Champions in the workplace™
Focused on Results!
| Home Page |
| Courses Index |
| BC Region |
| Alberta Region |
| - Alberta Team |
| - Services |
| Manitoba Region |
| Quebec Region |
| Resources |
| Workplace Problems |
| Contact Us |
Front-line Manager Turnaround Stories
The reality is that not everyone responds to coaching and training. They have to have jobfit. If they don’t it is like pushing a rope up in the air; lots of effort and no return no matter how hard you try. In most situations it makes business sense to redeploy the poor performer. Employees in the long run hopefully will be happier in their new job. Secondly, participants must have desire to improve; if they don’t put your money into someone where it will pay off. Below are three turnaround stories (first names have been changed). Trying to be everybody’s friend
All Bill needed was coaching of fundamental principles of how to organize both equipment AND people. His three decade career provided him primarily with equipment skills. By the end of the seven onsite sessions Bill said, “Though I am busier than I have ever been, I am feeling more relaxed. Even when surprises come up I feel in control and organized to handle whatever comes up. I tell management the capacity I have available and let them decide the priorities. Plus I stood my ground on the importance of safety training as a non-negotiable activity”. By having a coach reassure him that he was making good decisions despite challenges he was facing in and outside the company, his confidence grew exponentially. Rough around the edges; someone to avoid
What motivated the change? Frustrated by days that were so long, when arriving home Frank’s children were ready for bed and so was he. This upset him because he had no time for family or time to tinker in his welding shop in the backyard. Realizing that HE needed to change, he became more efficient by investing in technical coaching of his crew so that they became more self-sufficient. Lack of focus, lacking sense of what is a priority, firefighting
Each week Sally and her fellow supervisors met in coaching sessions. They discovered their challenges were similar. That was the first breakthrough. Sally realized she wasn’t the only person struggling. By developing systems for her department which included one on one training, regular workgroup planning and problem solving meets, daily planning and priority setting Sally learned to accept what she couldn’t change and control more effectively what she could. On her own initiative she regularly met with her manager. Team coaching discussions helped her develop a comfortable and organized approach to meeting with her manager. By the time she had the headcount she needed to meet company demand she had a highly organized department and peace of mind. Bruce |
By: Bruce Renton, 
Bill had a reputation as the best worker because of his productivity, attention to quality and easy going nature. Despite several offers he turned down the opportunity for promotion. “If I take my work home with me emotionally I don’t want to be the plant manager, it isn’t worth it. I like to coach people and lead by example, not intimidate or push”. His other concerns about the position included management wanting high productivity with a lack of equipment, floor space and staff. 
Frank was a foreman that employees would avoid working with because they felt he had his mind made up before they would talk to him. At the start of the first team coaching session he kept looking at his watch, indirectly saying, ‘doing I really have to be here?’ By the end of the program he was one of the most improved participants. Overtime of one hour per day for his 18 person crew was virtually eliminated with the same daily output. Employees proactively came to him with ideas for improving how to get the job done. 
Sally is a quiet person who didn’t seem comfortable in her new position as materials manager. She had two major challenges in her new job; she was not a natural people person around her staff and secondly she was uncomfortable speaking with management about her challenges. As she confided, ‘I should be able to figure it all out for myself without bothering management. One difficulty that was out of her control was lack of staff. The fast work pace and backlog made her feel disorganized and unable to establish priorities.