Carolyn B. Thompson
Training Systems, Inc.
221 Vermont Road
Frankfort, IL 60423
815-469-1162
Reprint Rights
629 Words
Using Mentors to Help Plateaued Work Groups
by: Carolyn B. Thompson & Jim Pall
You implemented teams several years ago and they're doing okay, but still
not showing quite the self-directedness or the productivity gains you'd
hoped for. You discover that many of the tools they used so well
immediately after their initial training and start up have taken a back
seat to the old methods of problem solving, communication and in short,
way of doing things. Was Peter Drucker right when he recently said that
teams are just a fad - they aren't the magic we thought?
A multi-function chemical manufacturing company organized and implemented
Work Groups throughout the company several years ago. Since many of their
employees had recently received Quality training, the Work Groups were a
great place to use the quality tools and principles that they were exposed
to in the training. And they made what some would call instant progress -
at least in some areas. People were getting together and discussing
important issues and problems, and solving some of them. But they soon
realized that this team environment was very different than the old way of
doing business, and for a number of people, a very uncomfortable way of
operating. Yes, you guessed it, their Team Leaders needed some more
training. And so they provided that in the form of a brief Work Group
Leader training course. It included meeting mechanics, communication
skills, a review of quality tools, interpersonal skills, etc. And that
helped quite a bit. For those that were uncomfortable with the team and
meeting environment, they now had some specific "how to's" to help them.
And again, following these training sessions, some progress was made.
Eventually, a group of their managers realized that they needed something
additional - some "hands-on" help for the work groups. And so they started
what they called a Mentoring Program. They defined Mentoring as
proactively aiding, coaching, and assisting Work Groups to become
effective empowered operational units. What does Mentoring really mean? In
some cases, they had volunteer mentors go to Work Group meetings to help
or assist the group in a brainstorming or problem solving session. In
other cases, Mentoring meant getting a team the technical help they needed
to resolve an issue. And in still other instances, they had managers coach
Work Group leaders to get through difficult issues, either technical or
interpersonal. And at one location, it meant getting Work Group leaders
together to discuss common problems and how to resolve them in a team
environment.
Through all of this, there were a few key, critical observations:
1. Work Groups must have effective leaders. You either need to start with
effective leaders, or coach and train them until they are effective.
2. Work Groups need goals that are linked to the goals of the
organization. The company developed and published company goals so that
all employees knew just what they were. That way, they know just how their
work fits into the whole picture.
3. People need the time and resources, including training, to work in a
team environment. Sometimes it takes time to learn, but the results were
well worth it.
4. Teams need to evaluate themselves (their teamwork) in an environment
that will help them to recognize their strengths and deficiencies, and
they need to be willing and able to learn and improve. If you can do all of
this, this chemical manufacturing company thinks your teams will improve
as theirs have. And their progress has shown that this is not a fad. This
is the only way to go!
Working together to meet the needs of customers and the company without
many layers of management is a fact of today's world. Teams work. They do
however, need ongoing maintenance, just like all the other valuable assets
of your organization. Provide "maintenance" to your work groups with
Mentors!
Carolyn B. Thompson is the President of Training Systems, Inc., a
customized training and HR consulting company that helps small and medium
sized organizations enhance their ability to recruit, inspire and retain
quality employees and improve performance through training. Training
Systems, Inc. also provides training design and delivery services to
training companies and the training departments of large companies, and
professional and trade associations. Carolyn B. Thompson is an experienced
trainer and consultant knowledgeable in the challenging area of employee
recruitment, inspiration and retention. She is an exciting, inspirational
trainer who leads people to learn. She has written articles for prominent
magazines, has been interviewed for Chicago's TV Channel 26, the "You're
Hired" radio show, Safety & Health, Small Business Computing, Business
Week, Working Woman, Redbook and Inc. magazines, been the subject of
articles in the Daily Southtown and Star newspapers, as well as written
chapters in several books. Most recently, Carolyn produced a two-tape
audio cassette set entitled "Straight Talk for Employers" , has written a
book entitled "Creating Highly Interactive Training Quickly and
Effectively" and is writing a book about on-the-job training for Crisp
Publications.
Jim Pall is the Director of Quality for Stepan Company, a chemical
manufacturer with multiple plants.
Training Systems, Inc. 1999 |
