"...We
would like to begin a more formal approach to training our supervisors. We have looked
at many of the available generic training programs, including home study courses, and
found they don't meet our needs. 1) What should our curriculum contain, 2) How would you
prioritize the subjects, and 3) How would you suggest we train.?" R.G., Iowa.
THE INDUSTRY ADVISOR
DEVELOPING SUPERVISORS
Gene Levine - www.genelevine.com
There are many questions attendees must answer before I begin my
Supervisory Training Seminars. I use their replies to structure the final seminar agenda.
Here are two of those questions:
1. What is your primary job as a supervisor?
2. During working hours, how many hours do you spend – during a "normal" work week – doing the following tasks;
| Carrying/Moving Work _____ | Fixing Machines ___________ |
| Repairing Bad Work _______ | Doing Direct Labor Jobs ____ |
| Work With Schedules ______ | Checking Quality __________ |
| Improve Worker Output ____ | Being A Gofer ____________ |
Their surprising answers to both questions will help you understand the structure of a suggested supervisory development program.
Let us begin with the axiom that "profit is the prime motivating factor for being in business". In a manufacturing organization, the supervisor is the key that unlocks that profit, and supervisory development ensures that the key works.
There are many aspects to a supervisors job. It is accepted that a supervisor deals with people, data, and events in order to help the company meet its goal(s). What are a supervisor's goals? Among the standards that present-day supervisors are measured by, you would expect (at least) the following seven (7) major goals:
1. Efficiency of their direct labor work force to exceed 100%
2. Meet or beat scheduled workloads
3. Quality rejects not to exceed 1/4 of 1% of total production
4. Total Direct Labor Variances (time work, make-up, overtime premium) not to exceed 15% of Total Incentive Payroll
5. Annual direct labor turnover, not to exceed 30%
6. Absenteeism not to exceed 3%
7. Tardiness not to exceed 1%
Based on the need to meet those goals, statistically, the answers to the second question (compiled from my database of more than 1,000 Supervisory Seminar attendees), is very informative. The following pie chart Figure 1, shows the approximate percentages of each activity that those supervisors who attended my seminars reportedly performed during an "average" work week (you can have your head in an oven and your feet in a refrigerator and on the "average" you are comfortable).
FIGURE 1
"Figure 1" shows that there are supervisors who, perceive their roles incorrectly. They seemingly perform activities which have little to do with their primary job (Question 1), which is to increase production and reduce costs. As "Figure 1" shows, supervisory seminar attendees freely admit to spending only about 1% of their time (about 5 minutes per day) working to improve production. It is no wonder why our direct labor work force has so much untapped potential (over 30% at last count), and supervisors have a hard time meeting their seven (7) major goals. There are reasons why these supervisors do what they do.
In today's world of business where the supervisors role is changing dramatically, it is no longer prudent to leave supervisory development to guesswork and chance. To meet tomorrows needs, it is fast becoming desirable to move the problem solving process to the lowest possible level – sometimes past the supervisor, down to the worker who does the actual work. This empowerment scenario suggests, that managers like you, are continually looking for ways to get better results – other than what they are getting with traditional thinking supervisors.
A. SUPERVISORY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The premise of any effective supervisory development program is that a positive change in a supervisor's behavior is desirable and essential. The goal is to produce more effective and profit-oriented supervisors. If . . .
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