Articles by CBAssociates

Published, Newspapers and Technology, February 1999

Setting the Fundamentals in place is the First Step to
a Successful Operation

"Can't he see there are more people than is needed? Why does he have so many people?"

"We just can't seem to get good productivity from his inserter. Why can't he run like the other operator?"

These statements are typical of what Chuck Blevins & Associates hear when called in for an operations analysis. The questions are rather straightforward, however the solutions are more complex.

Some solutions can be addressed quickly, while others may take months or even years. Managers do not want to hear that the proper solution may take some time. Most managers take the "band-aid" approach to solving their problems. This approach forces managers to deal with the same issues repeatedly.

One of the key attributes to a successful program takes thoughtful consideration and can take many years to reach its peak of success. The basic ingredient of a successful operation is obtaining qualified staff with the proper attitude and enthusiasm. Hiring the right personnel is the starting point and the most critical of all aspects of a good operation. It is the foundation on which every thing is built. Without this fundamental element any operation will have a difficult time in meeting its customer and production demands.

Some of the better operations I have seen have a hiring system in place to insure that they have a good foundation to work from. The process in hiring qualified personnel is not just a department manager problem. It is a company problem and needs the assistance of others, such as human resources and accounting to establish effective programs.

I am always amazed when a department manager, who is responsible for hiring, complains to me that they do not have anyone in the workforce that they can promote. When this happens, I will always ask who does the hiring? This is not what the manager wants to hear, but we both know that poor hiring, for a variety of good and not so good reasons, is the core problem.

These newspapers do not understand how critical the fundamentals are. They do not look at the basic hiring process as the first step in building a successful operation. Hiring is part of a long-term process that can create a pool of people who can assume more responsibility.

If they do not look for mechanical aptitude in people they hire now, how can they expect to have a pool of machine operators and maintenance personnel to run their operation?

Too often hiring is seen as only filling a current need not taking the long-term plan into account. If part time employees ultimately become full time, it makes sense to get the right people for part time jobs, knowing these employees will be the key to your success.

Obtaining qualified part time employees is a significant problem in this period of tight employment. This period may last for a long time and even if we have a recession, it will be a long-term problem. There is no end in sight.

There are few businesses that can get all the people they need. The practical implications of this problem are that the compensation and composition of part time jobs have to be thought through.

As discussed in prior articles, the real solution to this problem is to reduce the labor content of the work. With the affective per hour cost well into the teens, managers are looking for ways to reduce the labor content.

Given the employment realities, how are some newspapers able to get a pool of good part timers and good full time employees? Of course the answer is different in each newspaper, however, we have observed that it is not just the entry pay rate.

Some have pay rates that increase the longer the person stays; some have a variety of work hour combinations that employees can work. Others cull out poor people very quickly so they do not effect the good employees, some have advancement paths, some give part timers more responsibility, and some have that intangible, that would be described as being a nice place to work.

Whatever the secret to getting good people, it does not just involve a good pay rate and ridged work hours or structure. It requires a well thought-out hiring program that is consistently administered.

How well the hires are made today will affect the future, so there is plenty of incentive to take the time to do it right.

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