Daily Lean Tips Edition #52

For my Facebook fans you already know about this great feature. But for those of you that are not connected to A Lean Journey on Facebook or Twitter I post daily a feature I call Lean Tips.  It is meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledge tidbits about Lean to help you along your journey.  Another great reason to like A Lean Journey on Facebook.

Click this link for A Lean Journey's Facebook Page Notes Feed.

Here is the next addition of tips from the Facebook page:

Lean Tip #766 - Employees Need Time to Cope With a New Culture.

Miracles can’t happen overnight and habits do not change all of a sudden. The employees must spend some time to understand and adjust to the new culture. One should work with an open mind and willingly accept things. Don’t always crib as it leads to no solution. The employees must try their level best to accept the changes with a smile and work accordingly. One should never be in a rush. The management must also give time to the employees for them to gel with the new culture. Don’t pressurize anyone to accept changes all of a sudden.

Lean Tip #767 – An Employee Must Change His Behavior and Thought Process as Per the Culture.

It is essential to be flexible. Being adaptable at the workplace always pays in the long run. Remember everything happens for the best. One should always try to look at the positive aspects of life rather than cribbing on things which are beyond anyone’s control.

Lean Tip #768 - Model the Culture You Want to Create.

The culture of a company is the behavior of its leaders. If you change their attitudes, their values, their beliefs, their behaviors, you will change your culture. If you don’t, you will fail. This is why you must have alignment with your leadership team. If they are not willing to change their behavior and model what you are trying to create, you must replace them. That may sound harsh, but it’s true. If you don’t, nothing will change in the organization.

Lean Tip #769 - Embrace and Encourage Change.

You can resist change and die; or you can accept it as an integral part of your organizational culture, and move forward with vigor to face the future. The more flexible you are, the more willing to rebound and put that new force dead square where it needs to be in order to alter your company’s course for the better, the more likely you’ll still be there to help make the world a better place for a long time to come.

Lean Tip #770 – Institutionalize Cultural Knowledge Into Every Facet of The Organization

Cultural knowledge should be integrated into every facet of an organization. Staff must be trained and be able to effectively utilize knowledge gained. Policies should be reflective of the organization’s culture. Evaluate the organization's cultural competence on a regular basis.

Lean Tip # 771 - Demonstrate That You Value Your Employees And Their Work.

Provide employees with the opportunity to be heard and demonstrate to them that their opinions are taken on board - employees should feel they are part of the decision-making process. They are also likely to take more pride in the organization’s overall mission and vision if they believe they are contributing meaningfully.

Lean Tip #772 - Communicate Effectively In Order To Develop Trust And Confidence In Your Employees.

An organization’s culture plays a pivotal role in driving motivation and the relationships between employees, managers and their colleagues therefore need to be founded on trust, support and collaboration. A multi channel, planned and opportunistic, communication strategy that promotes openness and transparency will help make this possible.

Lean Tip #773 - Provide Interesting And Challenging Work To Your Employees. 

Employees are increasingly looking for work that is meaningful and stimulating. Despite the difficulty in providing this constantly, the aim is to empower and satisfy your workforce by providing work that requires skills and experience where you can and is challenging for the right reasons.

Lean Tip # 774 - You Can’t Make People Engaged. Engagement Is An Outcome.

People choose to become engaged if they have sufficient opportunity and motivation. Having said that, there are things you can do to help. You can create the conditions so that people to do things because they want to, rather than because they were told to. The following tips offer some ideas for how to create these conditions.

Lean Tip #775 - Be Open: Provide The Tools And Opportunity

Encourage people to offer input to areas they think they could improve. Imagine how frustrating it could be if you hire someone because you value their experience, skills and potential, and then confine their contribution to a defined job role. If someone in Sales could add value to Research & Development, couldn’t the benefit of contributing outside their role be greater (to the organization and individual) than the drawbacks?

Lean Tip #776 - Give People Autonomy

Help people understand the goal you’re working towards, and inspire them about why that’s the goal. Then give them the trust and ownership to determine how they can help you achieve it. You can offer support and advice, and the opportunity to demonstrate their talent and value they can offer.

Lean Tip #777 - Show Employees They Make a Difference

Without your employees, your company simply couldn’t do business. Employees keep the company running and keep your customers happy. You can increase employee engagement by actively acknowledging the wonderful work they do as a team. You can also show employees how they make a difference beyond the company’s core business mission by highlighting the impact of the company’s philanthropy initiatives, corporate volunteer programs, and other charitable giving. Recognizing these causes reminds employees they’re making a difference beyond their place of work.

Lean Tip #778 - Share Information And Numbers With Employees To Create Ownership.

Let them in on what is going on within the company as well as how their jobs contribute to the big picture. When you keep you employees informed they tend to feel a greater sense of worth. Keep communication hopeful and truthful – do not be afraid to share bad news, instead be more strategic about how you deliver it. Improve performance through transparency – By sharing numbers with employees, you can increase employees’ sense of ownership.

Lean Tip #779 - Choose The Right Champions For Initiatives To Get Engagement Early.

To make sure engagement captures both hearts and minds, activate your ‘early adopters’ who are passionate about not only the concept but also about driving change and influencing others to communicate with local business units. Look for and find the ‘right’ people for the job. Both the doers (get it done) and the planners (get it right). So if you are trying to engage a team, make sure you have a good mix of get it right and get it done people.

Lean Tip #780 – Management Must Remove Roadblocks That Hinder Achievement

Most employees want to accomplish the objectives in front of them, but most people run into what they perceive to be a never-ending series of roadblocks. One such roadblock is knowledge where many employees believe that a lack of knowledge or expertise prevents them from accomplishing what they want to accomplish. Another common roadblock is lack of internal communication. Many employees cite poor communication as the number one hindrance to accomplishing a specific task. Companies that empower employees to master the subject of their work and facilitate internal communication are well on their way to improved employee engagement.