A.R.M.S. the plan. The Four Responses.

We ended last time with this statement.

“The purpose of using the four elements of an improvement suggestion is to give the decision- maker the information he or she needs.”

The following are the four types of response a decision-maker might make after reviewing the response form.

The decision –maker “ARMS” the plan by choosing one of the following.

A – Accepted. The written request is accepted. The decision-maker might specify the actual implementation date and the person responsible for carrying it out.

R – Rejected. The request is denied and it will not be implemented during this period. The request might be addressed later. It is important that the decision-maker provides a clear reason or more for each rejection. We suggest that there be a minimum of three “Becauses”  “I have decided that we will not implement this suggestion Because….Because…Because.” The “Becauses” provide the opportunity for continued dialogue. The improvement team may attempt to defeat the becauses and resurrect the suggestion for improvement.

M – Modify. Some modification of the request is necessary. Note changes on the response form.

S – See me. I need a meeting so that you can explain a confusing part of the action plan.

The ARMS portion of the Response Form encourages management to listen and respond to employees input in a timely manner. One benefit is that employees feel appreciated that management listens to their input. Another benefit is that employees begin to realize the complexity of many elements involved with decision-making. These are two of the leading factors affecting employee performance.

Finally there is this reality. Nobody cares more about a business than its owners. Owners look at things differently and certainly with more intensity.

A frequent result of a well-run employee input program is when employees “own” the finding of solutions to problems they have identified as a team; they also begin to have psychological ownership of the company.

Remember, nobody cares more about a business than the owners. Owners treat their business with great interest and care. It makes little difference if stock or attitude represents the ownership.

Years ago I worked with Yeomans Distributing Company in Peoria, IL.

I knew the people who worked there, and they were an extraordinary group of people. Everyone seemed to have a deep concern about the company and customers. So when Murray Yeomans decided to sell the distributorship some years ago, he sold it to the employees!

Psychological ownership became ‘real’ ownership.

Next: A summary to Holding A successful “Reverse – Flow” meeting

The four critical elements.

We ended last time with this statement.

There are four elements to offering suggestions for improvement. When these elements are included in each submission, it allows the decision-maker to do his or her job make a decision!

1. Why is this issue a barrier which stops us from doing as good as we could or an opportunity we shouldn’t miss?

1. What can we do? This is what we think our organization should do differently to reduce or eliminate this barrier or capitalize on this opportunity.

1. Cost: Estimate the cost including the time necessary to complete the project. This allows us to account for materials, labor and any impact on other company initiatives

1. Time: When should implementation start and how long will it take?

Developing the action plan forces employees to look at the basic elements involved in situation analysis, decision-making and implementation. This becomes very important in companies that desire to stay competitive. As employees become more skilled and knowledgeable, they gain a new perspective about what it takes to operate a successful business and what their role in that success might be.

It is important to note that management response is a critical part of this process. If the decision-maker does not give a timely response to a suggestion, the suggestions will stop, morale will go down and the improvement process dies.

One of our clients says, “I see myself as a coach to our staff and employees, allowing them to develop plans that can provide exceptional customer service. If mistakes are made in the plan but the intent was focused on customer service, we don’t point fingers of blame. We want our employees to be involved and that means managers have to also be involved in the coaching process.”

When a manager receives a response form, he or she has no more than two weeks in which to respond.

I believe that decisions take only ten minutes to make after you have all the necessary information needed to make that decision. The purpose of using the four elements of an improvement suggestion is to give the decision-maker the information they need.

A first response to a suggestion might be a list of information missing that the decision-makers need’s to decide which of the four responses they will use.

Next: A.R.M.S. the plan. The Four Responses.