Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface.
This really goes to one of the core Toyota principles that they are best known for – Just In Time. One of the key principles is the discarding of waste through any process. There are many areas in HR this can be applied from payroll processes, performance reviews, transferring employees, or simply trying to obtain a report.
In many HR processes where a decision is required, we attempt to obtain 2-4 approvals as the recommendation goes up the management chain. While picking an HRMS solution that could cost millions of dollars might make sense to apply that approval process to, I often see similar approval processes for new hires filling an unbudgeted position or mid year salary increases. While it is important to ensure the proper governance in decisions and policy changes, Toyota would argue that much of this time spent is “waste” versus “value added” and I agree.
A company I once worked for allowed their president of a large division a signing authority of $50K. Anything above that had to go to the corporate offices. What could you buy in the ‘90s for $50K? But this is the type of waste Toyota is talking about. If you have hired the right HR managers, you should be able to entrust them with making the right decisions based on sound business facts. Forget about HR practitioners who allowed an inequitable raise to a single parent who cried during the request, or increases in headcount that are not based on sound analysis.
Our HR managers and practitioners should be experienced business professionals. They should have the capacity to understand their business – they are after all often the link between corporate HR and the business and are assumed to support the actual operations. If this is true, they should have sufficient business acumen to make certain decisions based on defined parameters you give them. We could also look at the performance and compensation review cycle – often which go all the way from bottom to top for approvals. Governance of this process should not necessarily be each consecutive manager up the chain checking the prior level’s work.
The point is that there is an abundance of waste in the HR field. Your process should define where the best use of time for your high cost employees is and eliminate processes that are wasteful. Ensure your employees are properly trained to make the right decisions and you’ll eliminate the need to escalate minor issues on a constant basis.
9 responses to “The Toyota Way: Principle 2”
Five Jobs Wrap your cars for money Three signs of a miserable job (Hat Tip)The Toyota Way: Principle 2Big Paydays For Niche Job Sites Shift Happens: A Changing Workforce in a Changing World
Five Jobs Wrap your cars for money Three signs of a miserable job (Hat Tip)The Toyota Way: Principle 2Big Paydays For Niche Job Sites Shift Happens: A Changing Workforce in a Changing World
management principles based on the book “The Toyota Way” by Jeffrey Liker. All are well worth reading. The Toyota Way: Principle 1 – Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of the short term financial goals.The Toyota Way: Principle 2- Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface. The Toyota Way: Principle 3 – Use “pull” systems to avoid overproduction. The Toyota Way: Principle 4 – Level out the workload.
management principles based on the book “The Toyota Way” by Jeffrey Liker. All are well worth reading. The Toyota Way: Principle 1 – Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of the short term financial goals.The Toyota Way: Principle 2- Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface. The Toyota Way: Principle 3 – Use “pull” systems to avoid overproduction. The Toyota Way: Principle 4 – Level out the workload.
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Absolutely true. You say that HR staff should be experienced business professionals. Right on. I often recruit for HR positions from the “business” side of the business. Because HR needs to mean business. If you are an HR professional with no line side experience, there is a serious gap in your skill set. Take a rotation in a line management position in your organization or at the least get on a business focused project team or task force. HR pros need to get out of the HR office in order to be effective!
Ron, when I once actually worked in HR (as opposed to consulting) I walked the floor every day, attended the daily production and operations meetings, etc. There was no other way I could train, recruit or do workforce projections. How HR practitioners do their job without the intimate knowledge of the business is beyond me. We should be tied into the business at multiple levels – the HR generalist or business liaison, and certainly at the executive levels.
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