Where is the "mole" that is sabotaging your reliability program?

Hello fellow practitioners! Apologise for missing in action for a while. I have been working on various asset management roles that have been rather frustrating. I suppose the usual time an organisation accepts that they need a Reliability/ Asset Management personnel is when they would have been pretty deep in the mud pit to get out themselves. Nothing is new when we admit that every Reliability/ Asset Management role is rather frustrating. Only weirdos like us who cannot live without a good challenge would roll ourselves into the mud pit for fun. Perhaps we have an insane definition for fun…

Yesterday, my colleagues and I were discussing the conflicting goals of reliability target against overtime payment to maintenance crew. The more reliable your plant is, the less overtime labour cost will be incurred.

I don’t want to start off on the wrong context that I am against overtime payment and portray that I put full support behind capitalism to pay the workers the least, and extract the most profit out of every hardworking family breadwinner here. This is purely a discussion from our team’s experience, and in my opinion should be managed. The billion dollar question is… How?

Culture at organisation A, we experience frontline maintenance crew collaborating among themselves to “create” urgent overtime work sustainably, either through poor workmanship, or intentional slowdown of work completion.

Notice that I mentioned culture of the organisation, instead of practice of the organisation? You’re right on the money! It is a culture issue, but which part of the culture? Whether we realise it or not, it is applicable to most if not all organisations out there. Culture is built over the years by the organisation’s LEADERSHIP. I capitalised the letters to put a strong emphasis on it intentionally. Imagine below:

Leadership at organisation B, leaders who lead by example, support sustainability, accept individuality, embrace continuous improvements. Leadership that believes in nurturing the next generation, and bringing out the best in you with committed support to train you to do your job well and give their best to groom your career aspirations.

Leadership at organisation C, seniors who boss you around, micro-managing, expect a person to work like a robot precision with no break, strong emphasis of cost cutting, hiring the cheapest, buying the cheapest, yet expect the team to deliver high reliability.

I’m sure by now you know which organisation you want to work for. Leadership makes or breaks an organisation. In reality, organisation B and C are at both extreme ends of the distribution curve. Organisation we work for probably sits somewhere in between with a combination of values from both end of the spectrum.

Every organisation will have their fair share of imperfections. It is an art to balance how much to give without turning employees into a spoilt demanding lot, and how much to hold back without compromising basic reasonable requests. I have experienced an organisation that refuses to send their employees for training purely because it costs money and the leadership believes as the employees skilled up, they would leave. What is the consequential cost to the organisation for not training them? Operating with unskilled labour? Does such organisation still have a chance surviving in an ever competitive market?

Back to the original question of how then do you improve plant reliability without incurring overtime costs? I would suggest you look into a comprehensive reliability program that involves both operations and maintenance. To have a reliably operating equipment requires more than maintenance crew doing a great job, it also require the operations crew to operate it within the constraint that present itself from time to time. With the availability of advance condition monitoring technology, most failure mechanisms can be detected, and replacement can be planned in advance, reducing unplanned downtime and thus overtime labour cost.

Identical plant availability, and reliability KPI should be shared among Operations & Maintenance, overtime payment is to be gradually reduced and finally eliminated further down the road. This will encourage team work and more collaboration between Operations & Maintenance that will lead to a more fulfilled work environment, and higher employee retention.

From another perspective, earnings as a result of overtime work reduction can be converted into incentive payments to all deserving employees. With such a scheme, an organisation can be labelled as stable, reliable and highly rated in terms of its operations and the quality of its employees who produce excellent deliveries with minimum overtime work. This would be attractive and who would leave such organisation for another job.

Feel free to share your alternative or successful experience with me! You can reach me at harry (at) wiwoweb (dot) net

How to Create Employee Engagement

Article extract from Reliable Plant newsletter:
http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/29338/create-employee-engagement

Every organization has rude customers, operational and financial challenges, and employee turnover. However, the tough economy, the feeling that job stability is a thing of the past, the ever-decreasing benefits and bigger workloads have created an atmosphere of malcontent and distrust within the employee ranks.

Unfortunately, most company executives are too far removed from the front line to realize that conditions are ripe for a tsunami of turnover when the recession ends. Supervisors on the front line are busy scrambling to keep their own jobs and are just as frustrated, worried and exhausted as their employees, creating an environment of "every man and woman for themselves!"

A recent Harris Interactive survey uncovered the following statistics on American job satisfaction:

• Across America, 45 percent of workers say they are either satisfied or extremely satisfied with their jobs.
• Only 20 percent feel very passionate about their jobs.
• Thirty-three percent believe they have reached a dead end in their career.
• Twenty-one percent are eager to change careers.
• Older workers are the most satisfied and the most engaged in their work.
• Younger workers are the most distressed and feel the least amount of loyalty to their employers.
• Small-firm employees feel far more engaged in their work than their corporate counterparts.
• Job security, health-care coverage and professional development are valued above additional compensation.

What is most worrisome is the disconnect between how workers feel about their jobs and careers and how management perceives what they are feeling. This disconnect is evident in the results from the fourth annual survey of employee job satisfaction by Salary.com:

• Approximately 65 percent of respondents said they were “somewhat” satisfied, but less than 15 percent said they were “extremely” satisfied.
• Meanwhile, employers believe that 30 percent of their workers are “extremely” satisfied.
• Sixty-five percent of employed survey respondents said they are looking around (up more than 17 percent this year). Sixty percent said they plan to intensify their job search over the next three months despite the economy.
• Nearly 80 percent of responding managers do not believe that their employees will initiate a job search in the next three months.

One reason for this disparity in actual worker satisfaction and managers’ perception of worker satisfaction may be that employees are putting on a “happy face” to ensure that they do not lose their current job. The question then is, "What happens when the job market opens up and new opportunities become available?" I believe that many companies will experience a mass exodus of employees.

A recent survey of 5,000 U.S. workers found job satisfaction to be the lowest in two decades, with interest in their work down 18.9 percent, job security down 16.5 percent, interest in the people at work down 11.6 percent and satisfaction with their supervisors down 9.5 percent.

Take a few moments to really look at your employees. The telltale signs of disengaged employees are obvious. Disengaged people exist in all types of businesses, across all industries, and they have always been there, just not in the numbers often seen today. You can spot them by their indifferent, blasé attitudes. They don’t care about the company. They probably don’t like their jobs. And, they send negative signals everywhere they go.

Disengaged people are like poison. They don’t perform their own jobs well. They drive customers away. They have a bad influence on your other staff. Often, they are the cause of conflict and/or low morale within the ranks. Yet few people start off disengaged. It’s typically a process that happens over time, as employee and employer expectations grow further and further apart.

The challenge with the disengagement process is that it can happen slowly and subtly. Usually, there are no big red flags or loud alarm bells that announce the growing discontent of employees.

Conversely, engaged employees go above and beyond their job descriptions to get things done. They’re committed to the organization’s success, and they’re willing to take on additional responsibilities to ensure that the company is successful. They feel like part of the team and have the “all for one and one for all” attitude.

The benefits of creating an engaged workforce are clear. An engaged workforce drives customer loyalty, reduces conflict in the workplace, increases productivity and improves profitability.

At first blush, creating an engaged workforce may seem like an overwhelming task. The good news is that it is neither extremely costly nor complicated to do so.

Below are several ways to create employee engagement or re-engage your employees:

Define Engagement: You must first understand what employee engagement means to your company. There are many definitions, but each company’s culture is unique. Take some time to list the attributes, characteristics and behaviors of engaged employees within your culture. For example, employees should:

• Take pride in their work, delivering quality performance, product and productivity.
• Deliver exceptional service to customers, driving customer loyalty.
• Go above and beyond expectations on a daily basis.
• Perform as a team, working together toward the common goal.
• Intend to stay with the company.
• Support the company’s decisions during difficult as well as prosperous times.
• Display the attitude of “We’re all in this together.”

Clarify the Vision: It is impossible for employees to be engaged if they do not understand the vision for the future, the goals of the organization and their part in fulfilling the vision and reaching the goals.

Clear Expectations: Clearly state expectations for employee results and behaviors, holding them accountable for results and behaviors.

Communicate: Give them the good news and the bad news. Do not blindside employees with bad news that affects them. If you are trying to avoid layoffs and/or furloughs by cutting hours, let them know the reasoning behind your decision.

Reward and Recognize: Let employees know that their contributions are appreciated.

Involve the Employees: When you are facing tough decisions or experiencing operational challenges, ask for their ideas and input.

Understand the Leaders’ Role: There is a direct correlation between the leaders’ behaviors and the level of engagement within the company. Leaders must demonstrate the same traits and behaviors that are expected of employees. Leaders who are open and honest in communications, are focused on employee well-being, demonstrate positive support for the organization and serve as a role model for engagement provide a positive impact on the overall morale within the employee ranks.

"Improving employee engagement does not have to be overwhelming," says Mike Dolen, managing partner of Kenexa’s Global Survey Practice. "There are many ways to take small, incremental steps that lead to sustained improvement."

Whether you adopt all of the steps above to engage or re-engage your employees may depend on your assessed level of engagement within your organization. Whatever you do, do something. Your employees represent your brand, and they have a powerful impact on your bottom line.

About the Author

Debbie Zmorenski

Deborah K. Zmorenski, MBA, is the co-owner and senior partner of Leader’s Strategic Advantage Inc., an Orlando, Fla.-based consulting firm. During her 34-year career with the Walt Disney ... Read More

Why Continuous Improvement Groups Can Do More Harm than Good

Article extract from ReliablePlant newsletter:
http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/29180/continuous-improvement-groups

As strange as it may sound, I believe that continuous improvement (CI) culture is something that many organizations resist without realizing it. Sometimes it is not a mountain to climb but an anthill to step over.

Culture is defined as integrated knowledge, belief and behavior; a set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterizes an organization. If an organization lays the foundation for the employees to embrace each of these examples, it can result in harmony and progression. It can eliminate finger-pointing, develop a balanced scorecard, and produce a creative and productive working environment.

One mistake many organizations make is the implementation of a “CI group.” This is a group of employees who explore the shop floor, seeking improvement opportunities. It is somewhat respectable when organizations implement such a group because they are making an effort toward CI, but assigning a group to kaizen full time demonstrates little confidence in lean methodologies and shows no loyalty in constructing a true CI culture.

These CI groups more often than not harm organizations because they assume the responsibilities of the process owner, which slows down development. They can also create inner turmoil between departments and turbulence in the improvement process. This pushes the organization further from a healthy CI culture.

In addition, the improvements implemented by the CI group are not sustainable in most cases. The process owner has surrendered his or her ownership, resulting in resistance to change that he or she did not implement.

It’s comparable to someone else entering your home and rearranging your living room furniture. You might leave it that way for a day or so, but eventually you would either move everything back the way it was or rearrange it in a different way altogether. It could be because you were not fond of the arrangement or were uncomfortable with the change. What it really boils down to is that you were not part of the concept development or the decision-making process.

It is painful for some organizations to admit the burdens of a CI group because they have devoted time and money to it. This is understandable, but as we all know, in order to fix a problem, you first have to admit that there is one.

The CI group is not a bad idea. In fact, such activities can be extremely valuable in developing a continuous improvement culture. It’s their job duties and assignments that can turn them into a harmful entity within the organization. This is where CI-driven managers have to be careful and use the group strategically.

Instead of assigning group members to kaizen, it would be advantageous to center their efforts on lean education. The CI group members should act as consultants and use their expertise to guide improvement efforts throughout the organization. They should coach and train the shop-floor personnel as well as the process owners.

The owners (shop-floor personnel, leads, supervisors, engineers, etc.) should be the champions when improving their processes. A member of the CI group should be assigned to assist and guide them in the lean direction. This way, the process owner is learning lean methodologies and applying them in his or her projects. It will sanction much more sustainable changes and stimulate the owner, who will see firsthand the results that can be achieved with lean.

Once everyone understands what CI is and how to apply it, the CI group should focus on improving the lean tools and analytical procedures. After all, the organization’s lean process should, in itself, be a lean process.

The group’s input and talent should not stop there. It would also be beneficial to allow group members to assist in rewriting the organization’s policies and practices to ensure that lean permeates throughout the organization’s rules and decision-making.

If you have a CI group at your organization, assigning these responsibilities to them will progress the organization’s continuous improvement culture and provide sustainable, positive change. It will enlighten and encourage everyone to get involved with lean.

About the Author

Eric Bigelow

Eric Bigelow is an industrial engineer and continuous improvement professional. He is currently a lean coordinator located in Spirit Lake, Iowa. He has trained numerous individuals in lean ... Read More

7 Ways to Achieve a Culture of Safety

Article extract from ReliablePlant newsletter:
http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/29160/achieve-safety-culture

How do safety leaders and managers create a culture of safety? Knowing that safety is important is clearly not enough. Slogans like "Safety First" or "Target Zero" may be powerful and eloquent, but they typically don’t produce the buy-in that is necessary.

The only way to change a culture is to get an extremely high level of repeatable buy-in. That means the message from leadership has to be very clear and simple to implement. It also means you have to be realistic about what’s working.

Have you noticed that the job site with the best safety record is the one where the boss makes everyone feel valuable, the people seem to trust one another and everyone gets along well? While there may be a few exceptions, most research confirms that people make fewer mistakes when they feel valuable. They are more loyal and watch out for each other. They are consistently willing to do more of what they are asked to do. All of this results in dramatically fewer incidents and a true culture of safety. But how do you make that happen in your organization or at your location? Here are seven ways to achieve a culture of safety and reduce incidents:

1. Beware of mixed messages. "Hey, you guys, be safe, but hurry up! Don't be so safe that we can't make any money!" The real message is: "Let's get it done before 5 p.m., but if you get outside the safety guidelines, rethink it."


2. Make sure that the people around you understand that you have their back. They will be more likely to have yours. Watch your behavior and treat others with respect. Guess who will not have anyone rushing back into the burning building to save him? That's right, the guy who nobody likes.


3. Be realistic about how people feel about safety procedures. If you have a process or situation that everyone makes fun of or complains about, look into it and make adjustments. There is nothing more dangerous than expecting people to be protected by things they obviously don’t believe in.


4. Remember that many accidents happen indoors in office environments.Approximately 76,000 people each year are hospitalized from putting their feet on their desks and leaning back in a chair. Acting like a big shot is not only obnoxious, but apparently it's also dangerous. In addition, women in high heels who stepped from carpeted surfaces to hard floors had a surprising number of injuries.  


5. Communication skills are the foundation of safety. Let people talk about what’s important to them before you tell them your opinions. People who feel heard are much more likely to listen to you. To make safety happen, you have to be influential enough so that what you say creates actions in others. If people see their input in your safety solution, they are much more likely to have buy-in and much less likely to be injured.


6. Don’t tell the guys in their 20s how brave you were “back in the day” before modern safety equipment. You are your brothers' and sisters' keepers, and that especially means your younger brothers and sisters. On a job site, I once heard a guy in his 50s say to a group of people in their 20s, "You young guys have all this protective clothing and special tools. In the '70s, we were down in there naked with a Q-tip." Challenging someone's manhood makes you part of the problem.


7. Be able to clearly explain the value of a safety procedure or policy in 30 seconds. People buy into what they understand quickly. The leading addiction on the planet is not drugs or alcohol but convenience. People will consistently abandon a safe process that's complicated for an unsafe one that’s not. Keep it simple. It does not matter how smart you are if nobody knows what you're talking about.

Whether you are a leader who is driving safety forward or just a person on the job trying to be good at what you do without being hurt, influence is required. Are you influential enough to make safety happen around you? Do you have the trust and the relationships in place to help safety concepts and procedures remain effective?

For some, it may be hard to buy into how important it is for people to have a supportive environment to do their job. You may think that people should just do what they are supposed to do and be safe, but in reality the overwhelming success of this approach is kind of like listening to NASCAR on the radio; You personally may not believe it makes any sense, but for some strange reason it’s still happening.

About the Author

Garrison Wynn helps people learn how to make the jump from being great at what they do to understanding and developing the qualities it takes to be chosen for the job. As a keynote speaker, advisor and entertainer, he has worked with some of the world's most effective corporate leaders and salespeople. He has a background in manufacturing, entertainment, telecommunications and financial services. For information on Garrison’s speaking or consulting, visit www.keynote-speaker-motivational.com/safety-speaker.htm.

Help Employees Get the Most from Their Career and Life

Article extract from ReliablePlant newsletter:
http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/29061/help-employees-career

While giving an update on the successes of a maintenance leadership mentoring program that was celebrating its ninth anniversary, I was told that the program caused four employees to leave the company. This challenge involved two important issues that should be shared at this time of industry turmoil and the possible need for employees to find new jobs.

The first issue relates to the company’s sponsored program. It was designed to fast-track bright potential candidates to be in positions to replace retiring maintenance managers. Over the first eight years, the two-year program with about 80 graduates recorded more than 120 protégé promotions. Not only were the protégés promoted, but the mentors were promoted. Both groups had grown personally, professionally and organizationally. However, the company’s value received was minor compared to the participants’ value received.

One protégé confided that he was not really interested in a promotion and was concerned that he would be asked to leave. I addressed this by saying: “This program is designed to help the individual achieve his or her potential in life. That life includes family, community, work, education/learning and spiritual growth. We cannot focus on the promotion. You must develop yourself to be able to handle the ramifications of a new position and balance all the other factors.”

All I asked of the participants was to take their experiences, new skills and knowledge back to their family, community and workplace with the hope of helping others to grow. That attitude and behavior would be what would get them promoted.

I met this protégé and his wife three years later, and what he said confirmed my intentions. He had become the go-to supervisor, the unofficial mentor of new and old employees; worked at various positions outside of maintenance; had changed his health habits; was more in love than ever (35 years married); and loved life. He was one of many.

This was the same program that caused four employees to leave the company. However, in helping people find themselves, we use a technique championed by Richard Bolles in his book, “What Color is Your Parachute?” Bolles’ approach is based upon finding your God-given gifts (your parachute) and understanding that you will be most satisfied in life if you are using and expanding them.

Through an exhaustive exercise of defining your skills, values, desires, expectations and possible jobs that fit your profile, you are able to evaluate and identify the gifts that you truly have. Gifts are skills and include writing, teaching, coaching, helping, accounting, working with your hands, planning and any of the remaining hundreds.

Next, you will discover where and when you use these most effectively: alone, in small groups, in large companies, inter-group, in startups, in structured environments, in nebulous situations, etc. Then, what types of people do you work best with? What company values do you seek? What location do you prefer geographically? Where is your family in all of this? (They are foremost.)

When you have worked through the exercises to discover these things about yourself, put down on paper the ideal job defined by the above factors. Then, describe how a typical day would go from the time you awoke, walking through the office door, the work day (interactions, using gifts, how you measured accomplishment, etc.), coming home and the evening activities.

So there you have it, a parachute with many colors. You are laying out a vision for your life. Have you thought about doing that? Isn’t it time to do so? Can you help your employees do the same? Maybe give each a copy of the book and workbook and have periodic sessions on finding yourself.

We had four who did so and discovered they were in the wrong company and line of work. I was personally humbled to have had that much effect on them and their families. Each has done very well since. It was a lesson for the company.

Remember, humility overrules pride.

The saying goes: Change is the only constant in life

You may have read them at some point in your life that 50% start up companies doesn't go past the 5 years mark; up to 75% companies doesn't reach 10 years. Most of the more established companies also fail later in their life due to un-adaptability, which make the case for change a must!

I have walked into organisation with so much internal complains that it does themselves more harm than good. Do ask the complainers, are you part of the solution? If you're not, then you're part of the problem.

Complaining doesn't make a difference, if you don't make a difference to improve, then you are just part of the contributing problems.

First, the leader(s) would have to be a visionary. He would have to teach the organisation how to dream. Without a dream, without a vision, without knowing what they want to be and what they can be, they would not know how to get there.

Second, cost-cutting is so yester-years. Stop unnecessary cost-cutting. Invest in your people's development, coach the right leadership into them. Also, invest in implementation of efficient system that streamline and make work easier. Employees are your biggest asset, without them, your company is just a shell. Invest in them! Be very wary of managers who are cost-cutting experts, they are likely bringing the company to la-la land.

Third, remove those who don't embrace the improvement drive. Stop the blaming culture, stop it right there and then. Instill back ownership, instill back quality right from the top. It's not an employee's fault if he/she made a mistake, it's because your mismanagement of the system which allow him/her to make that mistake possible. In the era of huge generation gap, low population growth, high human resource turnover, the only thing that will stay there and do the job is the system. So it comes back again to invest on your system!

Fourth, reward competency, reward ownership, reward high-performance. Discourage blaming, discourage cost-cutting, and discourage poor workmanship. Only there and then, the hull will start to take a turn for the better.

The "micro-skill" that drives Change in Culture

A good article from Reliable Plant newsletter in regards to Change.
http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/28886/communicating-effectively-change
Communicating Effectively During Change

Dave Berube, Life Cycle Engineering

I have never been known to be musically inclined, but I can recognize a great song when I hear one. One of these great songs is “I Heard It through the Grapevine.” This particular song has been recorded and re-recorded numerous times over the years by many different artists, and although it may bring thoughts of animated raisins to people in my generation, it is more closely associated with Marvin Gaye.
“Oh, I heard it through the grapevine,
Oh, and I’m just about to lose my mind,
Honey, honey, yeah.”
Just as the grapevine in this song had a strong impact, the communication grapevine remains an extremely powerful medium for corporate communications. The effectiveness of grapevine communication and its use – both intentional and unintentional – should not be ignored.
When coaching clients during major change initiatives, we continuously stress the importance of effective communication. Experience has shown that clients who struggle to communicate also struggle to successfully implement major change. Even post-project analysis of very successful projects often finds the company could have communicated more frequently and effectively at some point in the project.

One of the key success factors in successfully implementing a major change initiative is creating a comprehensive change-management strategy and then integrating it into the project-management plan. Creating a communication plan is one of the most critical elements contained within this change-management strategy. In this plan you identify target audiences, determine key messages, choose the preferred sender and select the appropriate communication channel for that message.
The majority of communication channels typically chosen are formal communication channels. The communication channel that is often forgotten is the informal communication channel, and this brings us to the topic of the infamous grapevine.

So what is the grapevine, how does it work and how can you use it to effectively communicate during major change? I am sure that the grapevine is as old as time itself, but I will discuss its context within modern organizations.

Grapevine Decoded

Every organization has both an informal and formal organizational structure as well as formal and informal communications. Simply stated, the grapevine is a type of informal communication channel. It’s all about people communicating directly with other people outside official channels of communication.

Your background and experience influence how you view concepts. For example, my background in electronics and submarine nuclear power often leads me to relate concepts to equations to enhance understanding. Personal experiences over the years related to the grapevine can also be translated and simplified into an equation to help us understand how the grapevine works. The amount of communication or “chatter” on the grapevine can be explained by the following equation:
Grapevine Chatter = Information Void + WIIFM + Recent News + Insecurity

Information Void

The laws of supply and demand apply equally to grapevine chatter and economics. An information void exists when the information demanded exceeds the information supplied. The supply and the demand of the information are not defined by the organization but by the individual person who desires the information. An information void will be filled with something – either rumors or valid information. The larger the information void, the greater the amount of chatter in the grapevine.

WIIFM

What’s in it for me (WIIFM) seems to show up in many places when we are talking about organizational change. Regardless of the situation, when change occurs our natural tendency is to translate this into a WIIFM context. This is what you are listening for. How does this change affect me, my pay, my family, my free time, etc.? Whether that WIIFM is good or bad, it creates a vested interest. When people have a vested interest, they will want information. The greater the impact on WIIFM, the greater the amount of chatter on the grapevine.

Recent News

Many organizations are stunned at how breaking news hits the grapevine at breakneck speed. Even something as simple as an office remodeling (occurring in our offices right now) can generate significant grapevine chatter. The fresher the story, the greater the chatter on the grapevine.

Insecurity

The impact of the WIIFM factor is exponentially compounded by the level of insecurity that exists. The greater the amount of insecurity that exists within the organization, the greater the amount of chatter that will exist on the grapevine. For example, with the current fragile state of the economy, one can easily see how this factor can become extremely high.

Rumors

As stated earlier, an information void will be filled. When the desire for information is high and the number of facts that are known is low, the number of rumors flying is huge. Most of us have experienced this firsthand, and sometimes it is not a pretty sight. Regaining control of information in the midst of flying rumors is extremely difficult. The longer a rumor is allowed to fly, the more difficult it is to replace it with valid information. While some people try to fight rumor with rumor, the only effective way to combat rumor is with facts. When a large number of rumors exist, an even larger number of facts must be communicated to combat the rumors.

Leveraging the Grapevine

Knowing the factors that make up grapevine chatter – information voids, WIIFM, recent news and insecurity – you can proactively intervene with frequent and effective communication. Fill information voids with accurate information before rumors materialize. Proactively communicate when breaking news is expected. When information (such as impending mergers and acquisitions) is about to be communicated, be prepared and react quickly after the message is released. When communicating change initiatives, ensure that you communicate the impact of the change on the individual.

Addressing the factors associated with grapevine chatter can minimize but never totally eliminate the amount of informal communication occurring. However, by better understanding the grapevine, you can successfully leverage it as part of your overall communication strategy.
One of the tenets of a good communication strategy is evaluating the effectiveness of your communication. This is accomplished by obtaining feedback. What better way to gather feedback than to take advantage of an existing channel of communication?

Tapping into the Grapevine

Over the course of my career, I have been able to tap into the grapevine at your typical places — the water cooler (scuttlebutt in Navy terminology), the coffee pot and the smoke break area. Tapping into the grapevine is not normally achieved overnight. Grapevine communicators are a very selective bunch. They will not share all information with everyone. There must be some level of relationship and trust established, and building relationships and trust takes time. To accomplish this, you must get out of the office, talk to people and most of all listen.

But while the traditional grapevine is thought of as being a face-to-face or oral type of communication, this is no longer the case. Advances in technology and recent trends in social networking have significantly transformed the modern grapevine. Informal communication now occurs through email, texting, Twitter and on social-networking sites such as Facebook.
Implementing major change in an organization is a complex and challenging task. In the end, creating organizational change is about cumulatively creating change in individuals. Successfully leading major change requires successfully leading individuals. To successfully lead individuals through change, you must be able to communicate effectively. You must find new ways to connect to people and communicate in every imaginable way. That includes tapping into the grapevine. Without it, you just might lose your mind. Honey, honey, yeah.

About the Author
Dave Berube, a senior consultant for Life Cycle Engineering (LCE), has more than 30 years of experience in leadership and management. His expertise includes behavioral change management, project management and development, and process improvement within various types of organizations. You can reach Dave at dberube@LCE.com.