The Elements of Great Managing: 2 - Materials & Equipment
[Part of a series exploring the concepts in 12: The Elements of Great Managing
The second element of great managing is what the authors call "Materials and Equipment." This is about the extent to which your team strongly agrees with the statement, "I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right." In Gallup's database, less than 1/3 of work groups strongly agree with this statement.
That's a problem, because Gallup has found that the lack of the proper tools and equipment is one of the greatest stressors at work. Most of us want to do a good job. When we don't have the resources to do that, we get angry and frustrated. In America, two-thirds of those who say they don't have the tools and equipment they need at work also report bringing stress home. Among those who feel adequately supplied, only one-fourth bring stress home.
Groups who strongly agree that they have what they need at work have higher productivity, higher customer engagement, better employee retention and fewer injuries than groups who are not well supplied.
This is not a tough element to improve if you are listening to your team. Ask your team what they need to do their job right. And then, do everything you can to get it for them. If it is something simple, like a different style of safety glasses, just do it. If it requires approval from those above you, go to work to get that approval. And help your team find a work-around in the meantime.
When we asked this in a large manufacturing plant in Louisiana, nearly all the maintenance groups gave a low score on this element. We asked them why, and what could be done to improve the situation. It turned out that, in our zeal to cut storeroom inventory, we had removed many of the spare parts they needed to make repairs quickly and safely. They were wasting time looking for parts we no longer held, and then waiting for delivery from the supplier. In the meantime, their customers in operations were ranting about the lost production time. So, with the help of the maintenance teams, we began a careful restocking of the parts they needed to get the job done.
The authors tell the story of Enio Wetten, manager at Owens Corning's fiberglass plant in Rio Claro, Brazil. As Wetten says, "The one who knows what he needs is the one doing the job." So, if your team does not feel adequately supplied, ask them what they need. And then make it happen.
For more info:
- This interview with the authors explains their rationale for writing the book, the research underlying it, and what they hope you will take away from it.
- ARIA demonstrates the key place Resources play in employee engagement.
- Making Sensible Capital Investments will help you get the money you sometimes need from the corporation in order to provide what your team needs to succeed.
- New Book: "12 - The Elements of Great Managing" summarizes the book.
- Read more posts like this in my "Leading Change" category.
Photo by Zak Hubbard.
