Combating Organizational Distractions
The famous expression “squirrel!” perfectly captures how a new idea or distraction can instantly pull your attention away from your primary tasks. While this can happen on a personal level, it can also be an issue within large companies, especially in manufacturing and operations. Here, these distractions often come from within the organization itself.
So, what are these distractions? They frequently arise from what are known as Centers of Excellence (COEs) or support functions. These are corporate groups like Engineering, Quality, HR, and Innovation. Their core purpose is to help the operations side of the business run better by providing specialized services and expertise. On the surface, this sounds like a perfect setup—one team supports another to achieve a common goal. However, things can quickly become complicated.
The problem starts when these corporate support functions begin to place demands on the operations teams.
The Central Challenge: Corporate Demands vs. Operational Reality
The challenge we’re talking about is a common one in large organizations. On one side, you have corporate support functions, each with its own goals and initiatives. For example, the Engineering department might be focused on a new change, while the HR team is rolling out a new policy, and Quality is launching an initiative to improve standards. All of these are important, but each department is judged on its own success. This often leads them to set their own quarterly goals, many of which require the manufacturing plants to execute a change or provide data.
On the other side, you have the operational reality of the plant. A plant manager has a core set of challenges related to running the business every day, such as meeting production targets, managing the team, and dealing with unexpected issues. They are responsible for everything that happens on the plant floor. However, with demands coming from multiple corporate groups, the plant manager is forced to play the role of a “traffic cop,” trying to manage and prioritize an overwhelming number of requests.
This dynamic shifts the relationship from one of collaboration to one of demand, creating a significant roadblock to operational performance.
This situation creates a major disconnect. As one plant manager put it, what they really need is “someone who can help us run the business better.” They are looking for advice and support to solve their day-to-day operational problems, but instead, they often receive a series of projects that feel disconnected from their immediate needs. When every support function funnels their requests to a single point of contact, it can bog down the plant’s entire leadership team. This leads to a sense of being “victimized by priorities,” and the workload becomes even more difficult to manage.
The key to overcoming these challenges is to move away from this demanding, top-down relationship. The goal is to establish a true partnership between support functions and operations. By aligning goals, improving communication, and working together, you can eliminate distractions and boost overall efficiency, ensuring everyone is working toward the same objective.
Strategy 1: The Shift from “Funneling Down” to Direct Liaison
The old way of working—where all requests from corporate support functions are funneled through the plant manager—is a major source of inefficiency. It turns the plant manager into a bottleneck, preventing quick action and bogging down their already busy schedule. This top-down approach is simply not sustainable.
The solution is to shift to a more distributed approach: direct liaison. Instead of sending every inquiry to the plant manager, encourage your COEs to work directly with the specific operational leaders who can best handle the request. For instance, the Quality department should communicate directly with the plant’s Quality leader, Engineering with the Maintenance leader, and so on.
This simple change has powerful benefits:
- It frees up the plant manager: With fewer interruptions and demands, the site leader can focus on their core responsibilities, such as strategy and overall performance.
- It creates more efficient communication: Requests go straight to the experts who have the knowledge and authority to respond. This saves time and prevents information from getting lost or misunderstood.
- It fosters a sense of empowerment: By giving operational leaders more direct contact with corporate partners, you empower them to take ownership and lead change within their own areas.
When everyone has a clear and direct line of communication, the plant can more effectively absorb and execute new initiatives without feeling overwhelmed. It’s about moving from a system of demands to a model of targeted collaboration.
Strategy 2: Collaborative Planning and Ongoing Dialogue
While direct liaison is a great step, it doesn’t solve the issue of a plant being overwhelmed with too many initiatives at once. Even with direct communication, multiple departments can still be pushing for their own projects, each with its own deadlines. Plant managers want to be good corporate partners and keep these teams happy, but they also want to protect their team from being overburdened. This is where collaborative planning and negotiation come in.
Many companies have an annual planning process to set goals, but what happens during the rest of the year? Changes happen. New opportunities arise. Unexpected problems pop up. When this happens, there needs to be an ongoing dialogue. The plant managers must be empowered to negotiate deadlines and priorities with the leaders of the COEs.
This isn’t about saying “no” to every request. It’s about having a constructive conversation. Plant managers should be able to say, “We want to do this project but we have three other priorities this quarter. Can we adjust the timeline?”
Plant managers want to make sure initiatives are not only well-intentioned but also realistic and executable, leading to better outcomes for both the corporate teams and the operational facilities.
Strategy 3: Holding a Joint Session to Bridge the Gap
You can do all the collaborative planning and direct liaison you want, but sometimes, a relationship needs a reset. This is where a facilitated joint session comes in. By bringing plant managers and COE leaders together in the same room, you create a space for open, honest dialogue about how to define a truly effective collaborative relationship.
A facilitated session provides a neutral environment where everyone can get on the same page. The discussion should focus on identifying common pain points, clarifying roles, and establishing clear communication protocols. Are there recurring issues that frustrate both sides? Do plant managers know exactly what to expect from each COE? A facilitated discussion can help you answer these questions and build a stronger foundation.
By putting the time and energy into this kind of focused, face-to-face interaction, you can bridge the gap between corporate strategy and operational reality. This ensures that your company gets the most out of its specialized support functions and, most importantly, helps your production facilities meet their objectives with fewer distractions.
Fostering a Partnership for Peak Performance
The relationship between support functions and manufacturing operations can be a source of constant frustration or a powerful driver of performance. The key is to move from a top-down, demand-driven model to a collaborative, partnership-based approach.
By implementing the strategies we’ve discussed—shifting to direct liaison, embracing collaborative planning, and holding joint sessions—you can build a relationship that works for everyone. This new way of working reduces organizational distractions, empowers your team, and ultimately allows your plant to operate at its maximum potential.
Instead of a “traffic cop” at a constant crossroads, your plant manager becomes a strategic leader who can leverage the full expertise of the corporate team. The result is a more efficient, engaged, and productive organization. We can help align your COEs and plant managers, it all starts with a conversation at uniquedevelopment.com.
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