Workplace Excellence

This concept is so rich in ambiguity, such fodder for debate, it's a wonder it doesn't attract wordsmiths the way Godzilla is drawn to tall fragile structures. Those who do address it, mostly talk around it. The result is many of us hold a clouded view of what precisely, or even imprecisely, constitutes an excellent workplace. Workplace excellence starts with an engaged workforce, one established through alignment, measurement, development, assessment and reward(ment?) Thought I had a rhythm there. First, let's ignite the proverbial burning platform then talk about how to put out or prevent the fire.

The Spark

The Baldrige Criteria, which seems to be the Bible for all things soft side of quality, devotes Category 5 to Workforce Focus. Included are ideals that sound workplace excellence-ish, such as workforce engagement and the even more head-scratch inducing workforce enrichment. Another is Workforce and Leader Development, as if leaders are separate and require special development. Okay, that's kind of a low blow. The category does state earlier, "...workforce, including leaders."

Ideals give us a superficial and fuzzy feel for what should be. The Baldrige Criteria cut through some of the fog, to bring workplace excellence into slightly better focus. Yet, we are unsure of how an effort to establish an excellent workplace benefits the business and improves results. Because, you know the guy in the corner office will ask, "What's the payback?"

The Flame

One thing on which we all can agree is that people do not thrive in a toxic environment. We cannot do our best work when primary on our minds is survival. The typical survival impulse, when threatened by an environment we cannot control, is flight. A Right Management survey conducted in late 2009 indicated nearly 55% of employees anticipated seeking a new job when things got better. RIFs, empty cubicles, increased workload, job insecurity, bosses worried about losing a bonus, added responsibilities with little or no training, all contributed to the toxicity of the workplace. The "flight" percentage dropped slightly by the end of 2010. Was it acceptance of nowhere to go or just numbness?  Accepting workplace excellence as the opposite of workplace toxicity, there's your first payback - reduced turnover.

In a toxic workplace, of necessity to preserve sanity, a worker's focus turns inward. Again, it's about survival. Can't run, got to protect. Actions taken to maximize personal efficiency typically sub-optimize the system. Overall productivity and quality suffer. When workers are focused inwardly they care less about those around them. Not looking out for each other, especially in a factory, contributes to accidents. In an excellent workplace, neither of these things is likely to occur. There are the second, third and fourth paybacks - improved productivity, quality and safety.

As the benefits of workplace excellence begin to occur to you, you may start to ask the question, "How?" When someone asks how, they have taken an important first step toward recognition of and commitment to the need for change. Peter Block, noted author, says the answer to how is "yes." When permission opens the door, we will always find a way.

In the unlikely case you need a map, here are some thoughts on how.

The Snuff

It starts with a business strategy. Before your eyes glaze over this will not discuss how to develop a strategy. Corporate executives view the business landscape, understand the company's capabilities, know the financial targets, and believe the workforce is willing to satisfy and even exceed customer expectations. Workplace excellence links the plans to execution then to results. Willingness to satisfy is dependent upon an understanding of what to satisfy, how to use available tools and skills to satisfy, why it's important to satisfy and the answer to what's in it for me.

The workforce doesn't need to participate in strategy sessions. It does need to understand the direction and expected outcome. We all have seen the now trite example of a hapless crew rowing out of sync with a dotted line indicating the circuitous path it has taken. All it takes is a few hours to communicate the strategy. There is no need for a coxswain's constancy. Those few hours will pay back over each of the 2,000 hours every employee will work in the next year. An aligned workforce with a common goal is basic to success.

Of course 2,000 hours is a long time. We humans are easily distracted - kids going to school, homework to be done, home upkeep lists (honey-do is so sexist), football season, baseball season, basketball, hockey, bowling league, Joe's (or Josephine's) retirement, promotions, affairs, and on and on. To sustain workforce focus on the strategy and goals requires measures of success and measurement systems. These are not just big measures of people, quality, safety, delivery and cost. They include function specific metrics over which the workforce has direct control. Departments and individuals are not assigned but asked to participate in defining aligned metrics and targets. Leaders supplement the constant wall board feedback with personal, face-to-face communication reinforcing progress and, when needed, suggesting course corrections.

This practice alone would greatly impact the way workers use their tools.

Execution is the link between strategy and outcomes. Work has to be performed before it is measured. Work requires the right tools, knowledge of the process and customer expectations, and skills to use the tools to meet the expectations. Some of the greatest misunderstandings among the workforce are over what the customer expects. A common response when challenged over the quality of a product is, "We have never received a customer complaint about that." How do they know? Even in ISO or equivalent standard environments, companies fall down on this aspect of communication - a conduit to relay customer feedback to those who can influence it the most.

A workforce engaged through the use of simple communication practices described above is very capable of finding ways to improve its ability to achieve expectations. The current thinking is to engineer all variation out of a process. This tends to diminish the positive influence front-line workers can have on product or service. Poka yoke, for example, translates to fail-safe or mistake proof. In toxic companies it is translated as fool proofing, showing disdain for the front-line workforce. Humans are resilient. Americans are innovative. The American workforce will give you what you ask for, without asking how, if they feel part of the team. This brings us to the final piece of the workplace excellence formula - recognition and reward.

There are too many companies that pay a management bonus and stop there. Consider this simple rule of business, "If you are not making a product, providing a service or selling either, you had better be supporting someone who is." Managers often do none of that, yet they get bonuses. The front-line workforce does most of that and maybe gets a pizza when successful. A reward system that recognizes everyone's contribution is critical to workplace excellence. It's not an incentive. It is fair and just recognition of a job well done.

If it sounds as though workplace excellence requires more from management, just remember the simple rule of business stated in the previous paragraph and start supporting those who are making, providing and selling. It's one way to keep jobs in America.