The Need for Training Within Industry [Lessons from the Road]
In this installment of my IndustryWeek Lessons from the Road column, I address some of the needs and challenges of Training Within Industry, after reflections from my keynote at Lean Frontier’s TWI / Lean HR Summit. In The Need for Training Within Industry, I don’t so much cover the basics as explore some of the challenges faced with its successful utilization. Here is one such challenge:
An even larger problem to overcome is the reliance on front-line supervision. While I’ve met droves of capable front-line supervisors, on the whole this is one of the most underinvested-in and under-appreciated workforce groups we have. Front-line supervisors are essential to making Training Within Industry work, but this is a group that often feels confused about what is expected of them in their roles.
Throughout the broader use of lean, front-line supervision is often forgotten, worked around, or even dumped on with extra requirements without investing in capabilities to support them. TWI can be one of those tools that both requires quality front-line supervision, and also helps build quality front-line supervision. It’s a bit of a chicken and egg problem, but as with all such problems, the key is to start moving in the right direction.
Please read the entire column here.
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