How we reduced attrition from 14% to less than 2% over a two year period.
The factory had about 500 people on the shop floor. There were several skilled positions but most of the work was either semi-skilled or non-skilled assembly and packing labour.
The management style was very old school top down. Shop floor operators were told what to do and were not consulted about anything. As such, if things went wrong during the assembly processes, the supervisor just called an engineer or maintenance team to fix the problem. There was no ownership. Nobody really cared.
The attrition rate was 14%, despite the company paying over the average wage for their location.
This engagement of the workforce help contribute to a reduction in attrition for 14% to less than 2%.
- We introduced a two-year learning programme throughout the factory. Once week, small groups of shop floor operators were taken for two hour training sessions where they worked on collecting data and graphing, identifying defects, root cause analysis, workspace design and safety.
- Each work cell was given a task for that week; they were also allowed to stop production for two hours a week to work on their project.
- They learned how to present data to their supervisors and management. After a few months they were given larger projects to solve which they presented to the whole company management team and staff at their weekly meetings.
After about one year, it became apparent that the work cell teams had become more autonomous. They no longer needed to be told what to do. They solved their own problems, often before they even happened.
As with all success stories, there are many other factors involved. This was part of a whole restructuring programme in the factory. For the full story watch this YouTube interview with Noah.
Summary:
This engagement of the workforce help contribute to a reduction in attrition for 14% to less than 2%.