Supervisory Leadership Case studies 2016

Teaching old dogs new tricks:Supervisory Leadership

Transformation Case Studies

Marie Gervais, PhD., CEO Shift ManagementWednesday, September 21, 2016 11:30-12:30

Sheraton Toronto Airport, Muskoka III

Marie Gervais is…

• Deeply interested in how and why people do the things they do at work

• Helps employers see talent and build workforce leadership capacity

• Promotes intercultural and cross-systems communications

Welcome!

Shift Management does: • Workforce & management systems analysis• Intercultural leadership training,

Supervisory leadership training, Team performance coaching

• Intercultural communication and conflict management

Welcome!

1. The saga of the untrained supervisor2. A better story: Effects of training on

productivity and profit 3. Overview of supervisory leadership training

themes 4. 5 companies who trained supervisors ,

outcomes and learning5. Training processes required for success

What we will cover today

1. The untrained supervisor saga

1.b. Untrained supervisor continued…

a. Productivity: the worse the supervisor the lower the productivity

b. Cost of labour: more time covering your back, less time doing the work

c. Low morale and increased cynicism: accountability, responsibility and authority do not match up

1.c. Outcomes for the employer

d. Loss of talent: The good people leave, you keep the bad onese. Accidents: Poor planning, high stress, apathy, poor work ethic = more accidents

You get the picture.

1.d. Outcomes for the employer

2. A better way

2.b. A better way

2.c. A better way

2.d. Comparison table

• Learner characteristics: high motivation and engagement, strong future orientation best predictors of workplace change of behaviour

• Workplace factors: train everyone together as company initiative, and train people with more than two years company history for higher success

3. Factors for training success research

• Subgroups: no difference, no curricular changes required. Success based on individual characteristics, not cultural ones.

• Decision-maker engagement: highest gains when engaged in entire process

• Employee self-reports: reading employee reports showed high influence on perceived training success by decision-makers

3.b. Factors for training success research

Typically focus on: 1. People management2. Administrative skills3. Technical skills

4. Supervisor leadership training themes

Our training themes are: 1. Supervisory basics (people/admin/tech)2. Management and leadership3. Team building and workplace

communication4. Multicultural management5. Conflict prevention and resolution

4.b. Supervisor leadership training themes

Changes over past four years:Shift in client interest fromsupervisory basics and general management themes to leadership, team building, communication and multicultural management themes.

4.c. Supervisory leadership training themes

1. Decision-maker meeting(s) to determine desired outcomes

2. Research on company specifics, interviews3. Chosen participants complete inventories4. Four training sessions & three group

coaching sessions5. Goal setting requirement for all themes6. Report to decision-makers in person/web

4.c. Our usual client process

Let’s see the case studies!

A. Super Construction Industries – mixed lead hand and supervisor group (not unionized)

B. Danolux Dairies – lead hands (unionized)C. Energy Kings – mixed leadership and front

line supervisory group (unionized)D. Maximillian and Sons – supervisor and

superintendent group (unionized)E. Power Plus – lead hands (unionized)

5. Case studies (names changed)

Mixed lead hand and supervisor group • Two groups mixed lead hands & supervisors

large age difference (40) • Second level training on business tools and

systems thinking (30)• Three day retreat for all management team

(38)• HR manager participated in all training

A. Super Construction Industries

Outcomes: (95% completion)• Resistance from supervisors to participate

with lead hands in mixed group• Company issues arising out of training dealt

with by decision-makers, and ongoing HR communication

• Measured results on one client; improved communications showed savings of 40%, on-time and on-budget delivery


Learning: • Involve decision-makers throughout for

responsive changes, strong HR helpful• Don’t mix supervisory levels in training• Older supervisors who are on board serve

as motivators for younger ones• Monitoring of project immediately after

training useful for ROI


Lead hands (12)• Initiative by HR manager and Plant manager• Added safety specifics and more

multicultural management tools to curriculum

• HR manager participated in all training sessions

• Age and experience range very broad

B. Danolux Dairies

Outcomes: (100% completion)• Immediate changes to performance

observable by decision makers after second training session

• Greatly improved overall safety modeling and practices

• Increased self-confidence and initiative• One retired after training, one dismissed, all

completed training requirements

B. Danolux Dairies

Learning: • Company needs assistance with choosing

potential candidates for training• When upper level decision makers are fully

engaged, training results seen quickly on the floor

• Coaching sessions were very practice oriented and helped improve confidence to change practice

B. Danolux Dairies

Mixed leadership and front line supervisory group (25)• Chose five interactive workshops on

unrelated themes rather than a training program

• Company leadership did not participate in training

• Random topics, random participants

C. Energy Kings

Outcomes: (65% completion)• First topic on intercultural communication

and workplace communication more successful in terms of participant reported outcomes

• Participants felt they were targeted for “improvement” and did not want to engage

• Lack of upper level leadership participation further undermined results

C. Energy Kings

Learning:• Client education necessary to avoid poor

outcomes • Random, short-term workshops have little

measurable outcomes• A group that stays together throughout a

program has more sustainable outcomes in terms of change of practice

C. Energy Kings

Supervisor and superintendent group (85 supervisors and superintendents)• Two years of continuous training until all

groups had gone through the complete process

• Parallel to training undertook employee satisfaction survey and made improvements that improved employee confidence in management

D. Maximillian and Sons

Outcomes: (85% completion)• Significant changes to supervisor behaviour,

noticed by union stewards who requested similar training for lead hands

• Drop in harassment complaints to HR that stayed low after six months

• Increased customer business as a result of “happy, productive employees”


Learning: • Comprehensive training, company survey

and strong engagement by Plant Manager = increased employee satisfaction, better workplace climate, improved leadership skills and attracted more business

• Plant manager’s continuous learning and intercultural communication served as models


Lead hands (50)• Company chose not to include coaching

component and did not debrief supervisors about lead hand training program

• Lead hands randomly chosen for training by supervisors who did not understand the program

• Lead hands resentful and felt obligated to participate in training

E. Power Plus

Outcomes: (85% completion)• Inconsistent results and poor monitoring• Company decided to use curriculum to train

natural leaders among the lead hands to serve as trainers

• Began to reconsider lead hand selection process that was producing a very homogenous group

E. Power Plus

Learning: • Direct supervisors must understand process

for program to be successful• Coaching cannot be excluded from the

program if change to workplace behaviour is desired outcome

• Trainees need to have some control over what training they participate in and know why they are doing it

E. Power Plus

So what makes the training successful?

• Training should be planned, strategic, meet business goals and involve decision makers

• A consistent decision maker should participate in training to show company support, but not be present in group coaching sessions

• Companies who are responsive to issues, during the training experience the best performance improvements

5. Successful training components

• Leadership inventories and assessments help individuals be objective about their strengths and challenges. Inventories decrease resistance to change

• Goal setting, based on content and determined by trainees has higher success than imposed goals


• Engaging participants in recognizing individual and team strengths is an important learning process

• Senior participants can provide significant modeling and encouragement

• Change to workplace behaviour is directly connected to coaching process


• Blends of content learning, social interaction and online tools show sustainable results

• Learning that is random, correctional, not supported by immediate supervisors or has no participant choice has poor outcomes

• Company changes as a result of response to training sustain ongoing learning


Recap of the “better way” story…

Marie Gervais, PhD., CEO Shift Management [email protected]://shiftworkplace.com780 993 1062 cell780 454 5661 office@shiftworkplace@workandculture

Contact information (and 3 happy trainees)

mailto:[email protected]

http://shiftworkplace.com/

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Supervisory Leadership Case studies 2016