SUPPORT CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES FACILITATOR MANUAL & ASSESSMENT BSBFLM309C

Transcription

1 SUPPORT CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES FACILITATOR MANUAL & ASSESSMENT BSBFLM309C

2 Precision Group (Australia) Pty Ltd 9 Koppen Tce, Cairns, QLD, info@precisiongroup.com.au Website: BSBFLM309C Support Continuous Improvement Systems and Processes ISBN: Copyright Notice No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information retrieval system without written permission from Precision Group (Australia) Pty Ltd. Legal action may be taken against any person who infringes their copyright through unauthorised copying. These terms are subject to the conditions prescribed under the Australian Copyright Act Copying for Educational Purposes The Australian Copyright Act 1968 allows 10% of this book to be copied by any educational institute for educational purposes, provided that the institute (or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. For more information, info@copyright. com.au or visit for other contact details. Disclaimer Precision Group has made a great effort to ensure that this material is free from error or omissions. However, you should conduct your own enquiries and seek professional advice before relying on any fact, statement or matter contained in this book. Precision Group (Australia) Pty Ltd is not responsible for any injury, loss or damage as a result of material included or omitted from this material. Information in this module is current at the time of publication.

3 Table of Contents 2 Legend 3 Qualification Pathways 4 Qualification Rules 5 Introduction 7 BSBFLM309C/01 Contribute to Continuous Improvement Systems and Processes Key Points Actively encourage and support team members to participate in decision making processes and to assume responsibility and exercise initiative Communicate the organisation s continuous improvement processes to individuals and teams Effectively utilise mentoring and coaching to ensure that individuals / teams are able to support the organisation s continuous improvement processes 25 True or False Quiz 27 BSBFLM309C/02 Monitor and Report on Specified Outcomes Key Points Utilise the organisation s systems and technology to monitor team progress and to identify ways in which planning and operations could be improved Apply continuous improvement techniques and processes to improve customer service 37 True or False Quiz 39 BSBFLM309C/03 Support Opportunities for Further Improvement Key Points Communicate agreed recommendations for improvements in achieving the business plan to team members Document and use work performance to identify opportunities for further improvement Maintain records, reports and recommendations for improvement within the organisation s systems and processes 47 True or False Quiz 48 Summary 49 Bibliography 51 Handouts Assessment Pack 1

4 Use considered risk taking in your grey area...and others will follow you! Legend This symbol indicates the beginning of new content. The bold title matches the content of the competency and they will help you to find the section to reference for your assessment activities. Activity: Whenever you see this symbol, there is an activity to carry out which has been designed to help reinforce the learning about the topic and take some action. This symbol is used at the end of a section to indicate the summary key points of the previous section. This symbol is used to indicate an answer to the Candidate s questions or notes to assist the Facilitator. 2

5 Qualification Pathways There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it s easy. Source Unknown This unit of competency is provided to meet the requirements of BSB07 Business Services Training Package although it can be used in a range of different qualifications. The BSB07 Business Services Training Package does not state how a qualification is to be achieved. Rather, Registered Training Organisations are required to use the qualification rules to ensure the needs of the learner and business customer are met. This is to be achieved through the development of effective learning programs delivered in an order that meets the stated needs of nominated Candidates and business customers. 3

6 Qualification Rules You re either part of the solution or part of the problem. Eldridge Cleaver Qualification requirements include core and elective units. The unit mix is determined by specific unit of competency requirements which are stated in the qualification description. Registered Training Organisations then work with learners and business customers to select elective units relevant to the work outcome, local industry requirements and the qualification level. All vocational education qualifications must lead to a work outcome. BSB07 Business Services Training Package qualifications allow for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to vary programs to meet: Specific needs of a business or group of businesses. Skill needs of a locality or a particular industry application of business skills. Maximum employability of a group of students or an individual. When packaging a qualification elective units are to be selected from an equivalent level qualification unless otherwise stated. 4

7 Introduction Whether as an individual, or as part of a group, real progress depends on entering whole-heartedly into the process and being motivated to make you a more deeply satisfied human being. Source Unknown This unit of competency is all about being able to make a positive contribution and to support the implementation and development of continuous improvement systems and processes often these systems are referred to as quality systems. It will help you with the skills you need to demonstrate competency for the unit BSBFLM309C Support Continuous Improvement Systems and Processes. This is one of the units that make up the Certificates in Business. This training is broken up into three distinct sections. They are: 1. Contribute to Continuous Improvement Systems and Processes: First we will examine the processes involved in implementing systems such as promotion, communication, leadership and how to deal with problems. 2. Monitor and Report on Specified Outcomes: Then we will examine the aspects of quality involved with monitoring and adjusting performance always looking for ways of improving the system. 3. Support Opportunities for Further Improvement: Finally we will examine how you can implement changes and work with your quality team in the most efficient manner. At the conclusion of this training you will be asked to complete an assessment pack for this unit of competency. The information contained in this resource will assist you to complete this task. On conclusion of this unit of competency you will have demonstrated your ability to implement continuous improvement systems; monitor, adjust and report performance; and support opportunities for further improvement. 5

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9 PART 1: Contribute to Continuous Improvement Systems and Processes Key Points Section 1 As team leader you must ensure that you take actions to provide opportunities for active participation by all team members, ensure that you are able to avoid and minimise conflict, and overcome obstacles that can be present at different stages of the team life cycle. Team Progress towards specified improvement objectives must be monitored and reviewed in consultation with team members and sponsors to ensure that objectives are met. Promotion of quality initiatives requires ensuring that staff and managers are aware of the initiatives being put in place, and are willing to support and adopt these initiatives. 7

10 Key Points Section 1 continued There are a range of promotional strategies that can be adopted by an organisation to communicate and promote quality initiatives. The promotion process usually has two major success factors that must be met in order for the promotion to be considered a success Satisfaction and Participation. Coaching describes an ongoing evaluation and feedback process. Constructive feedback is a face-to-face conversation with an employee about something on which they could improve. Some coaching techniques to adopt include: practice, role plays, time management and motivational plans. 8

11 Participation is the Key Whenever you work to develop plans for any aspect of your business, it is important to note that often things do not go according to plan. In this section we will address foundering, lack of participation, conflict and other obstacles that may sink an otherwise effective process for developing plans. There are a number of techniques that you can use in your group decision making process in order to encourage active participation, and minimise conflict among group members. The most common and perhaps least useful group decision making method is that in which someone suggests an idea and, before anyone else has said anything about it, someone else suggests another idea, until the group eventually finds one it will act on. This results in shooting down the original idea before it has really been considered. The group has in a sense, rejected all the ideas that are bypassed. But because the rejections have been simply a common decision not to support the idea, the proposer feels that their suggestions have been rejected, and thus will be less likely to introduce new ideas. Conflicts may also arise because of this. There is a need for improved decision making processes, such as the two listed below. Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work. Vincent Lombardi 9

12 Charette Procedure: The Charette Procedure is a technique used to generate and prioritise ideas within a group environment. The great thing about this process is that it enables you to work on a number of different problems all at the same time. It is also very interactive, getting multiple people all working on the issue at once. Essentially the process boils down to breaking the issue down into small parts and having groups work on these then bringing everything back together to look at the big picture. Story Boarding: Story Boarding involves problem solving using visual information. You use cards and paper to create diagrams of the issues at hand and then place these around the room to get an idea of the issue under consideration. You can then begin investigating the root cause of the issues that are causing concern to you. Lack of Participation Inequality of Contribution It is often the case that contributions by team members are not equal. That is, one member of a team is more likely to be involved in a meeting than other team members. In these cases, it is important to ensure that you allow for all team members to contribute. Actively seek the opinions of those who are not active, and encourage a supportive team atmosphere. Foundering Foundering is essentially the sinking of a meeting. It takes its name from the definition sinking of a ship. A meeting can be likened in many ways to a ship. If a correct course is not steered, the ship can run aground and be sunk. So, foundering is where the meeting has gone so wrong that nothing is achieved. The most effective means of overcoming this obstacle is to ensure you stay on course. Staying on course means staying focussed on objectives. You will have already taken the step of determining the objectives for the meeting at an early stage, which is determining what you hope to achieve during the meeting. These objectives must be planned in advance, so that you are aware of what needs to be achieved and you can keep control of the discussion during the meeting. It is vitally important that you do not move off the key topics for the meetings and move into discussing other problems, or just general chit-chat. It is likely that most meetings will last only an hour or two in length. Therefore you need to ensure that the meeting is as productive as possible. Meeting participants are unlikely to want to stay in the meeting beyond its set time frame; therefore you need to ensure that you stay focussed on the problem at hand. Charette Procedure or Story Boarding are vitally important in achieving this aim. They keep focus on specific topics, and provide guidelines for what should be discussed and what shouldn t. As the team leader it is your job to keep the meeting on track. Gently guide the discussion, without ever exerting too much pressure on the participants (you want to encourage, not discourage participation). 10

13 Conventional Wisdom Sometimes within a team environment, there is a real reluctance to break with the conventional wisdom. That is, people are not willing to think of new ideas because the conventional way of doing things is so ingrained in them that they cannot see new ideas. This can be overcome by using creative approaches to problem-solving such as the Six Thinking Hats approach. An interesting method that can be adopted for encouraging participation and making people think outside the square is Six Hat Thinking. This problem solving technique forces team members to go outside their comfort zone and think in ways that they traditionally do not do. You are made to think of things in a different way. It is especially helpful in team meetings, where you can get each individual to put on a hat that is different to the way in which they normally think of things. Teams often end up in what is known as group think where the team is not comfortable thinking of things in a new or different way, rather sticking within what they are comfortable with. This leads them to being unwilling to come up with new ideas. This is where those six different coloured hats come into play. Each of the six coloured thinking hats represents a different way of looking at a problem. These six hats are: White Hat White is all about logic and looking at the data. You are focussing on what data is already there and are trying to find ways to learn from this. You might look for where gaps in the data exist, where there are errors in the data or even try to forecast the future based on the data. Red Hat Red is the colour of love and like love, the red hat is about gut instinct. You look at the problem focussing on your gut and emotion. What does your heart say? How will people react to the decisions made? Black Hat The black hat is a little like being the devil s advocate. The black hat thinker is involved in looking at the bad things in life. If a solution is given, a black hat will think what will cause this to not work? What could go wrong? What is weak about the plan? Black hat thinking is aimed at spotting little flaws in the plan that over time may make the whole thing come apart. People often get in the mind set that you should never think negatively about something, only positive thought is acceptable. However with black hat thinking you can actually make solutions stronger and more appropriate to the decisions being made. Yellow Hat The yellow hat is the exact opposite of the black hat. Someone wearing the yellow hat has to think positively. He or she must always look at every solution with as must positivity and enthusiasm as possible 11

14 Green Hat The green hat takes the role of the creative. Nothing is too crazy for green hat thinking. You will just generate all sorts of crazy ideas, some of which will work, and others which won t. Blue Hat Finally, the blue hat thinker has to think about control and processes. Generally this will be the person running the meeting and will be in charge of ensuring that everyone is keeping on track with what needs to be done. Reluctance to Change Resistance to change is a common obstacle to participation of team members. If a team member is reluctant to change, they are unlikely to be willing to participate in any activity that is going to force change. Therefore it is important that as a team leader you assist team members to overcome this resistance. The first step involves attempting to determine the cause for reluctance to change, and then steps need to be taken to overcome this reluctance. Some of the Most Common Reasons for a Reluctance to Change Uncertainty about the causes and effects of change Unwillingness to give up existing benefits or self-interests Awareness of weaknesses in the changes proposed Lack of trust and understanding Low tolerance for change Conservatism Different assessments Peer pressure Complexity So how can this resistance be overcome? There are a range of different solutions, but some of the most common include: Education and communication Participation and involvement The creation of a positive environment 12

15 Facilitation and support Creation of credibility Negotiation and agreement Timing Creating dissatisfaction with the current state. As we mentioned earlier, foundering can be overcome by ensuring the objectives of the team are well set in the minds of the team members. As the team leader you are attempting to monitor progress at every step of the way. This should be done on a regular basis, and progress reviewed against the team s action plans and guidelines to ensure that the team members are always heading in the right direction and obstacles are dealt with early. 13

16 Identifying and Promoting Initiatives In order to be successful, it is important that quality initiatives and the general concept of quality management are promoted throughout an organisation. Quality management requires solid commitment on the part of management, and all staff members, in order to be regarded as successful, and promotion is an extremely useful means of showing, and developing, this commitment. In this manual we will examine promotion of quality through a cyclic approach. In a sense, this approach can be likened to the idea of quality management, as it involves continuous improvement of ideas. The first stage of this cycle is identifying which initiatives should be promoted. It is unlikely that quality management will grow out of a single initiative. There are likely to be multiple processes and procedures developed in order to achieve your quality goals. Therefore it is important to attempt to determine which of these quality initiatives should be promoted, and which ones should not. There are a wide range of sources of information on quality initiatives; we will examine those resulting from approved improvement opportunities and from management requirements arising from internal and external audits, internal and external customers, internal and external suppliers, and legislative and regulatory requirements. As mentioned previously, initiatives may come about through approved improvement opportunities, such as audits or they may come about through the requirements of management. In either case, it is important that you attempt to evaluate the information sources, and try to identify what the specific initiatives are. Initiatives are those processes and procedures that are put in place to assist your organisation in reaching their quality goals or objectives. They are specific actions or plans that you will put into place in order to reach these goals. Let s examine some of the possible sources of information that you could use to determine what the quality initiatives are: Internal and External Audits: Audits are an integral component of the quality management process. They allow the firm to take stock of the position it is currently in, and allows them to determine where improvements can be made. It is likely that the results of the audit will recommend initiatives that will be put into place. Therefore, this can be a particularly useful source of information on initiatives. You will find that the audit will recommend initiatives, and possibly even prioritise them. Internal audits are likely to show the requirements of management strongly, and this is useful in determining what management is looking to improve. External audits come from the perspective of an outsider, and thus the information provided will come from a different perspective, and you may find it recommends changes not found by internal audits. Internal and External Customers and Suppliers: Suppliers and customers are an important source of information. They deal with you on a day-to-day basis, and so develop a sense of what is working within the organisation, and what is not. In particular they are in a position to tell you how well your organisation is meeting their needs. This information can tell you which initiatives are most important to implement, as you must meet the needs of your customer to be successful. Legislative and Regulatory Requirements: Finally there may be legislative or regulatory requirements that need to be met. In particular this may apply to health and safety, or the requirements of meeting particular standards such as ISO9000. When examining these requirements, you may find that there are certain procedures or policies that need to be implemented, if you are to meet them. 14

17 Prioritising Having identified the quality initiatives that your organisation wishes to promote, you need to create a list that prioritises them in an order for promotion through the organisation. You will be faced with limited resources. You can not promote everything, and you can not use the same level of promotion on everything. Therefore, like most aspects of management, you need to prioritise. The most effective means of prioritising is to use concrete criteria in order to rank the initiatives. Those at the top of the list are those you should promote most. As you move down the list, fewer resources should be allocated to them, or perhaps you will not promote them at all. We will examine four possible criteria against which you could examine your initiatives. Quality Strategic Plan and Vision: The first criterion involves examining your vision and plan for the organisation. Quality management is a philosophy, and that philosophy is based on the information in your vision statement and quality plan. A quality vision should look to the future, but it also must be able to be related to by current customers. It is from this vision for the future, that the quality plan will be developed. The plan will outline what needs to be done, and how you will do it. The vision and plan should enable you to gain a feel for exactly what it is your organisation hopes to achieve. By examining this list, you can begin to gain an understanding of which initiatives will have the most impact on the organisation achieving its goals. Benchmarking: This process involves you in a process of attempting to measure how well you are working against a specific set of standards. You may benchmark yourself against quality standards, industry standards or your competition. The process is a continual one, in that in involves you in continuously attempting to measure your performance and find ways of resolving any areas where you are not as strong as you feel you should be. The process of benchmarking involves measuring current performance on a continual basis. You then take this and compare it to the standards that either you or another organisation have set, and then you have an idea where gaps exist between current and desired performance levels. Any areas where you are not meeting the standards and you have significant gaps, you need to prioritize and spend time ensuring that these issues are resolved. The end result is a list of areas where you know attention is needed quickly. Available Resources: As we mentioned earlier, your available resources (in terms of budget and expertise) may also play a significant role in determining priorities. If your budget is small, there may only be the ability to meet smaller projects, rather than attempting to promote those which will be complex or require a lot of promotion. For example, less popular initiatives will require more promotion than those that are considered popular, therefore you need to examine whether you have the resources to meet the needs of these projects, or whether you should prioritise smaller projects. Is it better to promote one large project or a number of smaller ones? This will depend on the nature of each initiative. Time Constraints: Finally examine time constraints. Time is a factor in every facet of business. The more time you need to spend, the more money and resources it will take up. Is the benefit of promoting a particular initiative worth the expense it will cost in terms of time and resources? 15

18 Selection and Promotion There are a range of promotional strategies that can be adopted by an organisation to communicate and promote quality initiatives. We will examine four major means of promoting initiatives in this section, and then examine how to construct success criteria and finally select the most appropriate strategy for a given criteria. Promotion of quality initiatives can be likened to education. It is about ensuring that staff and managers are aware of the initiatives being put in place, and are willing to support and adopt these initiatives. Quality management does not work without training of managers and staff, and commitment from them towards the initiatives. Participation is crucial to the success of any quality initiative. Therefore when selecting what promotional strategies to adopt, it is vital that you take these goals into account. The four major means of promoting quality initiatives within an organisation are: Newsletters: A newsletter is a powerful means of communication. Well written and presented, it can deliver a vast range of information to staff and management. Newsletters can be used to literally deliver the news to your staff. You can use them to provide written information about new initiatives, report on successful initiatives that have been adopted in the past, and look towards the future. As was mentioned in a previous section, quality management is an overall philosophy. A newsletter can be used to take a vision and communicate it to staff. It can be used to sell ideas, show how past ideas have worked, and what is in store for the future. The newsletter is perhaps less threatening than some of the other promotional tools. It can be used to remind staff of particular points, without singling out anyone individually. One of the major problems with the newsletter is that often it may be dismissed as unimportant by staff, they may not read it, and simply throw it away. To overcome such a problem, you may attempt to include other information on social events within the organisation, along with important quality news and initiatives. Workshops: Workshops are formal training events that can be used to deliver information in an interactive environment. You can use a workshop to deliver information, and allow staff to try activities based on the information that you have given. These workshops can often be lengthy to prepare, particularly when developing a range of activities. However, if you allow staff to try out new initiatives before they are formally introduced into the workplace, they are more likely to be receptive to the idea when introduced into their workplace. Workshops also allow feedback on new processes and procedures to be given to management, and trainers, while at the same time allowing trainers to encourage those staff members who are reluctant. This type of promotion is particularly useful for any initiative that is practical in nature, and that may require practice before introduction. Forum Groups: Forum Groups are perhaps the most interactive form of promotion that can be provided. In a Forum Group, members are encouraged to discuss ideas among themselves and with management. A forum allows everybody s ideas to be heard, and listened to. It is important that the initiatives remain the most important component of the Forum discussions; therefore a chairperson is required to ensure control is maintained. Forum Groups are useful for promoting initiatives that may not be entirely popular. This is due to the fact that they allow for discussion, so those opposing an idea can have their feelings heard, and this can be discussed in an open and positive environment. 16

19 Part 1: Contribute to Continuous Improvement Systems and Processes Presentations: Presentations, using videos, slides and PowerPoint, are a non-interactive means of training for the most part. In this sense they are like newsletters, but with a human presenter. This means that some questions may be asked, and answered, however discussion is usually not encouraged in a presentation. Use this method of promotion in cases where the initiative is simple, and can be briefly presented. 17

20 Success in quality measurement can be measured in a wide range of ways. The promotion process usually has two major success factors that must be met in order for the promotion to be considered a success. These two factors are satisfaction and participation. Success in Quality Measurement Satisfaction This refers to employees, management, customers and suppliers being satisfied with the initiatives that have been implemented. To be successful in achieving this criterion, promotion should be aimed at attempting to demonstrate the importance of the initiative to overall organisational operations. Participation This involves ensuring that promotion ensures that employees and other stakeholders are willing to participate in the initiatives that are being introduced. Stakeholders must understand the initiative, and have the skills to put it into practice. You need to ensure that all success factors are implemented and are aligned with your organisation s overall goals and culture. Ensuring that you are using strategies and programs that align with your organisation s vision is vitally important. If you do not, you may find that your factors will not be useful. They may even prove detrimental to your organisation. Finally, ensure that your selected criteria are documented in a form that meets with organisational requirements. This is particularly important in quality management where formal documentation and the procedures associated with it form a crucial part of the overall system. The final stage in the selection process is taking the available options and determining which of those options will assist you in meeting your success criteria. This can be a difficult process, however there are some hard and fast rules you should examine that will assist you in determining which is the most appropriate. Newsletters are most useful in giving overall progress in the quality management process in conjunction with other methods, and should be put out on a regular basis. Newsletters are particularly useful for updating staff involved in a long, complicated quality management processes. This includes cases where multiple initiatives are being adopted, and progress on each varies. Newsletters can assist in building satisfaction due to the fact that they keep all staff members informed of progress, and they can be used to highlight excellence, making staff and management feel acknowledged. Workshops are useful for practical initiatives. For example if your initiative involves redocumenting all policy and procedures to comply with ISO standards, you may hold a workshop which gives staff hands-on training in how this is to be accomplished. Workshops generally are not useful for promoting overall vision, rather practical components used to reach that vision. Workshops encourage participation by involving staff in practical examples. Satisfaction is increased, because the staff members can see how the initiative will actually assist the organisation. Forums are useful either prior to introduction or after a process has been in place for some time. They can promote new ideas and continuous improvement by ensuring that staff have their 18

21 views heard, and listened to. They offer a good opportunity for discussion of initiatives that may be unpopular, as they can be used as a springboard to constructive discussions. This leads to participation through discussion. Satisfaction is increased because staff are having their views heard, and they are making a difference to the process. Presentations are useful for presenting overall vision, rather than specific initiatives. They allow the presenter to give a broad overview of the initiatives, and perhaps discuss simpler initiatives (which do not require specific training). Coaching We now move on to the processes associated with coaching and mentoring. Many industries have very high worker turnover and recruiting staff, and more importantly retaining them, can be quite difficult to achieve. Having a coach or mentor in place can help relieve much of the stress that new staff feel when they begin a new job. New staff may lack experience or some of the core skills required to undertake a specific job and by having a coach or mentor there to provide assistance, you can assist in reducing the stress felt by new staff undertaking a new job. The process of having a coach or mentor assigned to your new staff is not a new idea, but one which can provide significant advances in improving overall quality in the workplace. They also enhance the individual employee s performance. There are a number of different methods that can be used when creating a coaching or mentoring scheme in your workplace. These include: Personal coaching programs employing external or internal coaches Traditional or peer-to-peer mentoring schemes Buddy schemes, a form of two-way peer-to-peer mentoring. The method that you decide to utilise when working towards improving quality in your work place will be entirely dependant on what you are trying to fix and the type of skills that are already present in your workplace. You may also need to consider the organisation and its culture. Some organisation s simply do not have the kind of culture that allows for one individual to assist another easily without the staff feeling uncomfortable. It is therefore extremely important to consider the effects of the company s culture on any systems that you may decide to implement into the workplace. Competition, for example, among employees for reaching sales targets or earning commission may mean that there is a lack of willingness to act as an effective mentor or coach. Once you have decided how to implement a coaching strategy into your workplace, the next step is to attempt to build a relationship between everyone concerned, so that the team members really feel like they are making a positive contribution to the overall effectiveness and quality of the team. Coaching a new worker is a lot like coaching a sports team. In both cases you are attempting to build up skills and get the most out of your team members. 19

22 Let s now look at the typical steps taken in a coaching session: A Typical Coaching Session 1 State the performance expectations for the staff members and say why it is important that these are reached 2 Describe where improvement is needed 3 Ask the employee why they feel that they are not reaching their performance standards 4 Talk through some possible solutions to the issues concerned 5 Create a written plan for improvement 6 Gain commitment to the plan that you have written 7 Follow up on the performance level obtained For quality purposes, it is important that coaching and mentoring be put into a process which allows for continuous improvement and development over time. Such a process will involve: Ensuring that the processes and procedures used will support the objectives you wish to get from the program. Finding ways to get time for coaches and mentors to act in these roles. Often times this can be difficult simply because they already have all their own work to get through. Assessing potential coaches and mentors to make sure they actually have the skills and knowledge required to ensure that the team members learn what they need to learn. Ensuring that the coaches and mentors are aware of what is required of them in their position and ensure that they act within this role with integrity and have the individual s learning goals in their mind. Ensuring that there are processes and procedures in place that limit and outline exactly what is required of a coach in their position. This ensures that everyone is aware of what is required of them and that no one steps outside the bounds of the positions. Having a process in place for evaluating the performance of coaches and mentors, so that all staff can find ways of improving their performance and the processes behind them. Coaching and mentoring are generally used to provide on-the-job training, however it can be a lot wider than this. Coaches in the workplace can become an integral strategy in improving quality by developing staff on a continuous, rather than one-off, basis. 20

23 How Do You Plan For It? How can you provide effective feedback during coaching sessions? Make sure you understand why the coaching is needed and give good reasons for the feedback being given Learn as much as you can about the person to whom you are giving feedback Practice the session before you begin Learn your communication style and determine how the other person is likely to feel about it Undertake coaching in private no one wants their weaknesses known to the world Always plan, plan plan! It is also very useful to have some notes to refer to during the session, so that you can refer back to them as required. 21

24 Other coaching techniques that you may consider using include: Coaching Techniques Practice Practice is where the trainee gets an opportunity to attempt the task themselves. The trainer will watch them and attempt to improve their technique and offer suggestions on what they can do. Direct observation is most useful for those skills that are very manual and are not part of a process, that is the task can be performed without having to run through tasks that lead into the one being trained, or will be required to be done after. These independent skills are often well taught using simple practice. Role Play A role play is a situational example. It normally involves the trainer and the group designing a situation that they then must act out. This acting of the situation is conducted using previous experience and knowledge gained from the training. This method is most useful for situations that involve interpersonal situations such as meeting a customer, or dealing with a troublesome employee. You can assist by providing feedback on each role play and then allowing others to try it, and seeing how different people attempt the same activity. It is also good for those skills or processes where situations can change. For example you might role play dealing with a sad customer, nice customer, angry customer, confused customer and the like. It gives a very wide scope, and many facets of the situation can be affected to offer maximum variety. Some skills that you could work on with your coaching subject include motivation and time management. Both skills are difficult to teach using role play or practice, however you may like to coach the trainee in these skills by working with them to determine: What motivates them? How can this motivation assist their every day working life? How can you improve your motivation? Time usage by the trainee. The development of a time management plan. By working together in the development of plans you are coaching the trainee in how to improve their work skills and how to develop themselves. Such plans can be reviewed in later coaching sessions and improved over time. 22

25 As well as the actual coaching sessions, it is important that you are able to record and document progress over time. This allows you to monitor how the trainee is improving, and report their progress to those involved (such as managers and supervisors). A useful recording technique is to create a sheet of all learning objectives that you set for your coaching program. Then place columns for Yes and No. As each objective is achieved they can be ticked off, dated and any comments provided. This form can be given to managers and supervisors as well as the trainee to allow each to monitor progress over time. Any problems that develop (such as a skill taking longer to teach, or new skills that need to be taught) should be included within the coaching program as soon as they are noted. Remember the program should still be flexible, so that any changes can be easily accommodated. The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who can t read and write, but those who can t learn, unlearn, and relearn. Alvin Toffler 23

26 Activity One List three examples of quality initiatives that your organisation has adopted. Then using your knowledge of the organisation, prioritise these initiatives. Briefly discuss how you prioritised your list of initiatives. What organisational criteria did you use, and how did you use this to prioritise your initiatives. 24

27 Section 1 - True or False Quiz True False Foundering is the sinking of a meeting. In Six Hat Thinking, when wearing the red hat, you look at problems using intuition, gut reaction, and emotion. The Charette Procedure involves several small groups simultaneously discussing parts of the problem. Advertising is the only promotional strategy for quality initiatives. There is a wide range of promotional techniques and advertising is probably the least effective in this case. Quality management can work without support or commitment from staff and managers. Commitment from management and staff is crucial. Workshops are useful for promoting practical initiatives. Only a supervisor can provide coaching. Anyone who is qualified to perform a task can coach. Practice is where the trainee gets an opportunity to attempt the task themselves. A coaching session should begin with asking for the person s view on why performance does not meet standards. 25