Optimizing Staffing Levels Part 1 – Knowing Your Costs
A discussion about the costs of various labor options including overtime, straight time and temporary workers.
A discussion about the costs of various labor options including overtime, straight time and temporary workers.
Different operational roles require different staffing considerations when changing schedules.
Both, Plant Managers and HR Managers have questions about scheduling supervision; especially with regards to a schedule change.
Let’s cut right to the chase on this one: Should supervisors be on the same schedule as the people that they supervise?
The answer is unequivocal – YES.
Supervisors have one of the most complicated tasks at any facility.ย This comes from having to wear two hats at the same time.ย They are managers and must support the goals and processes that come down from above.ย They are also managers in a change of the productivity, safety, and well-being of those underneath them.
To do this, supervisors need consistency.ย The need to work for the same people so they are getting a consistent message from above.ย They also need to have people working for them that they know.ย They need to know who needs extra supervision and who can work well independently; who will perform better when verbally praised and who only works under the threat of sanction.ย The more often a supervisor matches the workload of his or her crew, the more they know those that work under them.
Equally important is the view from below.ย People need to know what is expected of them.ย In large part, this expectation comes directly from their supervisor.ย You don’t want an operator saying, “Well, Bob wants me to do it this way and Sue wants me to do it that way so I guess I’d better wait and see who shows up to be my boss today.”
There is also the need for accountability.ย A supervisor cannot be expected to be accountable to a shift that he or she is only supervising part-time.
There is broad acceptance of this idea, so why spend so much time on it? Why not always put a supervisor with the same crew?
There are a couple of reasons…
First, companies often find resistance from the workforce when they try to change schedules. This can be significant.ย If you don’t think so, change your shift start times by 15 minutes and see what happens; then imagine what would happen if you went from a 5-day to a 7-day schedule.ย To “soften” the blow, supervisor schedules may be changed first.ย They go from a 3-crew, 8-hour schedule to a 4-crew, 7-day schedule with 12-hour shifts.ย This change immediately gives the supervisors 78 more days off per year than the 5-day schedule.ย The idea is for the workforce to see all of the newly happy supervisors and think “Hey, I gotta get me some of that.”
The problem is, that this “demonstration” can go on for some time.ย There is often no objective way to see how far the workforce has swung towards wanting a change.ย Furthermore, if the desired effect is not achieved, you will run into supervisor complaints if you try to take their new and improved schedule away from them.ย I don’t want to imply that this strategy cannot work. I just want to say, “be careful” when you do it.
Some companies will shy away from the trend of longer shifts for more days off.ย They may want to go to a 7-day schedule but using 8-hour shifts instead of 12-hour shifts.ย Mathematically, you have two choices here.ย If you go to 8-hour shifts, and you want the supervisors to match the employee crews, then the schedule will have to rotate.ย Alternatively, you can have fixed shifts but the supervisor schedule will not match the crew schedule.ย (Give me a call if you want more details on this one).
One last thing – If your supervisors have more than 20 people working under them, you may be stretching them a bit thin.ย This brings up a whole new set of issues.
I have done nothing but work with companies to help them evaluate, design and implement shift schedules for the last 25 years.ย It has been my experience that the supervisor component is one of the most important and most overlooked contributors to the success or failure of such a change.
Call Us and find a schedule that works for your company, your hourly employees and your valuable supervisors.
Call or text us today atย (415) 763-5005ย to discuss your operations and how we can help you solve your shift work problems. You can also complete ourย contact formย and we will call you.
What is the difference between fixed and rotating schedules as well as any other type of schedule?
Asย demand picked up for their products, the machine parts shop wanted to expand its operation to keep up with the orders. And immediately many questions emerged.ย What to plan for whenย demand is not only growing but fluctuating? How to match the workforce to the increased workload when it takes 3 years to train them? How to solve for retaining or hiring staffย amidstย rising demand forย workers from neighboring businesses? How to take them through the changes the adjustment would entailย when they like their current routine and have a strongย resistance to change? Here are the highlights of how a comprehensive approach to change management and an integrated Shift Designย can helpย addressย these challenges.
The situation:
That’s quite a list of challenges to tackle.
The questions are:
The strategy:
It is important to remember that yourย workforce has choices.ย If they are unhappy, they will move along to greener pastures.ย At the same time, the company has to respond to business conditions and strive to improve service to their customers. If you don’t take care of your customers…someone else will. Below is how we designed a custom shiftwork structure to meet company-specific needs while taking care of employees.
The Benefits:ย Our shift design aligned employee demands with organizational goals: the workforce can keep their preferred overtime and get a schedule that gives them more days off. It can help overcome their resistance to change and mitigate the chances that they will flee for greener pastures elsewhere. This new shiftwork structure allows for flexible production adjustments to get happy customers and a streamlined operation while the attractive shift will allow for hiring new crews.
Call Us and We Can Help
Call or text us today atย (415) 763-5005ย to discuss your operations and how we can help you solve your shift work problems. You can also complete ourย contact formย and we will call you.
Plant managers and Human Resource managers that work with large groups of employees have almost certainly learned one clear truth: People don’t like to be told what to do.
Knowing this, at Shiftwork Solutions, we have developed a process of communication and participative employee involvement to help companies through our change process.
Companies typically come to us with a shiftwork issue such as “I need to start running my 5-day operation 24/7.”ย They expect us to do some math, which we do.ย They expect us to work out the policies and staffing numbers, which we do.ย They expect us to examine product flow and create a solution that fits their entire situation, which we do.
But most of all, they expect us to bring the workforce along on the ride.
We accomplish this using the following basic steps:
Communication and employee involvement and workforce buy-in are crucial when implementing changes in operation. Will the workforce be along on the ride when your production grows?
Call Us and to help get your workforce involved the next time you need to have your shift schedule reviewed or changed.
Call or text us today atย (415) 763-5005ย to discuss your operations and how we can help you solve your shift work problems. You can also complete ourย contact formย and we will call you.
Don’t forget your shiftwork policy review when changing schedules.
This is the second in a series of presentations about 10-hour shifts.