How do you Measure Operator Motivation / Morale? Our Auditor wants Documentation

[Helmut Jilling]

Bev,

I agree on the inadequacies of the questionnaires wholeheartedly. We paid about $50K for a bunch of HR gurus to come in wearing their kaftans and beads...and they asked great questions like "If you were a car would you be a Volkswagen or a Ferrari?", "If you were a colour what would it be?"...now these may be great physco babble questions to ask because obviously different cars and colours mean different outlooks but in real terms people skew the results for these surveys to suit their own ends or don't take them seriously enough in the first place. If people are worried about job security, company mergers, layoffs, Non communication, gossip etc then a survey of car types and colours is not going to help. I feel sorry for those companies that have to quantify morale and qualify KPIs against IMHO a ridiculous clause. We went from 2% staff turn over to 25% turnover because coal mines began appearing out of the ground, less than two hours drive from here and were paying DOUBLE the award wage. We managed to document their reasons in exit polls.

(Btw, which were you - a Ferrari or a VW.)

I agree it sounds like your company hired a bunch of gypsies...but, no one made your company hire them... There are a number of good consultants on this forum. Hire us instead...

However, let's not diss the whole clause. Please review the standard. It is not about measuring some lame metric, it is about a holistic approach to motivating employees to want to do good work. Since we like Toyota so much at Elsmar, well, here's an opportunity to copy some of their techniques.

The book "Good to Great" suggests the job of management is not "motivating their employees, but rather, it is to remove the 'demotivators' which management putsin their way." Good advice!

Let's not misinterpret a decent, proactive requirement, albeit a difficult one, when we have nothing better to put in its place...

 

[Howard Atkins]

6.2.2.4 Employee motivation and empowerment
[1] The organization shall have a process to motivate employees to achieve quality objectives, to make continual improvements, and to create an environment to promote innovation. The process shall include the promotion of
quality and technological awareness throughout the whole organization.

[2] The organization shall have a process to measure the extent to which its personnel are aware of the relevance and importance of their activities and how they contribute to the achievement of the quality objectives [see 6.2.2 d)].

There is a requirement for 2 separate processes as marked above.
There is a general requirement to monitor , measure and analyse the first process (4.1) .
The measurement in section 2 refers to something else all together and is directly connected as the standard says to 6.2.2 d and is in fact a repeat of the requirement at 6.2.2 c

We have had a number of discussions in the past
-reference to previous discussions
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=9386

Methods of measurement
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showpost.php?p=30798&postcount=5

Randy- you repeat yourself
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showpost.php?p=86424&postcount=4

 

[Bev D]

However, let's not diss the whole clause. Please review the standard. It is not about measuring some lame metric,

No the standard isn't, but the original poster's auditor was going that way: telling him that certain metrics weren't appropriate even tho they could serve as a decent initial approach, which several in this thread agreed with...it's a tough requirement and there are a thousand ways to do it such that more harm is created than good if one doesn't know how to do it...

...it is about a holistic approach to motivating employees to want to do good work. Since we like Toyota so much at Elsmar, well, here's an opportunity to copy some of their techniques.

well, I never worked at Toyota, but I did work at Honda (in Ohio) in the nineties. I led a team to try to understand why the engineering staff was so demotivated. a very large percentage of engineers quit within 3 years of hire...a large demotivated section of the workforce and still good quality product. The cause was due to a culture mismatch that Honda wasn't goign to change - as was their right of course. They simply chose to live with it at the time and for them it was probably the right decision...would that get them a finding?

Let's not misinterpret a decent, proactive requirement, albeit a difficult one, when we have nothing better to put in its place...

I'm not sure we're misinterpreting it. We just disagree with it. The thread has branched from the original question and now has a portion addressing the "have standards gotten out of hand?" question. Since registration to these many standards is not truly voluntary - usually dictated by yoru Customers (and yes a business could choose to get out of that market segment but that is often not a choice and most market segments are now pushing theri own standards - many of which are ISO9000 with extra twists)

is morale and motivation a good thing for a company to address? is the most important thing? does it have to REQUIRED? if so what's next? personal hygiene? eating, drinking and fitness habits? which political views you espouse? (eg if your employed in aerospace and defense you better not be a tree hugging liberal peace-nut!). One can argue that these attributes also affect quality and reliability and so they must also be controlled in the standards...I know I'm getting silly but in my opinion so are the standards...

 

[Steve Prevette]

is morale and motivation a good thing for a company to address? is the most important thing? does it have to REQUIRED? if so what's next? personal hygiene? eating, drinking and fitness habits? which political views you espouse? (eg if your employed in aerospace and defense you better not be a tree hugging liberal peace-nut!). One can argue that these attributes also affect quality and reliability and so they must also be controlled in the standards...I know I'm getting silly but in my opinion so are the standards...

Several companies are now offering memberships to health clubs to help keep people healthy. Reduces injuries. I think some of the things you listed are things that companies may CHOOSE to do. I agree that trying to mandate these things as a "standard" is silly and counterproductive. People start doing things for the wrong reason, and no matter how well intentioned the auditor or the standard was, things go to poop really fast.

 

[AndyN]

........I agree that trying to mandate these things as a "standard" is silly and counterproductive. People start doing things for the wrong reason, and no matter how well intentioned the auditor or the standard was, things go to poop really fast.

Oh Steve...........!

Since ISO/TS 16949 is where this requirement comes from, it seems that there will be no hope for all the auto-industry suppliers, what could happen is that they will 'all go to poop' as well as the OEMs are.........
I wonder what will happen then......
Andy

 

[Greg B]

I think Bev and I are they only two game enough to call this clause a CROCK!!! The next standard will most likely tell us how to Counsel Employees, Monitor and record Individual Salary/Contract Negotiations, JOHARI Window modeling etc...Can't we agree that in the truest sense of Standards we should not be told how to manage our personnel. Lets stick to Process management not people management.
BTW we did not hire a band of HR Gypsies...we hired the preeminent company in Australia and possibly the world KP*G!!!!
My advice to the first poster is to tell the registrar to PROVE the requirement or get another registrar. They are NOT the ultimate authority and they WORK for YOU!!!
Please, if anyone else would like to pick my post apart feel free to PM me...because I truly believe their are certain people on the COVE that just want to argue about every single topic as they feel they are experts and I'm here to tell you that you are NOT that good. Stick to a few topics instead of ranting and bashing others!!!

 

[Helmut Jilling]

No the standard isn't, but the original poster's auditor was going that way: telling him that certain metrics weren't appropriate even tho they could serve as a decent initial approach, which several in this thread agreed with...it's a tough requirement and there are a thousand ways to do it such that more harm is created than good if one doesn't know how to do it...



well, I never worked at Toyota, but I did work at Honda (in Ohio) in the nineties. I led a team to try to understand why the engineering staff was so demotivated. a very large percentage of engineers quit within 3 years of hire...a large demotivated section of the workforce and still good quality product. The cause was due to a culture mismatch that Honda wasn't goign to change - as was their right of course. They simply chose to live with it at the time and for them it was probably the right decision...would that get them a finding?



I'm not sure we're misinterpreting it. We just disagree with it. ...
is morale and motivation a good thing for a company to address? is the most important thing? does it have to REQUIRED? if so what's next? ...

I actually agree with your first two comments ...and we'll reserve the right to disagree on the last. I choose to think it is a worthwhile requirement.

 

[Helmut Jilling]

I think Bev and I are they only two game enough to call this clause a CROCK!!!

If I thought it was a crock, I would clearly say so. I prefer to think it is useful...

...Can't we agree that in the truest sense of Standards we should not be told how to manage our personnel. Lets stick to Process management not people management.

I don't see how you can separate the people from the process. They are an intergal part, which is why I like the requirement.

BTW we did not hire a band of HR Gypsies...we hired the preeminent company in Australia and possibly the world KP*G!!!!

Sorry, didn't mean to get your knickers in a twist. If you reread your description of them, I think your description was not so different than mine. But, no worries, it was just a sporting comment.
(PS: there may be a few folks on this planet that may not agree that the particular firm you allude to is necessarily "the preeminent company in ... possibly the world...).

Ummm, ok, whatever... I'll apologize if you like...

 

[Manoj Mathur]

We have made and documented also, a system for Employee Empowerment and Motivation under TS – 2 Quality Management System. In this procedure, we have defined many metrics for measurements. I have attached this document in one of the TS-2 related thread.
I am quoting the part of measurement from this document

“In addition to activities on OHS, Company’s use following techniques for Employees motivation
1) Suggestion Scheme
2) Training to Employees
3) Small group activities like committee system.
4) Quiz competition on Quality awareness

I know if in Sept. 2004 the number of people who all have given their suggestion was 38 and in Aug -2006, this figure is 55, I say with confidence that people on shop floor are owning their work place and trying to remove the de-motivating elements and causes of Muri etc.
Similarly, the performance metrics could be established in Small Group Activities such as Quality Circle activities, Kaizen etc.
That is what we are doing.

Regards,
Manoj Mathur

 

[mneedha1]

The ISO-9000 requirement is in 6.2.2 - d) to 'ensure that its personnel are aware of the relevance and importance of their activities'
How can the organization have information or data about this?? One way is through a survey.
TS-16949 goes further: In 6.2.2.4, the requirement is that 'the organization shall have a process to measure the extent to which its personnel are aware of the relevance and importance of their activities and how they contribute to the achievment of the quality objectives.' Again, a survey is ONE way this can be accomplished.