Agfa develops the people skills of its technical managers

Citation

(2003), "Agfa develops the people skills of its technical managers", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 27 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeit.2003.00327gab.001

Agfa develops the people skills of its technical managers

Agfa develops the people skills of its technical managers

Managers at Agfa, the UK arm of the Belgium-based imaging company Agfa-Gevaert, were highly skilled in the technical aspects of their jobs, but lacked many of the essential people and performance-management skills needed for success in the modern business world.

Following a six-month development programme that "rattled a few cages", they have been transformed into a capable and confident team, fully equipped to face the competitive challenges of the future.

The transformation was achieved by change-management consultancy Minerva, called in to train around 30 managers who had been given only limited people-development skills and appeared reluctant to take the often-tough decisions required for success.

"It was obvious to us that they required a culture-change programme to overturn the senior-management style that was preventing people from making their own decisions," said Anthony Jaffe, Minerva senior consultant. "The aim was to empower people to review themselves in what they are and what they do.

"Most people identify with what they do and not what they are," Anthony Jaffe continued. "`When people feel unimportant to the company, undervalued by their peers and fearful of failure, they start to give excuses about why they cannot do certain things, and look to point the blame."

The 30 managers, from all sections and levels of the company, ranged from 20 to 60 years of age. Some had been working in their field for more than 30 years.

"While most were willing to be open-minded and acknowledge that change was needed, some were very negative and sceptical and made their feelings obvious to the group," Anthony Jaffe continued.

The managers were divided into two groups of 15. After an initial six one-day modules, a two-day workshop was held, followed by five more one-day modules. After seeing a significant change in the 30 participants, Agfa senior management decided that the company's remaining managers should go through the programme.

"The workshops gave people the opportunity to get stuff off their chest and move forward together", said Anthony Jaffe. "It was a safe environment to discuss issues openly. This helped to remove some of the negativity. By the end of the programme, many were saying that the method, style and proposed management approach were the most refreshing and unique they had experienced."

"The managers were at first sceptical that real change could be achieved," said Barry Stone, Agfa UK managing director. "But over the programme they became more aware of the responsibilities of leadership and more confident in their ability to deliver and the support they would get in the workplace."

The culture-change programme concentrated on changing negative into positive attitudes. Participants were encouraged to:

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  no longer to feel victims of circumstance, but to take ownership;

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  no longer to accept standard excuses about why things cannot be done, but to facilitate others and help to complete tasks;

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  show in a practical sense what the future will look like when different mindsets are adopted;

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  banish the fear of failure;

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  find out exactly what each individual wants; and

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  communicate openly and let employees know how well they are doing.

"The participants were asked to work in cross-disciplinary groups to develop ideas to improve practices in a number of operational areas," said Barry Stone. "Their approach reflected the confidence and change."

One particular team member was under-performing. The obvious techniques were tried and did not work. After an initial workshop, the Minerva approach was used. The manager asked the employee if he was happy. This prompted a frank discussion, during which the employee said that he would rather move on. Now the team comprises like-minded people, all focused in the same direction and producing results.

One manager was failing to get along with a senior employee. The manager was encouraged to discuss possible reasons for the problem, and to focus on the employee's strengths – as an effective employee and good team member. This helped the manager to shift from a negative to a positive attitude. A month later, he had overcome his problem and was demonstrating genuine respect towards the employee.

A team member had inherited a new job and was not being given the co-operation she needed to perform the role. She was given support and encouraged to take more of the reins.

"The programme not only improved people's performance in the workplace, but also made them more empowered as human beings," said Barry Stone. "With the programme being viewed by the individuals more as facilitation of a support group than a culture-change management-training workshop, the results really did speak for themselves.

"Group members began to feel good about themselves. They demonstrated dignity, self-respect and pride in the way they had been able to make themselves accountable for their decisions. As a direct result of the training they are taking responsibility for their results, affecting and dealing with issues that have resulted in a positive customer-handling technique. They actually care about their jobs and this is reflected in the overall improvement seen by company directors."

Agfa now plans consolidation of the principles, with company directors reinforcing them from within, and ongoing sessions where participants are able to discuss the practical implementation of the concepts some months after the programme.

"We have always found that Minerva has taken the time to understand the business issues and circumstances surrounding our business, and our commercial objectives from any programme," Barry Stone concluded. "Minerva has developed programmes that have thus delivered specifically to our circumstances and not relied on off-the-shelf standard tutorials."