Mfg

1. Preparing for Self-Directed
Work Teams

2. Self-Directed Work Team
 A highly trained group of 6-18 people
 Responsible for turning out finished work
 A wide-range of cross functional skills
 Access to information to make decisions
 Plan, set priorities, organize, coordinate,
measure and take corrective action.
 Solve problems, schedule and assign work.
 Make personnel decisions.

3. Results
 Xerox -- increased productivity by 30%
 Proctor & Gamble -- 30-40% better
productivity in team-based plants
 Tektronix -- teams reduced product
assembly from 14 days to 3 days
 General Motors – 20-40% better
productivity in team-based plants

4. So Let’s Get Started!
 Will self-direction work here?
 What is required to support a self-
directed work team?

5. Feasibility
 Are the work processes compatible with
self-direction?
 Shared technology, territory, & time
 What goods and services are produced?
 How are they produced? (automation,
interpersonal involvement)

6. Feasibility
 Are employees willing and able to make
self-direction work?
 Can each member perform at least 80%
of the required tasks, including
administrative functions?
 Do members have a capacity for problem-
solving and interpersonal relationships
 Do members have the capacity to manage
the ambiguity of the start-up phase?

7. Feasibility
 Can managers handle the hands-off
leadership style required?
 Will they permit autonomy and provide the
necessary information?
 Do they encourage employee involvement
now?
 Will they support the move to self-directed
work teams?

8. Feasibility
 Is the market healthy or promising
enough to support improved
productivity without reducing the
workforce?

9. Feasibility
 Will the organization’s policies and
culture support the transition to teams?
 Beware and “us versus them” mentality or
efficiency at the expense of job
satisfaction.
 Multi-level communication
 The switch to teams requires strong
support from corporate or upper
management.

10. Feasibility
 Will the community support the
transition to teams?
 Teams may clash with values and strong
held beliefs.
 Employees are members of the community
first and teams second.
 Family support is critical

11. Stages
 Start-up
 State of confusion
 Leader-centered
team
 Tightly formed
teams
 Self-directed teams
 Optimism
 Role upheaval
 Reliance on team
leader
 Fierce loyalty to
team
 Cooperative self
managment

12. Stages
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Stage
1
Stage
3
Stage
5
mgrs.
team
 As we move through
the stages
responsibility
gradually shifts from
managers to the
team.

13. Stages
 Managers must be prepared for a long-
term process of transferring authority to
the team
 The organization must be willing to
invest in the required training
 Planning should include operations,
social aspects, and communication.

14. Stages
 Prior to implementation, organizations
should think through tasks traditionally
considered management
responsibilities.
 Compensation
 Performance review
 Planning
 New product development

15. Stage One (Start-Up)
 The goal is preparation, preparing the
field for planting.

16. Stage One (Start-Up)
 Conduct awareness training, what they
are and what they aren’t.
 Select members
 Align the method of production with the
way people work.
 We must establish trust BEFORE we will
get “buy-in”.

17. Stage One (Start-Up)
 Boundaries
 Teams have a clear sense of identity
 Harmonize team efforts with the
organization
 Ensure accountability
 Ensure compliance with specification
requirements, fiscal, and legal mandates.

18. Stage One (Start-Up)
 Training for managers
 Training for team members
 Technical skills
 Administrative skills
 Interpersonal skills
 Group process awareness

19. Stage One (Start-Up)
 Involve the team in the start-up
process!
 Build a culture of experimentation,
measurement, & re-evaluation
 Stage one lasts 6-9 months.

20. Stage Two (State of
Confusion)
 The goal is regulated growth, building a
solid root structure to support later
growth.

21. Stage Two (State of
Confusion)
 Members will naturally mourn the loss
of certain predictable events and
expectations, “we have always done it
this way”.
 Concerns about job security.
 Will it really work?

22. Stage Two (State of
Confusion)
 Managers need to be visible during
stage two.
 Encourage reorganization for self-
management
 Monitor team performance and benchmark
 Hand off new responsibilities as soon as
the team is ready
 Facilitate communication among teams and
provide education to others.

23. Stage Two (State of
Confusion)
 Hazards of stage two
 Managers who won’t let go
 Managers who are hoping the team will
collapse
 Managers who won’t get involved

24. Stage Two (State of
Confusion)
 Offer technical assistance
 Positive feedback
 Do the teams have the information they
need?
 Are procedures in place to support self-
direction?
 Access to training and consultation
 Stage two lasts 6-9 months

25. Stage Three (Leader-Centered
Teams)
 Goal, focus on the outcome and
develop an identity. Nurture the plant
until it is capable of adapting to its
conditions and sustaining its own
growth .

26. Stage Three (Leader-Centered
Teams
 Members take more of an interest in
the quality of their product or service.
 Team members may begin to challenge
managers.
 Teams are assigning work and
organizing themselves.
 Managers take more of an external role.

27. Stage Three (Leader-Centered
Teams)
 Team leaders may be appointed or
elected, team input is critical.
 Leadership may rotate
 Team leaders must accept the goal of
self-direction. Their mission is to guide
the team towards autonomy.

28. Stage Three (Leader-Centered
Teams
 Build team identity
 Promote a vision
 Recognition and rewards
 Encourage leadership activities among
all team members
 Stage three lasts 6-12 months.

29. Stage Four (Tightly Formed
Teams)
 Goal, begin to look outward. Pollination
and flowering requires relationships
with other plants and sustenance from
outside sources.

30. Stage Four (Tightly Formed
Teams)
 Teams may turn inward and become
self-absorbed
 They actively resolve conflicts
 They manage their own production
 They communicate regarding resources
and goals

31. Stage Four (Tightly Formed
Teams)
 Maintain communication with management
 Integrate the team with other teams and the
rest of the organization
 Increase information about performance
 Manager to team – not manager to team
member
 Stage four lasts 6-12 months

32. Stage Five (Self-Direction)
 Goal, link the team’s work directly to
the outcome of the organization.

33. Stage Five (Self-Direction)
 Continue to respond to training needs.
 Build team-friendly systems
 Focus on external customer needs and
expectations

34. Stage Five (Self-Direction)
 Focus on the work process, issue, or
behavior not on the person.
 Maintain the self-confidence and self-
esteem of others.
 Maintain strong partnerships with
internal and external customers
 Improve and lead by example

35. Discussion
 What factors might effect the times
required in each stage?
 What types of training would be
required for any self-directed team
conversion, regardless of the product?
 Can anyone be trained and coached to
be an effective team member?