What Distinguishes This From Process Improvement Teams

8/12/2019 What Distinguishes This From Process Improvement Teams

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What distinguishes this from process improvement teams, taskforces and

quality circles?

workout emphasizes speed (solutions generated and decisions made in the

matter of a few days) and managerial accountability (managers own the

problems and must respond immediately and decisively to team

suggestions) much more than some of the other techniques. In addition,

because workout teams exist only for the short term, opportunities for

participation in a team are greater over time than in some other team-

based, problem-solving approaches.

A decision to implement workout is a cultural decision and should not be

taken lightly. It represents a cultural intervention designed to enhance the

empowerment of employees and the openness of management to their ideas.

It is designed to create a culture where paralysis by analysis (Quinn, 1994b)

is taboo. If executives are not committed to such values, they should not

embrace workout as a technique.

Costs

Not inexpensive endeavors. Most organizations will lack the internal

facilitation skills needed to help a group solve problems thoroughly and

efficiently, at least at the beginning, and will want to follow GEs example

of using outside facilitators. In addition, the organization will have to pay

for facilities, not to mention the payroll costs of a sizeable group of people

meeting away from work. The executive team must be made aware of

these costs and encouraged to weigh them against the benefits to be

gained from addressing the firms recalcitrant problems and the

reinforcement of the values described earlier.

Risks

a half-hearted foray into workout that is allowed to wither and die probablydoes more to undermine the values of empowerment than never

implementing workout to begin with.

Is is not wise to assume that workouts would be so overwhelmingly successful

that they would gain a momentum all their own. Unfortunately, culturally

unnatural acts seldom easily gain momentum and require constant

reinforcement and tending.

Publicity


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The executive team must sell the program internally. It is particularly useful

if the management team differentiates workout from any other similar efforts

in the organization. It is helpful to emphasize that the program represents an

emphasis (or re-emphasis) on workout-consistent cultural values. If the

publicizing comes after some preliminary workouts, as was the case in our

situation, these experiences (and hopefully wins) can be used to

communicate the nature, goals, and outcomes of workout

Generally, we suggest that, prior to announcing the program to all employees,

efforts be made to sell the program to those mid-level managers and

supervisors who must ultimately own the process and the outcomes of

workout. It is not a good idea to blindside them with a general announcement

first. An important component of the executive teams efforts to persuade the

rest of management must be an emphasis on the utility of the approach as a

tool to generate solutions to vexing problems the organizations faces, the

executive teams commitment to the program, and the fact that all managers

will be held accountable for working within the dictates of the program.

With workout, employee participation is crucial to success, so getting an

initially positive message to them is vital to the acceptance of the program.

This message may be delivered via a variety of conduits. Employee

newsletters, meeting agendas, and/or workplace displays (e.g., posters andsigns) would be appropriate means to convey to the employees that the

workout program is being launched. We found that one of the best ways to

communicate the nature of the program within the organization was sharing

the outcomes of the first workout session. The presenters of this

information were one of the sponsoring managers of that workout and some

of the workout participants.

Organizations needs to create a strong education/information campaign

within the organization after our initial workout success he big lesson for us in all this is that successfully introducing workout

requires an integrated communication effort that has to be based on

executive-level commitment to the program and its cultural implications.

People knowingunderstanding and buying in at executive and

management levels is crucial

Ie, On several occasions, it became obvious that outside of the people

assigned to the initial workout, very few organizational members were

aware of what workout was. This certainly limited any grassroots


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discussion of the project or broader organizational support and

commitment.

Facilitators

ne of the features that distinguishes GE-style workouts from many other

group-based, problem-solving approaches is the use of professional facilitators

external to the organization.

we found that having at least two facilitators who work well together for each

session was desirable. Facilitating is hard work and such an approach allowed

one facilitator to take detailed notes while the other ran group problem

solving; it also allowed them to work with subgroups simultaneously.

Feedback from participants indicated that they strongly supported the use of

outside facilitators because of the efficiency they helped create and the

impartiality they possessed regarding the problems being discussed.

we feel that initially facilitators should be external, but as the process

becomes more natural (or culturally accepted), internal facilitators can be

used if provided the appropriate training and experience.

Select problem domain.The issues addressed by workout can be broad, such as

improving productivity, increasing customer satisfaction, and reducing costs ina particular area, or more narrow, such as improving the waiting experience

for customers (

Our client requested problem submissions from their managers to be reviewed

for the workout initiative. However, in some cases the impetus for a workout

may come from upper-level managers who see a cross-functional issue that

workout could address. In these cases, it is important to spend extra time

preparing the management sponsor for the upcoming workout.

Select and prepare management sponsors.Workout sponsors put themselves on the line by turning

over a problem to the workout team and having to respect (but not necessarily approve) their

recommendations. For an organization with a traditionally bureaucratic culture, this step can be

extremely stressful. For that reason, the choice of the sponsoring manager is probably as

important as the choice of a problem (in cases where the problem is specific to one work group,

the manager and the problem are necessarily selected at the same time). For this reason, it is

our belief that early workout sponsors should be those managers who embrace the concept of

employee empowerment and desire the opportunity to sponsor a session so that these sessions

can serve as models for other managers of what is possible and the benefits to be gained. It is

also possible that a workout session can have co-sponsors. Two of the workout sessions we


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facilitated for our client dealt with problems occurring when two departments interacted. In

both cases, the managers of those departments cosponsored the workout session.

anxiety-producing situation, especially for managers who have had the

workout process thrust upon them by the organization.

Sometimes, as a manager at workout, you feel foolish, like, why didnt I listen to thisbefore? Some people have this perception, gee, if I sit on the hotseat and if Im insecure

about taking someone elses idea, instead of coming from me, its going to look like I dont

know what I am doing. You have to get over this mindset. I never felt intimidated; I always

felt invigorated.

The sponsoring managers must be instructed on how to encourage the process. It is

extremely important that the managers not create an environment in which employees

believe that retribution is the reward for participation in workout. Finally, the managers

must be provided with information about the overall process and their roles in it. They need

to see the big picture as represented by a template such as the one we offer here.

Identify potential participants.Participants can come from across levels,

functions, and work areas. It is important that efforts be made to have all

groups that are involved with a problem domain be represented. In our very

first workout session, the group was continually confronted with the fact that

it was missing information about a small, but significant part of the work

process it was trying to improve because the group responsible for that part

was not represented on the team. Ideally, participants would fairly represent

the group from which they were drawn. Care should be taken not to select

only those individuals with which the manager feels comfortable. Care also

should be taken not to try to select only malcontents. In later workout

sessions (once the process is established), participants can also come from

suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders. Selection of potential

participants should be a collaborative effort between the management team

and the sponsoring manager with facilitator input. It is also important to

consider the work schedules of potential participants, particularly if critical

areas must remain covered during the workout sessions. Once potential

participants have been identified, the sponsoring manager should contact

them, tell them about the planned session, and invite them to participate. In

our view, it is important that the choice to participate be voluntary. Often

workout participants will be dealing with problems that will affect the

activities of their coworkers and they have to feel that their participation in

such sensitive activities is not coerced.


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Prepare participants.Participants need two forms of preparatory information:

information about the workout process itself and information regarding the

problem issues to be addressed in their particular workout. Ideally, as part of

the effort to publicize the workout effort, employees will have had an

opportunity to attend sessions describing the workout process and have had

training in problem-solving tools such as process mapping. Some sort of

general introduction to the program should occur and the management

sponsor should further clarify the nature of the workout effort when asking

the individual to participate. Unfortunately, in our experience, we found that

relying on the sponsoring managers to contact and educate participants on the

workout process is unreasonable if the sponsoring managers are themselves

somewhat in the dark about the process. After conducting several workout

sessions, we believe that a manual should be prepared for the participants.

This manual should contain the information identified abovedetails about

the workout process, problem-solving models, and data specific to the

problem domains they will be asked to address.

Ideally, participants should also be trained in the problem-solving process and

be familiar with tools such as process mapping and cause-effect diagrams.

However, such intensive preparation is often not economically feasible inmany organizations, including our clients. In those situations, the role of

workout facilitator becomes more important and the facilitator has to guide

participants through the problem-solving process and introduce appropriate

problem-solving tools when appropriate.

Of crucial importance is the charge given to the workout team. Managers should

make clear to the participants the problem or issue they are being asked to

work on and the bounds within which any solutions they recommend must

fall. (If there are budgetary or other constraints that dictate acceptable

solutions, participants must know them.) It is crucial that the charge make it

clear that the workout is not just a gripe session or a wishing session. This is

not to say that creativity is not desired; it is. However, the charge must inspire

the participants to address issues within the problem domain and within their

purview. In one of our early workout sessions, one of the sponsors told the

group that this was the opportunity to really get creative and generate theultimate wish list. Unfortunately, this charge to the group left us as


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facilitators continually trying to refocus the group on solutions that were

economically and practically feasible.

Prepare the groups represented by the participants. One of the major mistakes

we made early on was not ensuring that the broader groups affected by a

particular workout were made aware of it. Of course, publicizing the workout

process to the whole organization should familiarize all employees to the

process in very general terms. However, we found that, without our

intervention, employee stakeholders in problems that were slated to be

addressed by a workout session were rarely aware that such a session was

going to happen unless they had been asked to participate. Drawing

participants from a group and then leaving those behind in the dark about

what is going on creates two problems. First, there is the possibility that the

uncertainty generates mistrust in the process or its purposes. Second, by not

letting others in a group know that some of its members will be participating

in a workout focused on a specific problem area, those individuals are

deprived of the opportunity to discuss their own concerns and ideas with

participants before the workout.

Select and prepare the site.Initially, workout sessions should be held off-site, to

minimize interruptions and signify the importance of the activity. No ties or

suits! It is not necessary to be far off site; no overnight trips are necessary.

Nevertheless, the goal is to eliminate any temptations of leaving to check on

activities in the organization. Participants should not be too accessible or find

the organization too accessible for them. It is a good idea to make sure the

meeting facility is reasonably comfortable and has large tables on which to

work. It is also a good idea to have a telephone and organizational phone bookreadily accessible in case the group needs to call someone for information

germane to its problem-solving activities.

Beepers and cellular phones should be discouraged. We learned of their

disruptive capabilities all too well during our first workout. One of the

participants would routinely go to the back of the room to communicate with

his/her subordinates about ongoing operations. These interruptions were very

disruptive to the flow of discussion and problem-solving activities.


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In addition, flipcharts, tape, markers, notebooks, pens, pencils, etc. should be

provided to the participants. Food and beverage should be available. To

provide a break during the session, a separate area for lunch and breaks is

encouraged. From our perspective as facilitators, break and lunch times

provide an opportunity to witness first hand the interaction dynamics between

the various work groups represented by the participants. During an early

workout, the participants who worked in one unit avoided the staff from the

other unit during breaks. This was an indicator of an issue that later came out

during some problem-solving sessions. The members of the first work group

felt the participants from the second group did not appreciate the difficult

circumstances in which they worked.

Recommendations spanning other areas?

During several of our workout programs, well-thought-out plans for

implementation were agreed to, but the responsible manager did not have the

authority to give approval to all that the plan would encompass. Thus, there

needed to be post-workout meetings with other managers who were not

involved in the workout. As facilitators of the process, we often found

ourselves attempting to maintain the spirit and integrity of the

recommendations with managers who did not spend time with the workout

team. If recommendations are rejected or altered by higher managers, efforts

to inform team members of the change and rationale behind it are important

to retain the integrity of the process.

The probability of having to go beyond the sponsoring manager for approval is positively related

to the size of the problem and negatively related to the level (in the organization) of the

sponsoring manager. Problems assigned to workout can be wide spanning to start with or they

can be discovered to be wide-spanning during the early problem analysis stages of the workout

process. The wider the problem becomes, the more likely that managers who are not part of the

process will have their area of responsibility addressed in the recommendations of the workout.

However, if the sponsoring manager for a workout occupies a higher level position in the

organization, there is a greater likelihood that the areas addressed in the recommendations may

still be under the sponsoring managers purview. The response to this problem (assuming the

occurrence of these meetings is not desired) is to select participants who represent all areas

affected by the chosen problem domain and to ensure the sponsoring manager is at a level at

which approving recommendations will not be problematic.

Post-Workout Period

The post-workout period is a critical point in this process. Fresh from the high of intense,


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empowering, problem-solving sessions, the participants will return to their respective work

groups. At this point, the credibility of the program is at stake. The participants will undoubtedly

discuss with coworkers what recommendations were made. Failure by management to follow

through on these recommendations will doom the process immediately. In order to facilitate

action-oriented behaviors after the workout, several roles must filled by sponsoring managers,

participants, and facilitators.

Faciliators

hroughout this process, the facilitator(s) must encourage the executive

team to hold management sponsors accountable for progress, and

encourage the sponsors to take responsibility for implementation. If the

executive team has failed to commit fully to workout, one clear sign will be

continual reliance on the consultant/facilitator to prod sponsors to follow

up with implementation promises. For workout to be successfully implemented, executives and sponsoring managers must be

willing to address lack of follow-up on the workout recommendations as they would any

other performance deficiency.

If an organization is not committed to this process for the long run (i.e., nurturing the process until it

is institutionalized in the corporate culture), it may best be left alone so as not to become a

program of the month and to contribute to the damaging of organizational credibility.

What Distinguishes This From Process Improvement Teams

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