"Labor relations have changed considerably. We were stuck in our old papermaking culture of us against them. We realized we needed to work as a team. TDG took the initiative to bridge that gap."
In thousands of conversations with potential clients we have identified several commonly asked questions. We have listed them below with our responses.
Attempting to train client personnel without the active participation of leadership is futile. The behavior shaping process Team Development Group employs requires managers to learn and simultaneously role model the skills their team members are learning. Managers are not only involved in the development process they are key to its success. Behavior shaping is a coaching based process and it is in the coaching role that the manager becomes most heavily involved in the team member’s development. Over the course of the implementation process the manager gradually supplants and eventually replaces the consultant as coach and behavior shaper.
Team Development Group has extensive experience working in large integrated mills and plants. Often program participants begin with feelings of fear, mistrust, and resentments towards us. We have never completed a program with those same feelings in place. Additionally, in 90% of our on-site engagements, the clients have chosen to extend our involvement into other areas. We are very successful in turning a potentially adversarial relationship into a cooperative one. We accomplish this in two ways. First, we identify the source of the resistance. It is most often fear of change. Second, we deal with the resistance and fears by involving all process participants in the need for change, defining the action steps to be taken, the roles they will play, the challenges anticipated, and explain the results expected.
Team Development Group’s process is vertically and horizontally integrated to work with companies the way they actually function and to include individuals at all levels of the organization. We begin the development process by working with top levels of management to define and communicate their performance expectations. We continue this process at each successive level of the organization down to and including the hourly employee. Simultaneously we develop with supervisors the skills and concepts needed to meet the expectations coming down the chain of command.
Approximately 90% of our work has been in unionized facilities. In terms of formal involvement we typically hold a special orientation session for union officers to communicate our purpose, outline our activities, and solicit their input during the needs analysis. During the implementation phase we often have union officers participate in the process steering committee. They do not participate in their official capacity as union officers but rather as employees. We have found active union members are often among the most vocal supporters of the process.
Our on-the-job coaching reinforces, rather than competes, with other improvement initiatives. For example, many of our clients are involved in quality improvement efforts. This training typically focuses on the proper methodology to identify and resolve quality problems. We advance the training process by supplying on-the-job coaching to encourage team members to apply their new knowledge in their jobs. A more specific recommendation is to form a steering committee made up of representatives of all improvement efforts (internal and external) to coordinate and support each others activities. Team Development Group will take part in the steering committee. The result is a synergistic rather than competitive relationship.
Team Development Group currently utilizes approximately thirty professionals. All of whom are college degreed and have significant leadership experience in a wide variety of industries. The industry experience includes Refining, Petro-chemicals, Pulp and Paper, Steel, Food Processing, Light Manufacturing, Utilities, Aerospace, Printing and many others. The men and women of Team Development Group are mature, seasoned professionals with an average age in the mid fifties.
We will need a private office or conference room to use as a base of operations during the needs analysis. It should have 3 – 4 desks or other writing surfaces and a lockable filing cabinet. A telephone should be dedicated to the office. Interviews with your management and supervision are typically held in their work areas. Provision may be necessary for floor supervision without quiet/private space. Hourly interviews are typically done in groups of 3 & 5 and require a small conference room or office.
The selection of appropriate testing and data gathering tools is made during the analysis. Team Development Group has capabilities of using a full range of survey and assessment instruments. In addition of standardized instruments, we are capable of custom designing instruments for the specific needs of the facility.
All consulting assignments at Team Development Group share a common goal: to measurably improve the long term performance of our clients. In most areas this is measured against existing indicators the client is familiar with and in which they trust. Where these are not available, measurement criteria are developed with full client input.