The Friction Report 12.13.17

                        The Friction Report 12.13.17 

                                Female quit due to change   

                                                           by Don Ford

True story;

            Many years ago, in the olden days, the member’s order was printed and the order filler took it with them. The filler would mark the order with a short line showing it as filled, or mark out the amount that was ordered and write in the amount filled.

            The system was improving (changing) and the order fillers no longer would have the actual order. The new system produced a copy of the order for the order filler, which required less writing from the filler. The filler only needed to write on this order when there was a different amount ordered and sent.

            The new system made it much easier on the office staff who would record the changes into the computer and then print the member’s copy of the order. The change also made for a cleaner presentation of the order to the member.

            We explained this to the staff and almost all could see the advantage. One lady thought it was too confusing and gave notice that her last day would be the day before the new system started. This person was a productive filler. We talked with her and asked her to stay and try it for one day. She said no and left.

            We could not think of anything that would help her see that the change was good for all concerned.

               

            Sometimes your best explanation and even personal discussions do not work.

Don Ford

Memories from Olden days

                        The Friction Report 01.04.18

                                       Memories from Olden days    

                                                           by Don Ford

            This story is about a fellow who we will call Billy, who worked as a stocker in an area where he used a stand up fork lift. A stand up fork lift required the operator to stand up when operating. Billy had used the same fork lift for several years, and even though it was a functional lift, it was old and loose.

            We had received a new stand up lift and we offered it to Billy. Billy’s response was no, I will keep the old lift. We tried to talk him into taking the new lift but he refused. We could have forced him to use the new lift but he would have been, “Madder than a mashed cat”, forever. 

            As fate would have it, Billy’s lift broke down and would take about three days to repair. The only lift we had for him to use was the new lift. Billy begrudgingly moved his items from the old lift to the new lift.

            Three days passed and Billy’s old lift was repaired. Oddly enough, Billy came to me and said he would like to keep the new lift! 

            *          *          *          *          *          *         

     

            When we were working out of the old office, I was usually the first salaried employee to arrive. I open the building and got the lights on and start the first pot of coffee. Billy arrived prior to me and would take the closest parking place. I decided to arrive a little earlier and see if I could get the closest parking spot. Mission accomplished, I had the parking spot! Next day, Billy had the spot. We went back and forth for a couple weeks before I was able to set my schedule so I could arrive earlier then Billy, each day, to secure the parking spot. (We were like two kids trying to outdo the other.) Neither of us ever commented on this contest, but we both knew.

            *          *          *          *          *          *         

                We use to let the highway patrol bring their drug sniffing dogs to the building to practice searching for drugs. They would hide some drugs and the dogs would find them. I jokingly suggested that they should let their dogs search the cars on the parking lot. They quickly said, you really don’t want us to do that, meaning we might lose an employee or two.

                When employees were on break several of the staff would go outside the break room door. On this particular day the officers were bringing their dog into the building walking past the employees. The drug dog alerted on a person standing near the door. The officer called the dog off and brought the dog on inside and noted, “Did you notice the dog alerted on that person”! I assume the officer was letting us know that person might have used drugs or have been around someone who used drugs.  

Don Ford

Hearing is believing and easy 12.26.17

          I am fairly sure that you already knew this, but for that one person who didn’t know, I will attempt to inform said person (my one non-reader). Now that I think of it, if that person don’t read, how will said person get this message?

          If you are using a computer to see my blog posts, you have the option to have the computer read aloud to you.  You may choose the voice that reads to you, and you may choose the speed of the reading voice.    

         

                   Here is how to do it.

          When you have the blog displayed, right click and a box will open. In the box there are the following choices.

                                                    Select all

                                                       Print

                                                   Read aloud

                                                  View Source

                                                Inspect element

          Click on Read Aloud and it will read for you. In the upper right hand corner, you can make changes such as, “Male or female voice, speed of reading, pause and stop”!

          It will start reading shortly after you click on read aloud. If you want to read a previous posting, you should pause the reading voice, highlight the text you want to have read then click on the resume button, you should then hear the highlighted text being read.

          I have just learned that you can minimize the posting and continue to hear the reading of the posting, as long as you do not click out of the posting. In other words you can listen to the reading and do other work like check your email, type in word, etc.  That means you could listen to a long story, while doing something else.

          Try it you might like it.

          If you don’t like it tell someone else, I am busy!

          Thanks

            Don Ford

Topic for Management meeting 12/26/17

       

                              The Friction Report  

                                  by Don Ford   

                Do you have skill, ability, attitude, knowledge, or desire, to communicate properly? Whether you do or do not, you should participate in this meeting. You can improve, or help others to improve.  

Managers (department, general, middle, upper) are often unaware of concerns and problems!

How do managers miss the concerns or problems of staff?

Discuss your thoughts on this subject now.

Points that should be in the discussion.  

                        Managers may not ask for input. Some managers believe they should have the answers to most, if not all, questions. If that is you, get real, you don’t have all the answers. To get answers, you should listen to others, which includes your boss all the way down to the newest hourly staff.  

                        Managers may not ask the right person. As stated above, you should listen to others, which includes your boss all the way down to the newest hourly staff. People (managers) have a tendency to rely on certain individuals for many things, such as the staff who is productive when working in all departments. Managers often rely on these individuals for information and often get good ideas, but they should also communicate with the average staff member too.

                        Managers may not have proper listening skills! You probably know of managers who can’t keep their mouth shut when someone is speaking. There is also the manager who is working on a rebuttal to the information he /she is receiving as the other person speaks.

            There is another type manager who listens, and then acts on the suggestion, but has no follow through. If there is a change made in a procedure, and everyone is supposed to work with this change, this type manager never checks back to see if it is working properly. Usually, staff revert to the old process and the manager don’t even know.  

                        Managers should show they are listening and interested! Body language is very important when communicating. It is very easy to see whether a person is listening or not, use body language to present the image of listening.

                        Example: Body language of someone who is not listening. They look at their watch, they look around the room, they fiddle with a pencil, or they glance toward their cell phone or computer screen, they lean back in their chair. Their body language says, “They were not listening!”   

            Suggested ways to teach communication skills, asking and listening?

            In a class room setting, you should have prepared demonstrations, with someone   presenting information and someone not properly receiving information, then with      someone properly receiving information. 

            The first few presentations should be using instructors only.

            Then choose a student to work with an instructor.

            Then student with student, providing written information for the presenter, and having the             receiver to explain what they learned. 

            Have the group evaluate after each presentation.

            Anyone can learn from their superior or from a subordinate, if they listen!

                                    “Shut up, listen and learn!”

Summary:

Learn to listen! This is difficult for many. Listening means, “Shutting your mouth and not only listening, but also understanding what someone says”! You may ask brief questions to clarify a statement, then listen and understand.

While listening, you should not be thinking of a response to that person’s comment.

Do not interrupt a person speaking to you! It is rude (nonprofessional) and you’re not listening.

Learn not to interject your thought, while someone is presenting their Thought!

Ask various staff for input.

Asking your so-called best staff for input, probably means you will get the answer you expect! These staff are most likely seen by other staff, as your “Favorites”.

Ask the same question of various staff, then compare the responses.

 

Don Ford

The Friction Report 12.15.17

              The Friction Report 12.15.17

                                      Gray to black and white     

                                                           by Don Ford

            I was communicating with a good friend the other day, yes I do have some good friends, and we were commenting on management’s philosophies. I always thought of myself as the manager who followed the policies. I have always seen policies as black and white, in other words be consistent in following the written policies and rules. When a written policy or rule is broken, then the specified reprimand will then occur!

            I also believed that deviations from the written policies and rules, which I call gray areas, should only occur when upper management would approve the deviation from a written policy or rule!

            These deviations (gray areas) will more than likely upset some staff if the reason for the deviation is not explained. Hourly employees may tell management of their concerns, but most likely complain among themselves. A gray rule that is applied to one person, and not others, is inconsistent, and seen by most staff as, “Management being inconsistent and unfair.”  

           As I see it, following written rules and policies ensure consistency and fairness in the work place. When a deviation is introduced, from that point on that deviation should be administered consistently! When the so called gray area is administered consistently, it then becomes black and white, in other words, “The deviation is now a policy or rule”!

           

I believe in black and white policies and rules, even when they evolve from a gray area.

            I believe, all management teams should, “Be consistent, fair and open, in everything they do”!

            What applies to one employee should also apply to all employees. There may be different values to the policies and rules for different groups of employees, and these differences should be posted so everyone knows the difference and reasons for the difference.

            Let’s say one group gets more of a benefit, like time off, than another group. There are reasons why one group has more of a benefit that another group, these reasons should be known by all staff. There can be hard feelings in the group that does not get the extended benefit if they don’t understand the reason. Would you think something was fair if the person working beside you had more of a benefit than you, and you didn’t know why?

            What if you ask Management or Human Resources, “Why does that group get extended benefits and we don’t”, and the answer received is something to the effect, “That’s the way we are doing it”!

            Be consistent, fair, and open! Communicate, listen, explain, listen, explain…

Don Ford

The Friction Report 12.11.17

             

                                     Old note  

                                               by Don Ford

            I was working on a story idea when I reached for a note book in which I was going to make some notes. As I removed a pad of papers, I found a single page of notes that I had made in Feb. 22^nd 1996. That is almost 22 years ago.

            This note was generated and printed from my personal computer and printer that I had in my office at work. I had my own personal computer and printer at work before the company provided them.

            The note is a record of a conversation between me and a vice president who was my boss at the time. The following is my note of a phone conversation. Names will be left out.

            VP called about a note I faxed to him yesterday and he said, I just want to make sure I understand what you have sent. Are you saying no one has had three overall not met reviews, or are you saying no one has had an overall not met review in the last three years? I responded, no active employee has received a, “has not met” (overall) review in the last three years. The people who had received them are no longer here.

            He ask, “you mean employee name or employee name has not received an overall not met. I said that is correct. I said, the people who have received them are no longer with us.

            He said, I just wanted to make sure I understood, Thanks.

           

            End of call. 

  

            I have no memory of this conversation, but it would seem that my Boss did not believe that Waco had no employees that had a, “has not met expectations review”. I do know that we tried to hire and keep the best employees. Those who received not met reviews and did not improve quickly, usually went elsewhere to work, voluntarily or not.

            Waco management, looked at rules and regulations as black or white with no gray. The only time there was gray in the rules, regulations or requirements, was when the corporate office would get involved.

If a rule or policy stated, X number of actions or inactions would get an employee a warning, a three day suspension, or termination, that is what we did.

            For some, following the rules as written seemed extreme, for us it meant that we were treating all staff fair and equal, when we followed the rules.

            Make it easy on everyone, consider the rules, policies and procedures as black or white, I believe the only gray would need to come from the president of the company!

Don Ford

           

      

The Friction Report 10.25.17

                        The Friction Report 10.25.17

                             Team work is not always good         

                                                           by Don Ford

            Team work is a great thing when everyone on the team is working toward the same goal. Having the same people in the same job may insure outstanding production and few errors. Being in the same job on a daily basis is usually good for most people. We would like to point out that being in some positions, all the time, may have its issues.

            Previously we have considered how an inside employee along with a so called, “Company driver”, working as a pair, had removed property without paying.

            When you have the same inside staff, working with the same outside drivers, (this would be parcel deliveries and local drivers) on a regular basis, you increase the potential of a team effort to reduce the inventory in the building (aka theft).

            Today we will consider the case where a parcel delivery driver (outsider) colluded with an inside employee who worked in preparing the parcels for shipment. This happened at a center that I was never manager of.

            If you have any imagination, you should already know what I will present in this lesson. This company employee had worked in parcel shipment preparation for several years. This allowed the staff member to become, shall we say, “Good friends”, with the parcel delivery driver.

            Let’s consider how this could occur. The inside employee who prepared the parcels for shipment could go out into the building to, “Check on an item”, they would get an item that was not ordered, package the item to look like the other packages. The parcel driver would load his vehicle with all the packages and he would separate the package with the stolen item, which he would later drop off at a house as if it were a shipment. 

            All the items that were ordered each day, were shipped, so nothing showed up in the shipping records. 

            How would this, “Team of thieves” get caught?

            Unannounced audits of the parcel shipping area would be a good way to limit the possibility of theft. This type audit was not being done in those days.

            The parcel delivery company would occasionally have an auditor or a trainee ride along. When there is an item that is not on the list, (they do count the cartons), they would question why.

            When caught, does either the inside person or the parcel delivery driver tell who they were working with?

            Even though most of the theft situations have been about hourly employees colluding with an outsider, it would be much easier for any salaried employee to work with others as a thief team.  

            I feel as if these articles about theft, may seem to be very negative to most readers. If one is able to reduce the number of thefts using any information from these articles, then the articles are a total positive! 

            There are many theft opportunities, if you occasionally think like a thief, you may reduce the opportunities.

Don Ford

Post Script

                If you have read these articles about theft, and if you believe they are, “A bunch of bull”, I suggest you may want to update your resume!