Employees are the key to implementing lean manufacturing techniques. They are responsible for reducing lead times across the company that increases productivity without compromising safety. So, to get more employees on board with these initiatives, manufacturers need to investigate the best ways to communicate with them.
Unfortunately, manufacturers continue to rely on printed bulletins and newsletters to communicate with their employees. These methods often fail to connect with them in a direct and impactful way. For quicker responses to managerial directives, manufacturers need to change how they communicate with their employees to implement lean practices.
Taking Advantage of Mobile Technology
Mobile technology provides the best solution for targeted communications. Almost everyone has a smartphone and uses text messaging features. Open rates for texts are as high as 98%, and people will read them within minutes of receiving one. Getting employees to read an important message is easier through text than using printed materials and other outdated ways of communicating.
A Major Benefit of Text Versus Other Technology
What about developing an app? Developing tools for communicating with manufacturing employees can be expensive and time-consuming. There’s also the problem of onboarding and training because employees are skeptical of using new tools. So, an app on a smartphone may help with communication, but it will have a lot of obstacles to overcome.
With text messaging, there’s no learning curve to overcome. It’s already on everyone’s phone, so there’s no reluctance to use it—a major benefit of adopting text versus other technologies.
Effective Internal Communication
Continuous improvement requires effective communication between employees and management. Communication can reduce waste and inform each step within the chain about what lies ahead, as well as understanding what’s happened in the past. This provides a system that is flexible enough to deliver products quickly. That’s why getting the word out to everyone is so important, and manufacturers need to adopt the same communication tools their employees use daily.
Uniting the Whole Organization
Internal communications give employees equal access to information that gets everyone on the same page, which is especially important for time-sensitive initiatives in lean manufacturing. Plus, clear and concise communication sustains the ongoing process to unite the entire organization.
Texting employees is one of the best tools for internal communications. It increases engagement with employees while spreading important information quickly throughout the organization. Best of all, employees can be placed in teams and segments for more targeted communications that directly relate to what they are doing.
Celebrating the Small Victories
Texts are also a great way to share positive results throughout the organization. They can be sent to specific teams to let them know when goals are met or exceeded. When employees see that their efforts are making an impact, they become more motivated to further the lean manufacturing process. They see the value that they bring to their customers.