METHOD FOR ORGANIZING AND CARRYING OUT A TRAINING PROCESS

Abstract

A method is presented for organizing and carrying out a training program, a seminar or a workshop having a plurality of participants to assist each participant in improving an efficiency and function of a business organization to which that participant belongs. The method exposes the participants to structures and regulations utilized for maintaining proper function of a deployed submarine having a plurality of crew members. Each crew member is subjected to a check-in procedure and required to assume ownership of a role. Each crew member must qualify to perform a function associated with the assumed role and each crew member has an assigned ombudsman. The training procedure then equates members of the business organization to which a participant belongs to those crew members. The invention has the advantage of improving performance elements dependent on factors which are of evident importance in a submarine environment but whose central relevance normally remains unnoticed in a normal business organization.

Claims

1. A method for organizing and carrying out a training program, a seminar or a workshop having a plurality of participants in order to assist each participant in improving an efficiency and function of a business organization to which that participant belongs, the method comprising the steps of: a) exposing the participants to structures and regulations utilized for maintaining proper function of a deployed submarine having a plurality of crew members; wherein the structures and regulations of step a) comprise the steps of: b) subjecting each crew member to a check-in procedure; c) requiring each crew member to assume ownership of a role; d) qualifying, following steps b) and c), each crew member to perform a function associated with the role whose ownership was assumed in step c); and e) providing the crew members with at least one ombudsman, whereby steps b) through d) are necessary and sufficient to establish a contribution of each crew member and an associated importance of that crew member; the method further comprising the step of: f) equating members of the business organization to which a participant belongs to the crew members of steps b) through e).

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising defining a mission for the business organization.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the mission is defined in view of customer satisfaction.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the contribution of step e) is evaluated in view of the mission.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein step c) comprises the steps of defining the role in view of the mission.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of assigning a mentor to each member of the business organization.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising training each member of the business organization to exercise the role assumed in step c).

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising assigning additional leadership responsibilities to members of the business organization whose roles emphasize the mission.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising evaluating the organization with regard to a crew-munity spirit.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing norms for the organization.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising supporting career development based on the role assumed in step c).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0033] The sole drawing is a block diagram of the key steps involved in accordance with the instant invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0034] The drawing illustrates connecting structures among the mission, the check-in procedure, role assumption, the qualification procedure and the contribution of an individual to the organization. Each of these method steps which are taught within the context of an inventive training program are key features of the development of the instant invention within the context of an improved organization function. The connections among these elements indicate their interdependence and the effect of one element on the other. The first element to be established is the mission. This element must be in place at the time in which check-in occurs. The check-in procedure conveys a clear understanding of the possible role an individual may assume within the context of the mission and therefore defines the contribution which an individual can make to that mission. Accordingly, the qualification procedure is also defined by the mission. All these elements lead to crew-munity which assures that the mission is accomplished. If a rare breakdown in crew-munity occurs and pursuit of the mission is interrupted, the ombudsman is activated and works with the command (upper levels of management) to assure that mission pursuit is resumed.

[0035] The following examples of the invention illustrate theoretical situations which could exist in an organization and which are addressed by the inventive procedure. Particular emphasize is given to the difference between role assumption and job performance in order to emphasize the interconnections among the elements with regard to the mission of the organization. Examples 1, 2 and 3 are taken from a submarine in order to illustrate the applicability of the invention to the business environment, departing from the specialized confines of a submarine. Examples 4 through 6 are explicitly directed to business organizations per se and reflect mapping of the features of examples 1 through 3 into a business setting.

Example 1

[0036] A chart petty officer in the navigation division is tasked with ensuring that the submarine has the required charts for an upcoming deployment to the northern Atlantic Ocean. Utilizing a role mindset, he first looks up the standard chart package for this area of deployment. If he were just doing his job, he would conduct inventory and order any charts that were not already on board or that were on board but not in the proper quantity. In a role mindset, the chart petty officer sits down with the senior enlisted officer in the navigation department and asks if there are any charts of which he is aware that would be helpful. From this meeting, he broadens his grasp of the task at hand and decides to add 6 charts which were not required and to also add to the carried quantity of 10 other charts. He then approaches the submarine squadron and talks with the lead navigator. He inquires as to which boats in the squadron had been in this area during the past 24 months, in order to determine what new information had been discovered in the area. Since the lead navigator had told him he had been to this area several times, he asked the lead navigator if he knew of any charts outside the required charts which were helpful. He had 4 (already mentioned by his senior enlisted) but also recommended a coastal guide book for a certain area that he said had been invaluable to him. The chart petty officer then set up 3 meetings over the next 3 months with lead navigators on three other boats. The final result of this process led the chart petty officer to order 46 additional charts and 4 publications, none of which were required. The boat deployed for 4 months during this deployment and was redirected to an area outside of the standard area. The boat would not have had chart coverage, but since one of the lead navigators he spoke to had told him this was an area boats were sometimes redirected to, he had chart coverage. An improved mission was the result. This result occurred because the chart petty officer went far beyond his job requirements to assume a role, in this case the safe navigation of the submarine so it would be ready to fight, regardless of where it was directed.

Example 2

[0037] A chief machinist (responsible for literally all the hydraulics, low and high-pressure air and literally every non-nuclear related valve, pipe and piece of machinery on the submarine) had a rare quiet period: the submarine was in port and his crew was not required to work its typical 18 hour, 7 days a week schedule. His job was to keep his 6 men busy doing preventive maintenance, cleaning, etc. Since there are always things that need to be done, this job was one which was never completed. This chief brought a role mindset to his work. Knowing that the principle responsibility of his division was having everything in top shape to go to sea and then, once at sea, doing everything they could to maintain and repair all the systems, such that the submarine could complete the mission, there was often no time for rest and no time for much sleep once they were at sea. So, he made a highly unconventional decision to essentially shut down for 5 days, keeping just 2 sailors onboard for watch and routine maintenance, and rotating the others through one or two full days off to spend with family or friends as they saw fit. The result was that he went to sea with all systems fully operational and with a division of men both rested and deeply appreciative of what he had done. They were capable of more rapid response to mechanical issues and could produce better results for the duration of the 45 days they were at sea. The two vacation days therefore produced 45 days of higher productivity. For this Chief to make these types of far reaching strategic decisions he needed to recognize the overall effect of his decisions on the entire mission and assume the role necessary to optimize mission results. Only a role ownership view can do this. In this case it was to focus on the mission, not just the task at hand. Since he owned his role he went beyond just doing his job to looking strategically at his staff and thinking of the future impact of current decisions.

Example 3

[0038] A Senior Chief Quartermaster has a paygrade of E-8. Enlisted men paygrades run from E-1 to E-9 so he is a senior person. Most 110-person submarines have no more than 3 senior chiefs. His job is to assure that the submarine is safely navigated while at sea. In port, a division of 5 is updating charts, making corrections, keeping their work spaces cleaned and stowed, and conducting training for both their division and for those that support their division. This senior chief had a role mindset. The mess specialist division (the cooks) were short three people but still had to load 60 days of food for an upcoming underway. Thousands of cans, bags etc. then had to be stowed, literally all over the submarine, while ensuring they would not rattle, roll, make noise, or in any way cause a fire or trip hazard. This is no small feat in a submarine. Since the Senior Chief Quartermaster was thinking role, in this case supporting the most important mission and getting the entire crew ready to sail, he did something rather unusual. He sent all but one of his sailors to work with the mess specialists for 6 days. During this time his sailors helped store every can, every bag and every bit of food for the entire crew. They worked in 12-hour shifts. Since he still had responsibilities to prepare the navigation division for sea, he and the one remaining sailor also assumed 12-hours-on, 12-hours-off, shift work to do all the preparations, all the cleaning and all the maintenance. Accordingly, the 3rd most senior enlisted person on this submarine could be seen at 10 PM on his hands and knees scrubbing the periscope stand and the deck surrounding the dive station. Sending those sailors to another division was not his job. Scrubbing decks and correcting charts was also not his job. However, this Senior Chief Quartermaster embraced a role to take decisions as viewed through the perspective of a larger, more strategic lens. Role ownership reflected his realization that not the individual, rather the overall crew is of paramount importance. This approach led to better results both for parts of the organization as well as for the entire organization.

Example 4

[0039] A training consultant is asked to create a leadership training program for a manufacturing client. The client manufactures desks and chairs used in primary schools throughout the country. The training company has numerous leadership programs that have been built over the years for other clients. The consultant is not familiar with this industry but is very familiar with all of the leadership programs. Operating in the mindset of being in a role, she starts by spending two days learning about this type of manufacturing. It is during this time she discovers this business is very cyclical: they have two peak manufacturing times during the year and, outside of those times, manufacture at less than full capacity. This requires them to fill their staff with temporary employees to handle the peaks. The consultant took what she learned, requested and conducted a follow up 2-hour meeting with the client to learn if this industry cycle applied to them, which it did. She then was able to ask follow-up questions to find out the specific leadership and management issues this caused for them. In their case, it was quality issues related to the temporary staffing additions, as well as teamwork issues, between the temporary and permanent staff. Armed with this information, the training consultant reviewed all available material and then had three two-hour meetings with the company's design team, and created a tailored solution aimed at their two biggest challenges. Additionally, in her follow up meeting two weeks later with the client, she recommended a review of their manufacturing processes. Her company did not do this type of work, but she could recommend a suitable company with which her company had worked in the past. The approach taken by this training consultant went well beyond her job (function) of delivering a correct training program to the client. This job could have been done by making small adjustments to standard programs, without any research or any meaningful dialog, and delivering it in a timely manner to the client. This training consultant evolved from the understanding that she needed to deliver adequate training, to a mindset of role ownership. Through role ownership she grew to understand that this training needed to deliver change, far beyond the function of her job. The result of role ownership was a series of workshops to address the key issues and arm the staff with practical tools to overcome their most substantial challenges.

Example 5

[0040] A call center representative trained to answer questions from customers who call about product discounts on consumer package goods, receives a call from a customer who has received an electronic coupon on her Facebook page. The representative has never heard of electronic coupons, has never been trained in this regard, and also suspects that this could be a customer trying to secure a discount where none is warranted. She questions the customer to learn more about the coupon, even though she has been trained on 100 non-electronic coupons from 10 different consumer package good manufacturers. The discount on this electronic coupon is 50% of the cost of whatever is purchased. The representative asks many questions such as 1) who manufactured this product 2) how did it appear on your Facebook page, and 3) could you send me a screen shot of this coupon? The customer complies and tells the representative that this coupon was the most exciting thing to happen to her lately, because it allowed her to buy unlimited, ruled notebooks, which she could then provide to underprivileged children starting school in numerous schools in the area. After looking into the coupon, the representative was convinced that the coupon could be legitimate and since the customer was clearly sincere, the representative contacted the Internet marketing department for additional information. The representative was discouraged from doing this by superiors, since training on the 100 coupons and 10 clients was viewed as being sufficient for most interactions. The internet marketing department did not recognize the coupon but allowed the customer and the retailer to benefit from the coupon after the representative made her extensive case in their favor. In this situation, the representative went beyond the transactional job function of 100 coupons and 10 clients to putting the experience of the customer first and interacting with the internet marketing department to achieve a broader goal, which was beyond the strict requirements of her job. This occurred because she embraced a role ownership view by examining the task within the context of the overall mission of the organization to which she belonged and by exhibiting a willingness to execute on actions necessary to achieve the best contribution to the customer requirements, within the context of that organization mission.

Example 6

[0041] An executive of a tax credit company was asked to lead a project that would build capability for a new tax credit, which just passed legislation. This executive familiarized herself with the company's goal with regard to this credit, namely to build a capability to capture this new tax credit information, capture as much revenue as possible, maximize it, and satisfy clients by assuring that at tax time, they had the information they needed to take a tax credit. She accepted the challenge and began to formulate a plan. Although she knew this was not her job function, and that nowhere in her job description was she required to engage in two fulltime job functions, she realized that this new assignment was a clear opportunity to assume a role which encompassed the functions of maximizing revenue, being responsive to the dynamic needs of the industry and building an as yet untapped capability to qualify and capture new tax credit candidates. The next step was to contact other departments, build a project plan and identify the technology capable of delivering the plan. She set up a meeting with 20 individuals from 20 departments, laying out the goal. Many of those individuals were reluctant to cooperate, saying building this technology and executing the project plan was not their job. Because she was sure that her assumed role was critical, she persisted in her efforts to convince each of the individuals to participate by arguing that successful execution of the goal would allow clients to receive the tax credits they needed and had asked for, without each one of them having to make a separate, atypical request. A project plan was built having technology including a voice response IVR which was needed to capture the qualifying information representing a tax credit from each new customer, a report from the Data Reporting division that gathered all of this IVR data in the format the Federal Government needed for tax credits, a script from the client service department to discuss what was being built with each client and a clear directive to the sales department to sell the service concept to clients. Every single person contributing to the project plan went beyond their individual jobs to assume role ownership. They went beyond interaction with clients to improvement in client satisfaction, the ultimate goal for anyone dealing with clients. This happened because all people involved embraced a collaborative approach, putting mission (the client experience) ahead of their individual agendas.