ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 5, 1997 TAG: 9701070026
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Working It Out
SOURCE: CAMILLE WRIGHT MILLER
Q: Our equipment is outdated and, often, won't do the job. When we ask to update, our boss always says "it costs too much." Nothing has been updated in years. We're hand-entering numbers, for example, while competitors use scanners. Even the vacuum to keep the reception area fresh doesn't work - the receptionist vacuums and then picks lint off the carpet by hand.
A: Your boss may be giving automatic responses. It's also possible current equipment does the job, but lacks the bells and whistles your competitors enjoy. And, it's possible the company doesn't have resources to invest in equipment. More likely, a combination of all three scenarios explains the situation.
Take all that into account and rethink your approach.
Compile a report of equipment needs and costs; identify benefits generated by equipment purchases. Present the needs in order of priority; include a timeline for equipment purchase and an analysis of competition's market share and technology levels.
You may also want to include a cost-analysis of how company pride has worked against the company. For example, the receptionist's desire to keep the entry area neat means she spends one hour a week scraping lint. Multiply that by hourly wage and number of weeks worked per year and compare that figure with the cost of efficient equipment. If you do this for each area, justifying equipment purchases could be easier.
If your boss resists such a report, consider how equipment requests have been presented to date.
Instead of giving him solutions which trigger automatic responses, present problems and ask for solutions. Discuss how the competitors' equipment gives them an advantage. Ask for help in identifying ways to stay equally competitive.
Repeated interactions over a long period of time create automatic responses. To change the response, you need to change the interaction framework.
Q: I was hired to manage this office. The owner's wife doesn't work here, yet she'll come in and demand to see files, invoices - the works. The tension she creates is enormous. Our boss has never said she has any authority over us.
A: Because your boss hasn't stopped his wife, he's either given her authority - without informing the staff - or he's unaware she has assumed it.
Tell your boss you've become more aware of how involved his wife has been with the business.
Ask how you can help her in her work. Unless he says he was unaware and her involvement will stop, accept the fact that she's part of the management team. You have a new structure to adapt to.
If that's the case, talk with the wife. Ask how you can help her reach the goals she and her husband have established.
The more you open discussions with her, the more she may view you as part of the solution.
Treat her as part of the management team. She may not have been your manager when you were hired, but if the boss says so, she is one of your managers now.
Your willingness to accept the new situation could help significantly reduce the tension in your office.
Q. We've been told to create a plan to renovate space to house a new training center for on-going, on-site training for all employees. We have no guidelines for the training, other than to ensure our workforce stays current and that we get optimal us of the training center.
A. Determine the training employees need. Dozens of topics may emerge, but they can be categorized. For example, technical skills are those necessary to operate equipment and complete tasks. "Soft" skills improve interpersonal relationships with others and managerial skills.
Compliance covers everything from OSHA requirements to sexual harassment awareness training.
Evaluate the learning environments each training category requires. Technical training requires specialized equipment, such as computers. Soft skill training requires a different room set-up.
Determine optimal class size and how frequently the center will be used. Keep in mind that more companies are requiring training in order to stay competitive. Work with industry forecasters to identify trends which will have consequences on future training needs.
Once you've determined space and equipment needs, look at how you'll outfit the room. It is counterproductive to send employees to a room with inadequate lighting, small audiovisual screens, insufficient heating/cooling, and chairs which are uncomfortable. Training rooms must be user friendly to gain maximum benefit.
Tour other facilities. Site-guides can share problems they've already encountered. Your broad-based research can help create a truly usable center.
Camille Wright Miller, an organizational behavior sociologist who works in Lexington, answers questions from our readers about workplace issues. Please send them to her in care of The Roanoke Times, Business News Department, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010.
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