It's been a tough winter for us. Unusual snowfalls in the North East that had us working a lot of overnights and weekends in the past couple of months. We also had two state inspections that have really pushed us hard to get a lot done in a short period of time. Both of these things have just run us ragged and now we're tired and behind on other work as a result.
I've got a good maintenance crew. They always come through when I need them but they're tired and it's showing. We all get along well, comfortable working relationship, mutual respect, and lots of autonomy. I'm lucky to have a crew that's smart and proud of what they do that doesn't need a lot of hand holding. The only problem we have at the moment is that my normally very productive crew is having morale issues and is tired of working.
But... we're still behind and I've got to motivate my crew again to get it done and I'm not having much luck. Union contracts severely limit the carrots I can offer and I'm not a fan of sticks, at least not as a motivator. I can only say "thank you" so many times and I don't have much more to ofter.
I'm having a meeting with everybody on Monday to let them know just what I said above: I understand that we're all tired, I realize moral's down and it's hard to get going again but the work has piled up and we still need to keep going. I realize this is temporary, in a couple of months the long hard winter will have been forgotten but I'm looking for suggestions, tricks, and experiences from anybody who's been through this before that will help us get through this as quickly as possible.
Thanks
-Ryan
20 years fixing, building, and managing facilitiesPreventive Maintenance
Ryan,
When you talk of the crew as running ragged, being tired, having morale issues, these are triggers for emotional reactions that effect behaviors and when you add the frustrations with behaviors it creates excess energy. It sounds like you want or need to redirect this energy in a positive way that becomes productive.
I would suggest you involve the crew in the decision making processes. Ask for their input and allow them to participate in the solutions. Believe it or not you may just find out ways of accomplishing the same tasks using a different method delivering the same results and in some cases even better results.
Don’t drop a bomb on them expecting them to respond the same day you bring it up. Start with explaining to them how you feel and what you hope to accomplish.
Good luck and provide an update if you can.
Todd
Ryan
I agree with Todd. I try to stress TAKE PRIDE IN EVERY JOB YOU DO. I also try to challange all of them by giving each engineer work that';s new to them most want to learn more. When I can I tell them as a group what we will be working on next and ask for any in-put any of them have (many don't like to do that in front of the others) I normaly get quite alot of feed back.I use John Wooden's saying FAILING TO PREPARE IS PREPARING FOR FAILURE along with THERE"S A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING AND PUT EVERYTHING IN IT'S PLACE ( as far as tools and equipment) that way when you need it it's where you can find it. As far as union workers go most think they know what their contract says because they read it the way THEY want it to be NOT the way it's written
Good luck Have a great day Bruce
Ryan-
We completed some time studies recently that showed two people working together were able to cut the time it took to accomplish tasks by 2/3. If this is already being done - what about switching up teams or assignments? I have also given a stack of work order that had to be completed that day - finishing early meant an extra break or "light task" since no-one could leave early. Light lists as a break between the bust out days gave teams a chance to re-energize in between and the bust out days were even more productive.
Good luck
If increasing your budget to bring in temporary help is out, what about 'going Agile' and assessing the business value of the work that needs doing? Maybe you can put some of it off? You'll need to work directly with your 'customers' to assess what's really needed and what can be deferred. If your 'customers' are understanding they will work with you to adjust their expectations for what is needed to be done and when or maybe even provide additional budget! If you are the 'customer' then you'll want to follow the advice in the first posting and sit down with your crew to discuss what can be deferred.
I say this because you've clearly laid out the reason why your crew is tired. They've already been on 'high alert' for some time with the weather we've had in the Northeast. They don't have as much to give or are having trouble getting motivated because they need a break. One idea I'll put forth from the 'Agile Manifesto' is the notion of working at an "infinitely sustainable pace." Meaning you can and be productive for as long as you need to be and not 'need a break' (as it appears your crew does). It sounds like your crew has been working beyond the "infinitely sustainable pace" and they are 'telling' you that they need a break or at least need to get back to their 'normal' pace.
Best of luck,
Bill
It only took a month and we're nearly recovered. Just needed a few weeks of lighter work to get back in the swing of things.
I ended up turning some of our work over to a few contractors we have T&M contracts with and got some of the more critical stuff done.
The work is still piled up but the mood is much better and we'll get it done...sometime.
The big thing here is that you noticed a problem and took the staffs needs and desires into consideration and that helped turn things around. It’s all about looking listening and learning. It’s those managers who only think about their selves. Don’t hear or don’t want to hear anything and that promotes tension eventually bringing the facility to its knees.
Hello Ryan,
This has been one tough winter that we just went through, and has had immeasurable costs to all of us. Having managed crews from 7-70 peole in an Union environment I understand some of the restrictions you may face. I worked for a major metro newspaper most of my career, they constituently changed management philosophies. I have been 'Re-engineered', 'More with less'd', 'Just in time'd', 'Gung ho'd', ..., but the only system that has worked for me is the 'Team Work' philosophy. I was pretty skeptical at first as were most of the other 100+ managers in the company. Those of us who succeed with 'Teams' were the ones who were pretty secure in ourselves, we had to let go of a lot on control for it to function. One of the truly unexpected benefits is the aspect of a self regulating work force, were the crew disciplines itself, often without my knowledge. This will occur once the group buys into the concept. After 25 years there I changed jobs and have implemented Teams into what was a pretty dysfunctional group (think old school beat them down manager) and was very happy to see how quickly it started harvesting positive results.
Now, when the group needs to be motivated such as after this hard winter, I had a little luncheon (don't underestimate the power of a company provided communal meal) were the main focus of the meeting was to remind them of our successes, as a manager I had to remind them of those instances that had a less than perfect outcomes but it was not necessary for me to harp on those as they all are smart enough to know and remember them. I have truly learned that a pat on the back goes much further than a kick in the a--. My 'Team' will eventually evolve into a High Performance Team, we're not there yet, but we will be, and my customer has commented on the positive change. Good Luck.
Hi Ryan,
Seems like you did an admirable job, you saw the problem. responded and came up with solutions that worked. It is tough one season we were having storms every week and it all seemed like the same storm. One of hardest parts was seeing the effect it was having on families.Nobody had much chance to go home and it caused problems. Its hard to balance. But I think you already had the solution and your later answer seems to confirm it. I think you did a great job in a difficult situation and should be commended for your care of the crew and the facility.
Peter