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Original Date: 04/24/2006
Revision Date: / /
Best Practice : Training and Performance Reviews
Midwest Metal Products has instituted training records and job performance-level ratings on its intranet to make employee records easier to access and update. Performance reviews are now being conducted in a timely manner, with monthly feedback from the supervisor on each employee’s performance.
New hires and temporary workers at Midwest Metal Products (MMP) were previously trained by a coworker on the job. There was no documentation of the training, leaving the supervisor responsible for remembering who was trained or who could perform certain jobs.
As MMP grew, a four-tier skill level was established for each operation. Production personnel provided the input to define the skill sets needed to perform each operation. All employees are ranked in one of four levels for each operation they can perform, with level 1 being the starting level. For example, the abilities required for level 1 in the hardware area include:
Starting the machine
Running the job that has been set up and approved
Following directions for the handling of parts and filling out paperwork for time, sequence numbers, etc.
Knowing quality levels and safety rules and having a basic education in math
Level 4 requirements in the hardware area include:
Run all jobs without assistance
Run prototypes and first runs
Design tooling for jobs
Ability to work with engineering and inspection
Certification to inspect all hardware operations
Ability to make substitutions with some hardware
Ability to resequence job to proper order of hardware installation
Install all hardware and inspect incoming hardware
MMP reviewed all current employees and put them in skill levels for each operation they were able to perform. Employees were provided with the skill levels assigned and signed off whether the levels were correct or not. Corrections were made as necessary. A new employee orientation form was developed for every new hire or temporary employee. A coach then goes through each item on the checklist during the first hour of the first day on the job. The checklist includes everything a new employee needs to know. When the MMP Intranet was implemented in 2004, the skill levels were uploaded for all employees to update and access and can be used to track employee training updates, training assessments, and skill levels.
Performance reviews were previously conducted annually in April. Reviews were handwritten evaluations based on a supervisor’s recollection of an employee’s performance. In the late 1990s a new business software was implemented that allowed MMP to track an employee’s daily, monthly, or yearly performance in quality, productivity, attendance, and indirect time. Management decided to conduct annual reviews in January for the previous year, with mandatory mini-reviews instituted monthly to evaluate efficiency, productivity, indirect time, quality, and personal issues. Performance reviews are now conducted on a timely basis and are documented, but pay increases are discussed at a different time.
Employees are now receiving monthly performance feedback from supervisors. This ensures that employees are constantly apprised of their performance status and are given suggestions for improvement if necessary.
For more information see the
Point of Contact for this survey.
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