ABSTRACT
To my great surprise, the reactions are mitigated. No excitement, and no buy-in upon hearing the impressive figures listed one after the next. I understand right away that the magnitude of the changes to the employees’ reference structure prevents them from seeing the benefits of our plan. Still, this new way of working would solidify their jobs for many years to come. We’ll be so much more productive and profitable that it will be difficult to meet the demand. But the fear of the unknown is winning out over the excitement of the moment. To reassure employees as quickly as possible, I explain that a broad training program will be put in place, and that it will touch on, among other things:
• Human relations for employees working as a team • Work measurement • JIT* • Kaizen and Lean principles • Total quality
We then clarify that we’ll have to proceed step by step, while ensuring that the pace of the transformation is not too quick. We hope, in doing this, to convey our enthusiasm to the gathered workers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work! We are still seeing the same incredulous, worried expressions!
