Managing Change as a Manufacturing Supervisor
I think it often get overlooked that manufacturing supervisors are on the frontlines when it comes to leading change. Change by itself can be challenging for individuals to accept. Leading change is even more difficult.
As a supervisor, change swirls all around you in many forms and the expectation is that you and your team quickly get on board. There is a constant flow of new projects, products, technologies, processes and policies. Let’s face it, the manufacturing world moves fast.
In this article, I’ll be discussing your role within this dynamic and ever-changing environment and an effective approach to manage change.
Types of Change
Gradual and Through-the-Windshield
There are two types of change: gradual change and through-the-windshield change. Gradual change is like when you are driving in your car and you roll the window down or adjust the temperature controls. Through-the-windshield change is like flying through the windshield and all of a sudden your environment instantly and dramatically changes and in manufacturing, we can experience both types of change.
So what are some common gradually changes in manufacturing? Let’s take an inventory. Common gradually changes in manufacturing include policy and procedure changes, new machines and equipment, process modifications, new product launches, raw material changes, staffing changes, volume fluctuations and new software implementations.
Now what about the through-the-windshield type changes in manufacturing? What are some examples of these? Well, some big ones are company buy-outs, organizational restructures, downsizing, new management staff, changing roles and even lean manufacturing can bring-on a through-the-windshield type experience.
Effects of Change
Favorable and Unfavorable
You can see that change happens continually in manufacturing and change isn’t always for the better. Some change is perceived to have a negative impact but, it is a actually a favorable change. And some change is perceived to be for the worse and it actually will have a negative impact. Regardless of the type of change and the impact of the change, it is your job as a supervisor to integrate changes effectively into your production department.
Discernment and honesty are paramount. Every leader needs to fairly assess change and then honestly present the change to their teams. Here is an example of a change that I once had to manage through. This happened about midway through my manufacturing career when the company that I was working for was bought out by another company larger company.
Obviously, a lot changed during this transition. Some was favorable for the employees and some had a negative impact. One of the first changes that took place was a reduction in the quantity of company holidays. The new company had one less paid holiday than the previous company.
Ideally, all of the benefit and policy changes would have been bundled into one larger announcement so the employees could see all of the puts-and-takes all at once. However, because our payroll systems needed to be integrated immediately, the holiday reduction had to be announced as a stand alone change.
In this case, I couldn’t spin this isolated change as something positive to my team. However, at the same time, I didn’t want my employees to establish a negative view of the new corporation based on just this one policy change. So I was honest with my employees. I explained, that yes we were all losing a paid holiday and then I asked for the employees' patience before they decided to adopt a negative perception about their new employer, their policies and their benefit package.
I asked my employees to just take this one change in stride and assess all the changes in a few months after full integration. When it as all said and done, my approached worked out well because the puts-and-takes equaled out and company buy-out ended-up being a neutral experience for the employees. Some policies and benefits were better and some were a little worse company-to-company. Thus, the company buyout was seamless. You see, when leaders effectively manage change, employees can more easily transition from any current-state position to any future-state position without a lot of stress and turmoil.
As a leader, there is an approach that you always need to take when it comes to change:
- In the face of change, never jump on a negative bandwagon. Many people fear change and it doesn’t matter what the change is, they are going to be negative about it. But that can’t be the case for you. A leader should never use negativity as a default reaction to change.
- Assess change and call it like it is. If a change is favorable, well, make sure you present it to you team as a good thing. And if the change has a negative impact, well then, it is okay to be honest and present it for what it is. Trying to spin an unfavorable change as something positive will backfire, so don’t do that. Take time to assess the impact of changes and then be honest with your team.
- Always look for a silver lining in every situation. Not every change has a silver lining, but you owe it to your company and your team to look for a positive aspect of every change.
Be a change leader by being visible out on the production floor. Be inclusive by including your employees in on the projects as much as possible. Be clear with your expectations and this includes being clear with not only your employees but with the project leader as well. Be a student and learn as much as possible about any impending changes. Be educational too and teach your team everything you know about the project/changes. And lastly be nimble. Projects rarely work out exactly as planned and change is journey and not a location. Just be ready to accept changes, implement changes and then change again.
You can watch the "bus of change" pass you by or you can get on the bus or you can drive the bus. Driving the bus offers the best views and the most rewards, so you want to be the driver of the change bus!
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