Motivating & Involving Employees in the Implementation

Employee Involvement

We encourage you to involve employees throughout the project. The Team Approach helps get employees involved in customizing procedures that they are responsible for performing. To reach beyond the employees on the task teams and involve every employee we have seen companies use some creative ideas and celebrations.

Examples:

As each Task Team finalizes the process and procedure that they are working on, combine training employees on the new procedure with a celebration or fun activity.

For example, have the team think up an idea that relates to their process, and communicates the new process. One corrective action team decided to have a lunch for employees. They had the employees order, but then intentionally ordered something else (that they knew they would enjoy.) After lunch they discussed the corrective action process, and had employees fill out a Corrective Action Form on the lunch order.

A document control team had an Ice Cream Break where employees had to follow the documented work instruction for making their Sunday.

Several creative companies have had large wall graphics to track progress of the teams on their procedures. I have seen teams represented by race cars, horses, and even cows making their way into a pasture. What would you do to represent your business? Let some employees work on the idea, you will be surprised at some of the fun ideas that come out of it.

Buttons, mugs, T-shirts and mouse pads with the Quality Policy have been used across the country and continue to be an effective way to communicate the Quality Policy. One company had the T-shirts printed backwards, so when the employee looked in a mirror, the quality policy was right there.