Ignoring the people side of a business and gambling on technologies and processes to unilaterally deliver success is a bad bet.
By Joe Park, Global Director, Reliability, Novelis Inc.
It’s not unusual to hear businesses tout the fact that technology sets them apart from their competition. While excellent technologies and processes are an integral part of a successful business, betting a company’s future on this belief can be a dangerous proposition.
With capital “T” technology evolving exponentially, products that are world-class today could be commodities tomorrow. The fact is, there will always be suppliers that are smarter, better funded, or hungrier, and poised to capture a niche in the market. As end users, we must recognize that technology is mercenary and available to anyone with a large enough checkbook. This is equally true of manpower and expertise. So, how does a company truly distinguish itself in the market for the long term?
Think ‘culture’
We hear a lot about culture these days. Organizational culture is a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that governs how people behave in organizations. These shared values have a strong influence on the people in an organization and dictate how they dress, act, and perform their jobs.
But organizational culture is a double-edged sword. Coupled with good technology and sound business strategies, a healthy organizational culture becomes a powerful enabler. Conversely, no amount of technology and sound business practices can compensate for an unhealthy culture.
Companies recognize that loyalty and performance represent an important factor in success. Many of them, though, fail to recognize that people are loyal to the organization’s culture, not to its technology and business strategy.
During my career, I’ve seen two major mistakes made repeatedly. The first is trying to solve a cultural issue with technology. The second is introducing the right technology to the wrong culture. The inevitable result of either scenario is wasted money, loss of technology credibility, and unsolved problems.
The following examples illustrate those two primary mistakes. At best, these types of solutions lead to millions of dollars in unnecessary costs. They’re also prone to failure, since the root cause of the problem goes unaddressed—because it’s cultural, not technological.
Mistake #1
Here are three examples of trying to solve cultural issues with technology:
— A manufacturer spends $1.5M on a quality-inspection system because people repeatedly fail to follow procedures, leading to quality excursions.
— A retailer spends $75,000 on a swipe-card and camera-surveillance system to prevent chronic storeroom theft.
— A facility houses a massive overstock of spare parts because of a lack of proactive machinery maintenance.
One reason companies turn to technology is because people issues are more difficult to tackle than non-people issues: Machines don’t talk back. Also, when all else fails, we can blame an issue on the technology. Roger Enrico, former CEO of PepsiCo, summed up this concept best when he explained, “The soft stuff is the hard stuff.”
People also have a tendency to turn first to technical specialists for quick-fix solutions. Faced with a challenge, our first response frequently is, “There has to be a technology for that.” The problem is, when we ask technical experts for solutions, we inevitably only get technical answers. The truth is, not everything has a technical solution.
To avoid this first category of mistakes, ask yourself:
— Is the issue behavioral?
— Could the problem be resolved if standard practices were in place and being followed?
— Is the issue due to a lack of training?
— Does your organizational structure inhibit people from exhibiting the right behaviors and making the right decisions?
— Do people lack the right empowerment and/or tools to do the job?
— Is there a clear line of sight between what people are asked to do and the expected outcome?
— Is the issue chronic or does it only manifest itself around certain people or crews?
If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, you’re likely dealing with an organizational, not a technical, issue. Dealing with cultural challenges calls for courage and skill. Begin by assuming the best in every situation and focus on “Why?” instead of “Who?”
Talk to personnel. What may appear to be a “people” problem may be a lack of empowerment, understanding, or training. The goal is not to place blame, but to find a solution.
Mistake #2
In this example of introducing the right technology to the wrong culture, a large manufacturing facility spends $500,000 to install a new CMMS in an attempt to improve maintenance efficiency and cost tracking. Three years later:
— the percentage of planned work is unimproved
— the old legacy system is still running in the background
— preventive-maintenance compliance is less than 50%
— many people have forgotten how to even log into the system.
In a second example, an industrial plant spends $150,000 on an online vibration-monitoring system. Six months later:
— a bearing failure destroys a gearbox
— three months worth of system alerts have been ignored.
These examples reflect a “Field of Dreams” approach: We build it and hope people will come around to the new technology. The reality is that we build it and frequently nothing changes. Why?
Technical experts have a tendency to become enthralled with a technical solution—so much so that they forget the people side of the equation. This often results from:
— failure to get “buy in” from personnel
— failure to communicate clearly
— failure to fully train the everyday user
— assuming everyone understands the technology, when they don’t.
Aligning technology with culture
Focusing on the technological aspects of a solution while neglecting the people side is a primary cause of technical failures. Technology must align with the organizational culture. How does a business ensure such alignment?
Communicate:
— Be certain people understand the value of the technology.
— Ensure the technology is not perceived as a substitute for people. If the technology is perceived as a threat, it will not be embraced and will likely fail.
Listen:
— Consult with the people who will use the technology daily.
— Involve them in designing the technical solutions.
— Let them experiment and raise concerns or questions.
Train:
— Don’t underestimate the need for training. A primary reason technology solutions fail is a lack of immediate and ongoing training and coaching.
Eight steps to culture change
Companies tend to speak about culture as if it were a single-variable equation. The truth is, culture is the result of input from several sources, including the experience of individuals and dynamics within the workplace. Changing a culture is an action-oriented endeavor. No number of beautifully designed values posters or culture maps will bring culture change to life. That requires work and perseverance, a process I call “C-ing” your way to culture. These steps are not ingredients in a recipe, but rather a continuum that accounts for the different phases through which every new initiative must navigate. The details of how these are accomplished are unique to each organization and situation. All steps must be followed. None can be skipped. While the required time will depend on many factors, every successful initiative follows this pattern.
1. Concept. The first step in “C-ing” your way to culture is to develop a well-defined concept. Begin with the end in mind and define what good looks like. Be sure to seek advice from others. No one person’s concept is ever complete. Vet the idea with others you trust and solicit constructive feedback. Make sure to discuss potential barriers to implementation before you begin. Although you may not be able to anticipate every barrier, having a plan for most of them is critical to success. Make sure you have a good coalition before launching and ensure alignment with people who are key to your success. Finally, don’t communicate too early. Give the concept time to incubate and solidify before rolling it out.
2. Clear expectations. Change requires a clear vision and an articulated path to reach a goal. Clearly define why the change is needed, when it is required, and how it is going to be achieved. More important, provide a direct line of sight between what you are requiring of people and how those actions align with achieving the goal. These expectations vary for personnel in different parts of an organization. A difficult, but crucial, part of this is ensuring that people on the shop floor understand specifically how their actions directly contribute to the organization’s success.
3. Communication. This must take place throughout the entire process and beyond. Key messages and expectations must be repeated frequently and by many different people. Always check for understanding and allow questions. It’s essential that the method of communication be refreshed frequently. Find different ways of saying the same thing. Different means of communication appeal to different people. Remember, very few people will be aligned with your new initiative at this point. Take time to coach people toward the correct actions and understand that change takes time. Be tolerant of missteps in the early phases.
4. Consistency. Once the message has been well communicated, remain consistent across the organization on what is expected. A lack of consistency will be perceived as favoritism, discrimination, or a lack of commitment. It is important that expectations be tied to consequences. Reward right actions and discourage the wrong ones.
5. Compliance. Successfully completing the first three steps leads to compliance. Compliance is defined as the action or fact of complying with a wish or command. The key word here is “command.” Compliance suggests the right behaviors are visible, but only when someone is looking. Oftentimes compliance only lasts while those driving the change are still in place. Once the champions disappear, entropy usually takes over and things quickly revert back to the way they were.
Don’t confuse compliance with commitment. Such confusion is why many initiatives fail. On the surface, we see the signs of what is expected and we stop there and declare success. Recognize that some people will never progress past this point. Don’t waste time trying to convert those who can’t be convinced. Focus on the critical mass required to drive change. Let the perpetual naysayers fend for themselves. (Word of caution: Situations wherein the majority of an organization never advances beyond compliance can be indicative of concepts that were flawed from the start. In such a case, readjust and move forward.)
6. Crushing Barriers. The only way to move beyond compliance is if there is perceived value in the expectations and if existing barriers are removed. People must perceive value to self, family, or peers to move to a point of commitment. People must be able to articulate a positive answer to, “What’s in it for me?” Be careful to avoid allowing the answer to be based on rewards, which, after all, can be fleeting. If a reward is removed, the entire program can collapse.
When addressing barriers, it is also important to look at the mechanics of what is expected. Review questions such as, “Is what is being asked achievable, given the tools and knowledge provided? Are people fully empowered to do what is required? Have we made it as easy as possible to do the right things?”
7. Commitment. Commitment is characterized by the ability of people to clearly articulate value to others. People begin holding themselves, and even others, accountable. It is in this phase that the process of positive learning takes hold and there is resistance to going back to the old way of doing things.
8. Culture. When something becomes ingrained in a company’s culture, the perception becomes, “That’s the way we have always done it.” Keep in mind that only negative culture is self-perpetuating. A healthy culture is fragile and requires close monitoring and continuous coaching to sustain.
Businesses must recognize the root cause of problems and avoid the mistake of applying technological solutions to cultural or organizational issues. When implementing a change, an operation must also make sure the technology is aligned with the capability and willingness of the organization to use that technology. Failure on either of these fronts leads to excessive costs, failure to solve the problem, and loss of technology.
To ensure successful adoption, we must understand that culture change requires participation, vision, perseverance, and learning cycles to be successful. Only when we take this long-term, corrective action toward organizational culture can we successfully implement solutions to any challenge we might face. MT
Joe Park is the global director of reliability for Novelis Inc., Atlanta. This article is based on his presentation at Mainstream 2016 in The Woodlands, TX. Contact him at joe.park@novelis.adityabirla.com.
“Match Attitude, Structure to Change Culture”
“Building a Corporate Reliability Program”
The post Technology is for Sale, Culture is Not appeared first on Maintenance Technology.