Just recapping on an earlier explanation, what we learn from the Shingo Model, is that Ideal Results Require Ideal Behaviours.
The Shingo principle, “Respect for Every Individual” sounds similar to a common lean phrase, “Respect for People“. However, it is different in the way that we should think of our employees as individuals. This encourages us to consider the impact of the individual contribution and potential of everyone across the enterprise.
Another of the behavioural benchmarks are on how we recognise and honour the contributions of every employee.
Ideally teams would find a way to really acknowledge everyone’s contribution, either large or small. The team would find a way of capturing these and even measure them in a visual way. I’ve seen “brag boards” and simple trackers which gives frequent and timely recognition that work well.
it’s also fine to have formal and informal ways of recognition.
Giving monthly employee award for best performers is typical, however setting aside a few minutes at the daily huddle could also work well.
Allowing the team to come up with their own ideas to recognise one another is powerful in team building and trust. I have seen several examples of Team Member of the day, where individuals have been nominated for outstanding customer efforts or to safety or team.
I’ve seen a small reward such as a box of chocolates, which can be shared of course! let the team decide what the most appropriate reward is as you don’t want to drive the wrong behaviours just for the rewards.
Organisations that encourage recognition have measureable improvement in Voice of the Customer and Voice of the Team metrics. There is also a correlation to lower staff turn over as they find it a great place to work and that their efforts are recognised by leaders and more importantly their coworkers.
If anyone is interested in further information on the Shingo Model for Excellence and how it could benefit themselves or their organisations, drop me a line at richard.steel@richardsteel.co.nz
Diary of a Kaizen Warrior 