Government promotes productivity from the shop floor up
OPINION: Workplace relations will soon take centre stage. As well as introducing changes to industrial relations law, the Government is signalling it wants to see a partnership approach used more in New Zealand workplaces.
Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway is calling for a more collaborative and cooperative approach from employers, employees and unions.
One way of achieving that could be by using a new framework known as ‘‘high performance, high engagement’’ (HPHE). A structured approach to engaging with a workforce, it brings management and workers together to find better ways of running the business.
Air New Zealand, KiwiRail and a group of district health boards are currently using this approach with good results.
Air New Zealand says its relationships with unions have strengthened and there’ve been no strikes or other industrial action since it was introduced.
While large organisations may have the resources to hire consultants to develop HPHE for their workplaces, this might be out of reach for small organisations.
So the Government is considering ways of helping smaller organisations take part, with assistance from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
HPHE involves inviting workers to play a greater role in the direction and management of the enterprise. The rationale is that the people closest to a problem are best placed to brainstorm options and create solutions. Workers on the shop floor are also
Unions, like businesses, might be required to think about their leadership role and revisit some past assumptions.
best placed to implement improved work processes.
The process of brainstorming and generating new work processes helps create an inclusive work culture that allows for improvements to continue.
This is similar to the quality or total quality management (TQM) approach that many firms use to ensure continual improvement.
The quality movement, begun in Japanese factories rebuilding after World War II, changed the way defects were corrected on the factory line. Instead of relying on a final inspection at the end of a manufacturing process, the focus switched to the entire system.
The quality approach required defects to be picked up earlier, whenever and wherever they occurred. Workers were empowered to reject any defect as soon as it was detected. ‘‘Faults – don’t accept them, don’t pass them on,’’ transformed Japanese and then United States manufacturing during the postwar years.
HPHE takes a similar approach for all kinds of organisations. The first step involves evaluating the workplace and the way things are done, using a joint staff and management group. The second step is brainstorming to find new ways of working. The next part is implementing the ideas, and continually improving them.
Benefits for the work system include improving workflow, reducing errors and waste, eliminating bottlenecks and boosting quality and timeliness.
Benefits for company culture include improved communication, motivation and working relationships.
As a result of changes to employment law currently before Parliament, and under proposed fair pay agreements, unions will soon play a bigger role in company affairs. Under the HPHE model this involvement would extend even further.
Much higher levels of union involvement will require high levels of responsibility.
Unions, like businesses, might be required to think about their leadership role in the workplace and revisit some past assumptions.
A collaborative mindset will be required, along with a recognition that business sustainability depends on business competitiveness.
The Government has made its expectations clear. Employers will also have an expectation – that all parties will take a responsible approach as we look afresh at our workplaces. ❚ Kirk Hope is the chief executive of BusinessNZ.