Frank

Train wrecks? No. Train survivors.
October 15, 2008

With all the stupid situations I get into, you might wonder how a train wreck like me still has a job. Comedy relief is my life. During these tough economic times, Modern pays me to lighten your load—at least emotionally. It pays for me to be dumb. But don’t try this at home.

Here’s something you should try. How about using this economic slowdown to get smarter? Or at least make your employees smarter so they’re ready when business picks up again. Toyota Motor Corp. is doing this. Ever hear the word “kaizen?” It’s Japanese for “continuous improvement.” Instead of throwing people out of work during down times Toyota Motor plants keep their people’s skills sharp by teaching them new work methods. This way, when business picks up, people are ready to go—and do better work. No learning curve costs.

Problem is, some places aren’t as lean as Toyota. In fact some places have hidden fat in their organizations and in times like these, companies search for the fat and cut it out. If it weren’t for comedy, I’d be a big fat target. But like I said, fat’s sometimes hidden.

How do you decide who adds value and who adds fat? If you’re already pretty lean, it might come down to deciding who adds the least value. Are there areas where responsibilities overlap? I just saw this whitepaper on “Surviving a Recession” by Hugh Pinkus (I do read stuff beyond the comics). Pinkus is a project director for Proudfoot Consulting. He says there are times where one person can fill the shoes of two during “economic storms.”

But if the second pair of shoes belongs to a good worker you need to find ways to keep morale up while making any changes. Training’s the perfect solution.

Pinkus says cross-training workers boosts productivity and flexibility because workers will then be able to “cover for” each other when someone gets sick, they go on vacation, or—if worse comes to worse—someone’s cut out of the picture entirely. Pinkus says this investment in extra training also streamlines process flows and gives deserving workers extra responsibilities.

Another way to cut overhead without wholesale staffing cuts is finding overtime that can be cut.  But if you’re lean like Toyota, overtime’s probably a memory. Or is it?

How have you been making it through these tough times? Have you been cutting fat or are you cut to the bone? Does training during downtimes make sense? Share some of your downtime survival strategies.

Posted by Frank on October 15, 2008 | Comments (1)