Encouraging Plant Collaboration With Supervisors

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How do you encourage plant collaboration supervisors? 

To know the answer, we need to see how people can work together and drive exceptional operating performance.

Breaking Down The Myth Of Overdone Collaboration

Something we misunderstand when working with clients is that we have already “tried” collaboration. Yet, statistics show that 75% of employees believe collaboration is of value. Moreover, 86% of executives say collaboration makes a difference between low, medium, and high performance.

That is not something that we can ignore.
Statistics show that 75% of employees believe collaboration is of value. Moreover, 86% of executives say collaboration makes a difference between low, medium, and high performance. Share on X

Tips On Increasing Plant Collaboration With Supervisors

Let us say one of our clients is experiencing the problem of silos in their organization. Specifically, silos are walls that we build between manufacturing and maintenance. The problem is that these invisible walls make people not want to work together to improve performance.

This applies to a situation we once experienced at a company where the managers were all very competitive and always wanted to outdo each other. Consequently, they sent the message of “us versus them.” Following this, we conducted a series of workshops and improved leadership skills.

What they noticed is that groups started to lay down their weapons and have conversations with one another regarding support. Some even said that making certain changes would make their jobs easier in terms of meeting requirements. 

These conversations can occur when you create an environment of collaboration. 

To learn more about this, you need to follow some key recommendations. With them, you can understand how to increase factory collaboration with your supervisor for greater efficiency:

Recommendation Number One: Collaborate By Example

When people see managers working together rather than competing based on operational metrics, they start to get the message that “we are part of one big team”. In this scenario, the only check that matters is the one sent by the customer after a successful product retrieval.

Recommendation Number Two: Set Common Goals

Each department has its own metrics, goals, and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). But what is the overarching goal here? 

We know that we are still going to measure all the different components that go into that goal. Yet, we need to ensure that we are not overemphasizing the differences between shifts or locations. 

In other words, we need to look at the goals we have in common.

Recommendation Number Three: Identify Collaborative Projects

Nothing brings people together more than when they do common work together. This means that you need to identify continuous improvement projects. They should require people from various disciplines to work together and provide solutions affecting performance.
Nothing brings people together more than when they do common work together. Share on X

Achieving Organizational Excellence With Leadership

What do you do after you have established and encouraged plant collaboration with supervisors? You are going to find that you want to work on some of the other leadership skills that will drive organizational excellence. 

Luckily, our Front Line Leadership Program can help! It is offered in English, Spanish, and French. Better yet, it is offered remotely and in person. 

Everything starts with a conversation. Learn to map out your leadership strategy and achieve the best results possible. 

Start now by visiting our website at uniquedevelopment.com.