Grote Electronics evaluates employees' work performance by Computer

    

      Frank  Dec. 21, 2010, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada  

               Updated:  Feb. 18, 2016  and May 16, 2015

      This is an update of the excerpt from my Dec. 21 2010 article Canada’s Corporate Management & Reducing Psychological Pressure in Workplace.

Grote Electronics located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, it is a branch of the U.S. based Grote Industries, a manufacturers and marketers of vehicle lighting and safety systems. Before Financial Crisis 2008, I worked there for over a year, the commendable point of this plant is that it records and distinguishes employees’ work performance accurately by computers, which can promote the production in highest efficiency with lesser psychological pressure producing, especially timely identify and kick out those people who are lack of responsibility to avoid bigger lost.

I appreciate the non-visual supervising method of the Grote Electronics very much, and specifically searched and found that this company has been a family-owned, not to be listed for misappropriating wealth as that of popular practice of great many other companies. 

On the first page of the website of Grote Industries shows that:

“Still Family Owned, Still Customer Focused.”

“Known for innovation, ethical business practices, and a strong commitment to providing quality products and service, Grote Industries is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of vehicle lighting and safety systems. Founded over one hundred years ago, Grote has remained family owned from the day William Grote opened the doors for business.”

April 12, 2013, I once wrote article Delisted, because that dividend made industrious Germans lazy to have discussed the fatal harm as listed company, it was why that I appreciate Grote Industries did not be listed and still as family owned over one hundred years. From their self-introduction, we can feel their proud of Still Family Owned, Still Customer Focused.

The essence of the “Customer Focused” is the Material Wealth Creation Focused.

The sober and rational of the owner of Grote Industries reflects the questionable soul of those people who have been taking financial instruments as means to legally plunder wealth from the real economy.

For a long time, mankind has been into wrong track: the individuals take financial instruments – make money by money as the only means for livelihood making, the governments take financial speculation as the main means of promoting the development of economy and full-heartedly pave the Boulevard for such unearned activity.

Aug. 24, 2014, in article Overheated real estate market is ruining Canadian economy from Japan mirroring Canada, I indicate that: “Nowadays, the vast majority of social unrest is associated with the difficulties in life, which is not mainly due to the shortage of the social wealth, but the unequal distribution of wealth in society that caused by speculators over plundering on the real economy with financial instruments, the overheated real estate market is playing such a role.”

Dec. 13, 2015, in article Over plunder of financial economy on real economy will push world economy towards recession, I indicate that:

“Since 2008 financial crisis, people have been looking forward to economic recovery; however it seems to have no signs to comfort the eager hope.

“For a while, the issue of US Federal Reserve hiking interest rates has become a hot spot. Various projections are one after another; especially the improvement of the US employment gave people an illusion of economic recovery.”

“As my view, the world economy will continue towards recession, due to that condition in harming real economy has not been improved yet, especially, the greedy activity of wild developed financial economy plundering on real economy has not been governed effectively, it will make profit margin of manufacturers too narrow to survive, and the manufacturers are the main basis of real economy.”

Today, now, here, I would like to say that: ultimately, the survival of human beings has to rely on the creation of material wealth, rather than gambling luck in the financial market.

It was why that I appreciate any method that can effectively motivate people to full heartedly engaged in the production of the necessities of human existence. In particular, the methods that can maximize the humanization in the management to reduce the negative psychological impact as much as possible.

Feb. 09, 2014, in the article Management is the Art of Playing Human Nature, I indicate that: “Generally view the results of many studies, human behaviors are determined by dual human natures: The natural (animal) nature of those inborn selfish instincts and the cultural nature of those acquired altruistic qualities.”

“In consideration of human natures, we may say that, the Management is the Art of playing human natures, which is to finish purposeful tasks with human culture nature by meeting human greedy of animal nature with payment under the enforcement of regulations.”

“For well playing the Art of the human natures, the payment and regulations are both indispensable.”

For reaching humanized management, the art that can largely reduce the negative effect of the enforcement in management is playing a key role.

For this concern, that invisible supervision is a better way.

Today, I would like to discuss the process of invisible supervision in Grote Electronics again with a special title.

In their production site, those needs to be processed semi-products are being put in the containers with a Work Log that provides the products’ information: name, quantity, batch number, barcode, a brief instruction of operations and the place for operator’s signature and stamp with a ID number stamp.

Usually, the operators take the semi-products to work individually without any people’s tasking in advance. This will save some work time.

The first step of operators was to take the Work Log to go to a scan-machine that looks like a telephone hangs on the wall, to scan own palm print, enter own work ID numbers and scan Work Log barcode, and then start to work.

After finished whole container of products, sign own name and stamp with a stamp of ID number on the Work Log and to repeat the first step again as an important procedure to entirely finish one container products. And then put them on a shelf for finished products before working on other products.

Team leader only acts as a nice teacher and consultant. Due to the employees’ team is stable; everyone knew how to do the best job. So, in most of time, in the workplace, you cannot distinguish who is team leader and who is general operator. The team leader is doing the same job with general operator together rather than as doing in the most of other Companies – just walking and looking around. Here, no one was doing this kind job that is directing with an old management method inherited from slavery. The method should be rest in their grave after the slavery was abolished long time ago.

In the working time, everyone is focusing on own job without free talking unless the operation needed because that of work efficiency of the individual is being calculated and recorded between the two time’s scan before and after finishing one container products, which is acting as an invisible eyes to supervise people to force them working harder without the negative feeling that produced under the slavery-like supervision.

Because of the work performance evaluated by computer based on the daily records, no one would doubt its impartiality. Thereby reduce the displeasure or even argument between the staffs or staff with management personnel, which is the main generator of psychological pressure.

The records may be used to peacefully solve the thorniest issue – layoff people when Company downsizing without hatred causing. Because the layoff process is based on the work performance backed by daily records. People would be self-convinced that they were being laid off by own work performance rather than by improper judgments of any individuals.

Of course, there is some room for improvement in this Company. Such as, take the Work Log as a ticket from start to terminal accompanying with a batch products going through the whole production process by recording the name of the operators in different processing procedure, so that the responsibility of defect products could be tracked clearly in case of some individual could not work well. The container should be marked with numbers, so that they can be recorded on Work Log to travel together without missing each other, and so on, there are much detailed job should and can be done with potential of further optimizing productivity.

Maybe you think that everyone works consciously without supervision is the most humanized. The idea is perfect but, it is impossible at all, because the nature of people is different, not everyone could work faithfully, especially in an immigrant-based multicultural country. Non-visually supervising is perfect and necessary for running well any enterprises.

No doubt that reasonable staff performance evaluation is the ideal way to promote the production efficiency to highest level with lesser stress causing. It is well run in Grote Electronics mainly due to their countable products. Their current experience* may not be able to be directly copied by most of other Companies.

However, management is an art rather than a rigid dogma. There is plenty of room for artistic creation. But, the art of management is unique because the creations must meet the practical situation of the business. It needs managers with the sense of taking the management position as a sacred duty rather than as a performing stage to personal soloing and dancing.

Two heads are better than one; since that more heads would produce more useful wisdom.

There would be many smart methods adoptable from employees’ mind rather than from textbook dogmatically, which could overcome any barrier in the practical production. Such as that invites employees to discuss the standard of work performance evaluation and update from time to time. Even if this method is still not work. We still have other method to study. DC foods is a good example, their human resource manager, Ms. Monica is an outstanding management artist that is worthy to be taken as a good model for establishing a humanized wok environment.

There is a necessary to point out the reason of my saying their current experience* in above. It is because of the Grote Electronics has the potential to develop new product and could flexibly develop well matched managing approach that would be worthily studied again regardless the product is countable or not according to my observation for their management team and their smart management manner in many other aspects.

Here was a story. They has quarterly update meeting to sum up the past and look to the future. Once, the top director asked the meeting attendees to raise some unclear issue regarding his quarter statement, but no one answered. For easing the embarrassing situation, I asked him about the new product development that was a question not being carefully prepared. However, the top director stepped close to me, listened and answered carefully.

Since then, I felt the top director paid much attention on me – a general operator. Also I felt him a person who is paying full attention on Company future and I got an idea that he will never be limited in current products.

I remember that I once saw an information about a patent of Grote Electronics on Internet with the name of the top director.

Here needs special to mention that, when completely finished one batch of products, after repeated the first step, in the bottom of the screen of scan-machine will appear the words of Rank, and followed by a number. I guess that it was the work-efficient rankings.

I worked in afternoon shift with about 30 people. In more than a year’s time, there were about 20 people from the Job Agency to have left. The shortest working period was only one day, the longest was two weeks. Those people, some individual capacity were not suitable for the job, some are capable, but did not try to do their best. Some even got smart.

A girl, in first day, was testing whether light-emitting of the diode on circuit board with test-instrument. Typically, a batch of products needed about 3.5 hours to complete. She only took half an hour to complete and put the products on the shelf of finished products. Obviously, she was not 100% tested. Since next day, I never saw her again.

It is suggested that accurate assessment methods in Grote Electronics can quickly identify and remove incompetent person.

Postscript

As my observation in the businesses of Canada, some people are not incompetent in smart enough, but, deliberately make trouble in workplace, especially under the encouragement of Unions’ culture, such as, the gentleman who advised me to work slowly of NCR that introduced in my article Canada’s Corporate Management & Reducing Psychological Pressure in Workplace.

Excluding these mindless people in a timely manner would avoid a larger harm, and, in Canada, companies hire people through job agencies mostly. The people from job agencies are easily dismissed by a simple phone call.

Even if, those people who are company directly recruited, timely distinguish them qualified or not, during the trial period, it is easily to dismiss.

It was such reason that I appreciate the method of assessing employees’ work performance by computer in Grote Electronics, and specially write this article.

Now, to recall the motivation that I wrote article Canada’s Corporate Management & Reducing Psychological Pressure in Workplace in Dec. 21 2010, it was from the shock after I heard my former boss Jerry who died at his prime age about 60.

It was the hardship of Jerry inspired me to observe the difficulties as a business owner in Canada, and to start consideration that how to help them. In this process, the kind face and the busy figure of Jerry always emerged in my mind, in Sep. 11, 2014, I specially wrote article The death of a Canadian business owner, as special memorial.

Later, I learnt that Dr. Peter Shoore, the owner of Vancouver based Sunrise Farms, who has studied classical music in the Netherlands for seven years and to have earned his doctorate in music, but he became an entrepreneur in chicken industry Canada in 3 decades ago. As a doctorate of Music, obviously, the music was his favorite. I could not imagine his feelings when he has to play immetrical music with chicken by giving up his favorite? In Jun. 25, 2013, I wrote article My view on Entrepreneurs and Enterprises inspired by Peter Shoore.

Maybe, due to above concern, I have been interested in the methods that can improve management, and wrote many related articles, such as:

Family Business and Management Board.

Management is the art of playing human nature.

Profit shared with employee in Sunrise Farms DC Foods.

A Belated Thanks for RIM’s Founders and Their Families.

How to rescue Bombardier f ro m the road - dust of failed RIM.

The Values and Democracy is entwined to castrate France and disorder whole world.  

 Learn how you can Grow with Grote

     Partner with Grote

       http://www.grote.com/partner-with-grote/