Training Bosses

No more shouting

“When a man becomes a foreman, he has to forget about even being human, as far as feelings are concerned.”

—A factory hand quoted in Studs Terkel’s Working

In their drive to improve productivity, a growing number of U.S. companies have begun to appreciate the crucial importance of shop-floor supervisors. For better or worse, that hard-pressed first level of bosses often sets the working tone for an entire plant. The style has traditionally been management by shouting: bark out orders like a Marine drill instructor until they get results.

Some companies, though, are beginning to challenge that old approach because it no longer works, especially with younger workers. One of the hottest new fields of management training involves teaching shop-floor bosses how to be better supervisors.

Zenger-Miller, a Menlo Park, Calif., consulting firm, has sold shop-floor training programs to 250 companies since 1977, including such firms as American Can Co., Honeywell and FMC Corp. Its 15-week courses include role playing and studying videotapes of typical contacts between bosses and workers.

Fairchild Republic Co., division of Fairchild Industries (1981 revenues: $1.4 billion), is an enthusiastic new user of shop-floor training. Morale in its Farmingdale, N.Y., plant that builds U.S. Air Force jets collapsed early this year when the company laid off almost 1,000 workers—about 15% of its labor force. Absenteeism averaged 5.3% of scheduled working time. Disputes sometimes led to shouting matches on the plant floor that were settled by fistfights in the parking lot. Some Fairchild Republic officials believed that the supervisors were a key to the company’s problems. Workers were being made shop-floor bosses with little or no preparation, and some tended to bully those below them.

Fairchild Republic is now sending 93 supervisors from the plant through the Zenger-Miller course, which meets for one three-hour session every other week. Participants memorize guidelines like “Calmly describe the employee’s behavior which concerns you,” and “Express supportend, reassurance.”

The company is already benefiting from the program, which began in March. Morale of supervisors in the course is improving, despite continued layoffs. The training sessions have contributed to the completion of more jobs on schedule, and the company this spring won an Air Force productivity award for its work on the A-10 Thunderbolt II jet fighter.

Fairchild Republic had tried several management programs before, but had been unhappy with all of them. The new method of role playing and teaching by example seems to produce the best results. Says Linda Dwyer, supervisor of training and development: “The other programs were too abstract. They were entertaining, like the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, but they didn’t get the ball downfield.”

Management consultants that use similar methods include Development Dimensions, International in Pittsburgh and the Forum Corp. of North America in Boston. They and Zenger-Miller have now sold their courses for supervisors to about 750 corporations. Says Thomas Bedocs, Fairchild Republic director of employee relations: “You pay for personnel training programs in one way or another. They either cost you in money up front, or in lost productivity in the end.”