Eliminate Slogans!

Continuing the series on W. Edwards Deming’s 14 points for management to follow as covered in his book, Out of the Crisis.  Each point will be discussed in a separate article.

Point #10 – Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the workforce.

 “Take pride in your job. Quality is a reflection of you!”

“Near enough is not good enough. Think quality!”

These are some examples of posters and slogans you might see in the workplace. Maybe you are using some in your organization to remind your workers that quality and safety are important and are their responsibility. They sound good, but are they effective?

Not according to Dr. Deming. In fact, he says that such sayings can actually be detrimental to performance and workplace morale because they are directed at the wrong people.

To paraphrase from his book, Deming tells us that these slogans, exhortations and targets arise from management’s supposition that employees could, by more effort, improve quality, safety and productivity. But these posters and slogans do not account for the fact that operational improvements are limited by the system (which is the responsibility of management). “Do it right the first time” sounds great, but hard for a worker to do when tools are missing, equipment is broken, and incoming material is defective, inconsistent, or slow to arrive.

Similarly, organizations often set productivity targets based on ideal situations or the output of the best employees. These quotas or stretch targets, without a plan to improve the process they are based on, are unreasonable and unsuccessful (except by luck).

Instead of improvements, you develop frustration and resentment among your workers.

Deming suggests a better solution. Each month, post what management is doing to (for example) purchase better incoming materials, improve machine maintenance, provide better training, improve the speed of slow computer systems, or provide greater supervisory support. In other words, communicate how your organization is working smarter, not harder. By showing your team that management is taking responsibility for operational improvements, employee morale and engagement will improve.

This article was previously published in the July, 2018 edition of VB Front Magazine. Mike Leigh is the President of OpX Solutions, LLC, a performance improvement company that specializes in helping organizations pursue operational excellence through leadership development and process improvement. Contact him at [email protected].