Building Consensus for a New Shift Schedule

by Bruce Oliver - Shiftwork Solutions, 10/23/01

Companies that modify or replace their shift schedules often face a major challenge: how to get the work force to support the change. Shift workers have diverse lifestyles, so you can expect that their preferences for a new work schedule will be equally varied. How do you satisfy single parents who want to leave work in time to pick up their kids after school, students who need time off during the day to attend classes, and people with a myriad of other activities, responsibilities and interests?

Here is how one company successfully handled the challenge. The work site was a large production facility with more than 1,200 employees. The shift schedule relied on "Weekend Warriors" to handle the weekend shifts, but this created other problems.

· The weekend crews experienced a high attrition rate and high absenteeism.
· Finding replacements for the vacant positions was an on-going issue.
· Maintaining team integrity was difficult because the weekday shifts had a considerable number of weekend employees (to give them 40 hours of work each week) who were not part of the core crew/team.

In the Fall of 2000, the management team decided to replace the old schedule with a "Compressed Work Week" schedule, which would require the employees to work more hours per shift, but reduce the number of shifts they would have to work. To gain the support of the workers for the proposed change in shift schedules, the company did three things:

· It increased communications regarding the current situation and why a change was needed.
· It brought in a neutral, third party to facilitate the process.
· It involved employees in the process of selecting the final schedules.

The first step was to educate the employees through large group meetings, announcements posted on bulletin boards, and emails. They explained the problems that the weekend warrior approach was creating, insuring that the workers completely understood the reasons a change was needed. The goal was to increase consensus by having the work force support a common cause.

The second step was to hire a neutral, third party to facilitate the change process. In this case, the company selected Shiftwork Solutions LLC. They felt that the shift workers would have more trust in the process if it didn't come across as a management ultimatum.

The final step was to involve the employees in the process of selecting the new work schedules. This began with an initial shiftwork survey that was given to all the affected employees. The survey increased the employee's knowledge of shift schedules: what types are available and what do people find attractive (and unattractive) about different classes of schedules. The survey also allowed employees to evaluate several schedule options. The results of the survey were shared with management and the workers. The results were used to narrow down the final schedule options to two 12-hour schedules. Most importantly, every employee understood that their input was used to help identify the final options.

The final two options were eventually presented to the workforce. Over 75% of the night shift employees and over 95% of the day shift employees agreed on what the new schedule should be. This exceptionally strong consensus can be directly attributed to the company's efforts to communicate with their workforce and to actively solicit (and use) input from their employees.

Click here to open a printable pdf version of this page.

55 Mitchell Boulevard, Suite 2 • San Rafael CA, 94903 • (415) 472-3688

	Building Consensus for a New Shift Schedule by Bruce Oliver - Shiftwork Solutions, 10/23/01 Companies that modify or replace their shift schedules often face a major challenge: how to get the work force to support the change. Shift workers have diverse lifestyles, so you can expect that their preferences for a new work schedule will be equally varied. How do you satisfy single parents who want to leave work in time to pick up their kids after school, students who need time off during the day to attend classes, and people with a myriad of other activities, responsibilities and interests? Here is how one company successfully handled the challenge. The work site was a large production facility with more than 1,200 employees. The shift schedule relied on "Weekend Warriors" to handle the weekend shifts, but this created other problems. · The weekend crews experienced a high attrition rate and high absenteeism. · Finding replacements for the vacant positions was an on-going issue. · Maintaining team integrity was difficult because the weekday shifts had a considerable number of weekend employees (to give them 40 hours of work each week) who were not part of the core crew/team. In the Fall of 2000, the management team decided to replace the old schedule with a "Compressed Work Week" schedule, which would require the employees to work more hours per shift, but reduce the number of shifts they would have to work. To gain the support of the workers for the proposed change in shift schedules, the company did three things: · It increased communications regarding the current situation and why a change was needed. · It brought in a neutral, third party to facilitate the process. · It involved employees in the process of selecting the final schedules. The first step was to educate the employees through large group meetings, announcements posted on bulletin boards, and emails. They explained the problems that the weekend warrior approach was creating, insuring that the workers completely understood the reasons a change was needed. The goal was to increase consensus by having the work force support a common cause. The second step was to hire a neutral, third party to facilitate the change process. In this case, the company selected Shiftwork Solutions LLC. They felt that the shift workers would have more trust in the process if it didn't come across as a management ultimatum. The final step was to involve the employees in the process of selecting the new work schedules. This began with an initial shiftwork survey that was given to all the affected employees. The survey increased the employee's knowledge of shift schedules: what types are available and what do people find attractive (and unattractive) about different classes of schedules. The survey also allowed employees to evaluate several schedule options. The results of the survey were shared with management and the workers. The results were used to narrow down the final schedule options to two 12-hour schedules. Most importantly, every employee understood that their input was used to help identify the final options. The final two options were eventually presented to the workforce. Over 75% of the night shift employees and over 95% of the day shift employees agreed on what the new schedule should be. This exceptionally strong consensus can be directly attributed to the company's efforts to communicate with their workforce and to actively solicit (and use) input from their employees. Click here to open a printable pdf version of this page.

	55 Mitchell Boulevard, Suite 2 • San Rafael CA, 94903 • (415) 472-3688
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