Pequot Manufacturing is so committed to employee development that it includes 12 hours of annual training for each employee as one of its key performance indicators (KPIs). Company executives train every one of its 248 employees — regardless of job function or department — in the process of Leading Daily for Results.
In May, the Pequot Lakes-based manufacturing, machining, and fabrication company completed training 26 leaders encompassing all departments. “The thought process is to train up our leadership teams on how to utilize this information, and then take that to their teams to improve communication, visibility, and execution of the daily plan,” says Ryan Koslofsky, Pequot’s director of manufacturing.
Experts at Enterprise Minnesota developed Leading Daily for Results to help companies enhance leadership skills while boosting continuous improvement. At its core is a visual representation of progress toward daily objectives. Often called the “huddle board,” it serves as the scorecard for the team, with each group customizing its board with goals and measurements.
The boards frame the agenda for regular meetings that launch each team into their work. At Pequot, they also serve as the focal point for “directors’ walks” during which company leaders visit each department for status updates on progress toward goals and discussions about issues surrounding their work.
Dozens of companies have implemented Leading Daily for Results, but typically with production employees. What sets Pequot’s approach apart is that it rolled the process out to the entire company, from scheduling and applications to engineering and logistics. The goal is to enhance communication among departments and drive the whole organization toward its objectives.
The process also boosts employee engagement at Pequot, particularly when teams enjoy the flexibility to set and change their own goals. “We gave them carte blanche on what they track on their boards,” says Glen Young, Pequot’s director of support operations.
While Koslofsky says it’s too soon for measurable, topline results, leaders already have seen improved communication and increased sensitivity to what other departments are doing and what they need from their coworkers. “They have the tools they need to take a step back and look at a bigger picture, at how they operate, and what issues they’re coming across. And that leads to cross-functional communication,” he says. “We’re building a link between individual departments so they can understand what their internal customers need on a daily basis.”
The directors’ walks have been particularly helpful in helping teams track activities on their boards, Young says. “They are more aware that the next person who touches their work is their internal customer, and we’re going to measure their performance on that customer satisfaction.”
The boost in communication goes both ways. Young says when company leaders can see what the teams are working on, they can envision the potential consequences of changing a team’s priorities. “Most of them have their priorities right on the board. Now you can see how reshuffling the deck can create collateral damage, and it might change your decision making a bit,” Young says.
Michele Neale, an Enterprise Minnesota business growth consultant for talent and leadership development, has worked with Pequot for several years and says Pequot’s process helps the company focus on problem-solving “with intent, engagement, and accountability.”
She’s impressed with how leaders embraced the process. “Many initially thought this wasn’t necessary — their departments already had daily meetings. But they quickly realized the value of tying their goals to the company’s KPIs and taking that connection out to all employees,” she says.
Neale’s colleague Ryan Steinert, a continuous improvement expert, says, “Tying each area’s metrics to the company’s KPIs allows Pequot to have better conversations about how to do the right thing for the entire process. They’re all moving the needle in the same direction.”
A key benefit so far, Young says, is how the process has engaged employees and led to their professional growth. During directors’ walks he has noticed that when a lead is gone, it’s clear how well they’ve trained their teams. “Multiple times we’ve had team members come up and take that lead’s place and walk us through the board, and they do just as good of a job as the lead does,” he says. “They know exactly what’s going on. That is definitely a win.”
Look for a detailed update on Pequot’s progress with Leading Daily for Results in an upcoming issue of this magazine.
Return to the Fall 2024 issue of Enterprise Minnesota® magazine.
