The greatest challenges facing many maintenance departments are recruiting, training, and retaining qualified candidates to fill the multitude of vacancies created by retirement, the increased technical demands maintenance teams face, competitive compensation, and the offshift and weekend work hours required by many organizations in the food industry to keep up with production demands. In addition, organizations must always be mindful of the in-house knowledge and experience that long-term maintenance workers possess: the older or homegrown piece of equipment that is not used very often or the software program that so-andso developed should never be forgotten. These are among the many endeavors that maintenance managers must guide the team and upper management if the department is to be successful.
A good manager is not in charge, but rather he is a provider of resources and opportunities. Remember, the five-foot view of the problem is clearer than the thirty-thousand-foot view
So how does one person take on such a list of monumental tasks while maintaining their sanity and a work-life balance? The first step is to recognize and accept that one person does not know all the answers, or better put, the best answers. The next step is to involve the entire maintenance team in discovering the best answers. Weekly meetings are a great way to bring the team together: fifteen to thirty minutes. This is the opportunity to solicit ideas about issues facing the department: that piece of equipment that continues to be a problem, shift, or weekend coverage, identifying training needs, input on upcoming projects, and the list goes on. The point is to encourage the team to participate. A good manager is not in charge, but rather he is a provider of resources and opportunities. Remember, the five-foot view of the problem is clearer than the thirty-thousand-foot view. The guys on the floor can be worth their weight in gold when solving problems, assisting in the development of a training program, identifying roles and responsibilities, and taking on that big project, if they are included in the decision-making process from the beginning.
When members of the maintenance team co-sign the check, they will typically go the extra mile to bring the project to a successful conclusion because their name is on the project. Giving team members ownership and credit for the success or failure of the project, solving the problem, or answering a need is a step in developing them to grow within the department, the organization, and their careers. Always remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs when delegating or assigning work: how can this opportunity be used to grow the employee to self -actualization? How many times has the question “What is your backup plan?” come up? Growing every member of the department is part of the backup plan. This will ensure the department is always prepared to be successful.
Sharing knowledge and experience benefits everyone and everyone has something to share. Through sharing, relationships are developed, and teams are built. Through teamwork, objectives are reached, and success is achieved; thereby, making everyone a winner.
