Self-governance key to work group success

In the August 2002 edition of TODAY I submitted an article discussing Bank One's shift to a fl Performance Culture (HPC) within its Operations units. Although the overall program has been in existence for nearly two years, my division (National Retail Lockbox) has only been exposed to these concepts for the past six months. Needless to say, our entire team has been energized by the management shift that includes all levels of employees in running our business.

Related Results

Some of the tools used to involve front line associates are "Q-Boards". As referenced in the previous article, these are poster boards where each work unit can track trends, key metrics, and most wanted improvements (AMIs). Groups of employees worked for several weeks in developing their individual "Q-Boards". This included defining what was important to track, identifying issues, gathering data and producing graphs. It has resulted in regularly scheduled Performance Management Reviews (PMRs).

Each of the Q-Board teams was also asked to present their information ("Q-Board Unveilings") to senior members of our management team. Since the front line associates own these Q-Boards. it was the first time for all levels of management to see and understand what was being measured and the targets that individual work groups had set for their own areas.

After the recent Q-Board Unveilings in our Phoenix operation. Rich Peterson, one of our key managers, wrote the following article for our internal National Retail Lockbox Newsletter:

"Over the past five months, the High Performance Culture (HPQ has steadily become a normal part of our work environment. I've been working at Lockbox for the past 10 years and have never seen an implemented program or process impact our environment as much as the processes involved Mith HPC, I've been fortunate enough to attend many of the Production Management Reviews (PMRs) in all areas, and am just blown away by the progressive evolution of employee's performance and state of mind. At times I am watching the PMRs and thinking, 'this person is so nervous having to speak in front of everyone, and then bang!... they get up there and blow me away'. -As described in National Enterprise Operations (VEO's) management meeting in Columbus, Lockbox's introduction into HPC has kind of been like drinking out of a fire hose-basically a lot of 'good stuff ' in a short period. It just floors me to think how far we've come. We've seen incredible improvements in overtime reduction, transmission compliance, image check release percentages, deposit accuracy, cross training, and monthly attendance. I'm proud of our employees and I feel proud of their accomplishments! I think we're only starting to realize our department's potential by giving ownership to the employees. I hope everyone eventually gets to feel the passion and excitement I feel by coming to work everyday and seeing people grow professionally and personally."

Rich is an assistant VP within our group, managing opening, verifications, and output sections within our Phoenix operation. I think his comments echo what many of us feel about the transformation that is taking place.

Individuals not close to the situation often wonder how anyone can let the front line associates own the metrics and set their own targets. The reality is that the goals set are invariably far greater (tougher to achieve) than any which would have been developed at the "top down" level. Management is not directing these discussions. and often, not even present!

Work groups have set goals, surveyed others for feedback, scheduled regular updates (P\IRs), and celebrated successes along the way. Our job as managers is to continue giving support to these groups. Our level of interest in the results of the Q-Boards will determine how well the programs are sustained. This is just one of many aspects of our transition to a "High Performance Culture" and it has been extremely rewarding.

TAWPI Board Chairman Ken Yokum is SVP within National Enterprise Operations at Bank One. He can be reached at ken_yokum@ bankone.com.