Teamwork Pays Off in Productivity Profits

Stock Steel employs thirty-three people and operates three shifts. Its entire operation, which is based on a self-directed team approach, is divided into five major teams that cover sales, inventory, plate and sheet, bar and structurals, and delivery. These teams are responsible for nearly every function of the service center, including personnel issues, such as hiring, firing, scheduling, team member performance appraisals and discipline, safety, health, housekeeping, training, equipment maintenance and repair, quality control, external customer contact, and facility design. They also assume some responsibility for budgeting and capital equipment purchasing. Coulson, who considers himself as a coach, has retained responsibility for compensation issues. There are no managers or supervisors. Everyone participates in the decision-making process, and everyone is part of a team.

Coulson, who has read many books on the subject of teamwork, has seen its benefits firsthand. In addition to increasing productivity by fifty percent, the service center has reduced its number of employees by 20 percent, improved communication, boosted morale, and improved the quality of its employees, and ultimately, its products and services. Beacause there are no managers or supervisors to demand highersalaries, every employee earns more and the company can afford to hire and retain the best people. Because everyone is empowered and helps make the decisions, employees feel they have more control over their ork environment, and have a greater sense of pride in what they do.

The decision-making process has changed a great deal at Stock Steel since the company was reorganized. According to Coulson, "When a problem comes up, for example, we focus on what's right to find a solution, rather than laying the blame on an individual or department, which is often the case in more traditional top-down management environments." Coulson admits the decision making process takes more time in a self-directed team environment, because more people are involved. He believes, however, that those individuals closest to the problem are best equipped to find a solution. According to Coulson, "The decision process is a little slower with a team, but implementation is always faster because once the investigation and research is complete and the decision made, everyone is already sold on the idea. If it's their idea, they make it work."

Coulson is not aware of any other service center that has adopted this self-directed teamwork approach, but has talked with many companies in other industries that have tried it. Some have succeeded and others have failed. He believes Stock Steel is thriving since undergoing this cultural transformation "because we're small and we aggressively seek continuous improvement."

Coulson keeps a close eye on developments in Washington, D.C., where members of the House and Senate are debating the Team Act, legislation that would allow non-union employees to share decision-making responsibility with management. The House approved its version of the the Team Act by a narrow margin last summer [1995]. The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee is reviewing its counterpart [SB295] now and is expected to vote on the legislation sometime in April. If the Committee approves the bill, it will go to the Senate floor in the summer. The Clinton Administration has been sending conflicting messages about the President's position on workplace teams. The Secretary of Labor has indicated he will recommend the President veto the Team Act, yet in his most recent State of the Union Address President Clinton said, "When companies and workers work as a team, they do better and so does America."