“First-line managers, if carefully selected, well-trained, highly motivated and given the status and pay appropriate to being ‘the professional at managing the processes and the people’, can make more difference to the long-term success of the organisation than any group other than top management. And even here it is the first-line manager who delivers top management’s strategies and goals in the workplace”. – PD Wickens; The Ascendant Organisation
From an operations perspective, first-line management has the most important role in the business, as they can switch on and switch off productivity on the shop floor. We often underestimate the impact of a strong first-line manager who can
- motivate team members,
- align team and individual goals with business objectives, and
- facilitate continuous improvement within their teams.
Generally, more than 80% of the workforce is on a first-line team level, therefore the realisation of strategic goals and objectives depends on the successful linking of individual efforts, skills, and commitment to the vision and key success factors of the organisation. Much of this responsibility rests on the shoulders of the first-line management. It is therefore critical that organisations are continuously focused on aligning and engaging first-line managers whilst evaluating and enhancing their skills and knowledge.
Recently, Wispeco Aluminium, embarked on a company-wide effort to re-align and re-energise the first-line management team. ODI’s Director: Johan Benadie, facilitated multiple sessions with first-line managers from all business divisions. These sessions commence with a simple, yet fundamental question posed to first-line managers… Why do people work?
The answer to this question may present itself in several different constructs but they all share the same golden thread… we all work to have a better life for our families. If we then continue to work for a successful organisation, we increase the probability of securing a better life for ourselves in the future. In this way, every individual should acknowledge and understand their obligation towards the future and current success of the business.
According to Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt, there are three necessary conditions for a successful organisation:
- Make money now as well as in the future.
- Provide a secure and satisfying environment to employees now as well as in the future.
- Provide satisfaction to the market now as well as in the future.
To secure the sustainable profitability of the business, the company should be committed to keeping customers happy while simultaneously driving employee engagement. Both aspects are equally important as they are mutually interdependent. This reminds me of a quote by Zig Ziglar saying – “You don’t build a business, you build people, and then people build the business.”
From an operations point of view, customer satisfaction depends on
- the continued supply of consistent and reliable quality,
- delivered on time and at a reasonable price.
The operational teams rarely have control over pricing, but they play a significant role in increasing the margin by controlling costs and driving productivity. On the other hand, employee engagement is slightly more complex since it is influenced by multiple factors. These factors can be categorised under two overarching themes – Motivation and Safety.
For a sustainably successful business, all teams and functions should pursue better quality, lower costs, and faster delivery times. This brings us back to the critical role of the first-line management who leads their teams in this relentless pursuit. Our first-line managers should be sufficiently skilled and equipped to
- simultaneously monitor and improve Quality (Q),
- Cost Productivity (C),
- Delivery (D),
- Safety (S), and
- Motivation (M) in their teams and as we all know, this is no easy task.
So how do we ensure that our first-line management level is sufficiently skilled and equipped to realise the goals and objectives of the business?
The implementation of Mini-Business Areas, through Key 2, provides the necessary structure for first-line managers and their teams, to monitor QCDSM trends daily and follow the CAPDo cycle for the generation and implementation of improvement suggestions from team members. This quick feedback loop ensures that performance momentum is maintained, and team members are aligned at the start of the shift.
The first-line manager can use the Mini-Business meeting to encourage the early detection of problems. Early detection of problems has two distinct benefits; we can correct the problem quickly and the cost of correction is much less. In this way, we achieve a quality-focused workplace where every team member takes the responsibility of quality at the source and doing things “first time right”.
The implementation of Small Group Activities through Key 3 provides the necessary structure for first-line managers to solve problems effectively with their team members. By following the correct problem-solving methodology, the team can brainstorm ways to remove waste from the system and increase productivity or reduce costs. First-line managers must remain objective throughout the process and allow input from all team members. They also have to be well-versed in root-case analysis techniques and methods.
As previously mentioned, motivation of staff is one of the fundamental predictors of the future success of the business. It consists of many small parts that add up to the whole.
Of course, the expectation of being fairly remunerated is a non-negotiable but employee engagement is also influenced by questions like:
- Do I know what is expected of me?
- Do I have the necessary tools and skills to do what is expected of me?
- Do I have a leader that supports me?
- Do I understand the goals and objectives of the business?
- Do I understand the value that I bring to the team?
- Am I sufficiently trained for the tasks that I have to perform?
- Are there any growth opportunities?
- Are my ideas and suggestions encouraged and welcomed?
The first-line manager has a significant influence on the workplace “experience” of their team members which ultimately impacts motivation. The first-line managers should be equipped and skilled to answer most of these questions and also facilitate participation from team members. A formal qualification creates a solid foundation and should be the starting point. ODI offers a supervisory qualification called Supervision for Energised WorkTeams (NQF level 3). The qualification together with workplace coaching, regular check-ins, and refresher sessions ensures that the momentum is maintained, gaps are identified, and the internal capability of first-line managers is continuously refined and enhanced.
If the CEO is the Head of Culture, then the first-line managers are the Hands and Feet of Culture in the workplace, and as we are frequently reminded by Peter Drucker – “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. We may have an intention of what we would like the culture of the organisation to be, but the first-line management will be the practical illustration of what the culture of the organisation truly is.
Author: Esbe du Toit: Senior Consultant