing obstacles, listening to ideas, providing coaching and performance feedback, and reinforcing staff on a daily basis.

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Sustainment Examples: Training

• Invest in training at all levels• Leaders and staff need to have a solid

understanding of CI concepts, tools, and strategies - awareness is not enough

• Utilize “just-in-time” training methods, and use the adult learning model – learning by doing

• Standardize as much as possible• Train, train, train until there is a “common

language” – to sustain CI, consistency is one of the keys. Reinforce learning!

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Sustainment ExamplesWeekly CI Update Framework

– Date and Contact Person– Project by Project Status Summary (Active Projects).

• Include Team Names, Area of the Business, Name of the CI Initiative• Summary of Project, and Stage• Charts, graphs, photos• Impact to business results to date and projected i.e.:

– Production– Cost– Quality– Quantity– Customer Satisfaction– Revenue– Etc.

• Next Steps– Include cumulative totals of business results of all projects to date– Circulate Update to all areas of the company/division/business

unit. Leaders need to encourage other leaders (such as in a steering team) to provide individuals and teams with reinforcement.

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Sustainment Examples: CI Reviews • Set up formal monthly to quarterly CI review

meetings to share progress, learnings and successes• Ensure top management and leaders from other

parts of the organization attend for support• Invite individuals/teams to present on their initiatives

– provide coaching to presenters on building and presenting their topics prior to the review meeting

• Topics can include: completed projects with results; projects in progress; or projects that didn’t achieve desired results but where valuable lessons have been learned

• Have a formal celebration after the review meeting• Circulate minutes/highlights and have a formal

write-up on the intranet or company magazine

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Sample Agenda - CI Monthly ReviewsSample Agenda• Time Frame (1/2 to Full Day)• Opening Remarks – (VP, Sr. Manager, Director)

– Commitment to Quality– Linking Quality to Achieving Business Priorities– Gratitude to CI Teams and Their Efforts

• CI Team Presentations (Usually About 10-15 Minutes Per Initiative)– Project Team Introductions– Improvement Opportunity, Project Goals/KPIs– Project Steps– Charts, Metrics, Results, Impacts to Business Priorities– Next Steps

• Summary of Projects, What Has Been Learned, Ideas for New CI Projects• Formal Recognition of All Teams• Celebration Event• Follow Up:

– VP, Sr. Manager, Director – follow up with a formal letter of appreciation to each team or individual

– Update of: CI Intranet Site; CI Project Wall; Weekly Update etc.

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Sustainment Example: Living StoryboardCompany/Division Priorities:1. 2. 3.

PLAN:Project Name/Goals:

Area of Company:

Team Members:

KPIs:

Action Plan and Status (Updated mm/dd/yyyy): Step 1:Step 2:Step 3:Step 4:Step 5:

Include Photos, Charts, Graphs

DO:

CHECK:

ACT:

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Sustainment Example: Formal Recognition

• Develop an internal CI based award. Issue the award at least quarterly and annually.

• Use existing award structures such as Baldridge, or develop an organization specific one.

• Tie the Award to your Vision and Mission to reinforce the direction and purpose of your organization

• Align individual and team goals to the Award

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Premier’s Award of Excellence (Gov’t of Alberta: Canada)• Tied to the Vision of the Alberta Provincial Government

• Demonstrated Excellence in:– Leadership and People Focus – Client and Stakeholder Focus– Planning for Improvement – Process Management

• Eligibility includes: – Provincial government departments, divisions, branches, or units– Committees– Cross-Government Groups– Departmental Project Teams– Various Agencies, Boards, and Commissions

• Each recipient receives a formal award and certificate, at an annual Awards ceremony, and is able to use the PAE logo on business cards and stationary, and is expected to share their stories.

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Low Cost, Immediate Reinforcement• One hospital used “Kaizen Cards” to recognize the

improvement efforts of an individual or team. It would be dropped off in a “Kaizen Card” box and each day the leaders would review and provide recognition to the individuals or teams that week.

• One pipeline company had an “Applause” process. Everyone in the company had a company credit card, and they could spend up to $200 to recognize any team or individual effort at any level (without approval!) The leader and the nominator would deliver the “Applause” in a team/public forum that week.

• Weekly performance reviews (feedback and reinforcement) • Say “thank you”, take interest in an improvement initiative and

talk to the team, send an email, recommend the team for formal recognition, encourage lunch & learns to share….