SUMMARY

Employee motivation can be enhanced in some cases through the use of

participation and empowerment. Participation occurs when employees have a voice in
decisions about their own work.

Empowerment is the process of enabling workers to set their own work goals,
make decisions, and solve problems within their spheres of responsibility and authority.
Thus, empowerment is a somewhat broader concept that promotes participation in a wide
variety of areas, including but not limited to work itself, work context, and work
environment.

The role of participation and empowerment in motivation can be expressed in

terms of both the need-based perspectives and the expectancy theory. Employees who
participate in decision making may be more committed to executing decisions properly.
Participation enhances employees' motivation and decision-making. The use of work
teams is one method used by the firms to empower their workers. This method showcases
the competence, honesty, and fairness of the employees by connecting them with
outcomes of work.

Employees who are given more freedom concerning how they work are likely to
need additional training to help them exercise that freedom most effectively.

Empowerment will only be able to enhance effectiveness if the following conditions

exist: sincere efforts to spread power and autonomy, commitment in maintaining
participation, system and patience in effort to empower, and preparation to increase
training.
 Columbia Aluminum Case Study

Structured employee involvement has the potential to dramatically improve an

organization’s productivity, effectiveness, and employee satisfaction and retention. This
is done by leveraging the wide pool of talent and insight that is an organization’s internal
human capital. Teams (often cross-departmental) and employees (at every level) are
empowered to take a critical look at operations and contribute their ideas
and insights. The purpose of this article is to describe the role that employee involvement
played in resurrecting a large aluminum smelter in a rural town.

Background

Columbia Aluminum was situated on the Columbia River in Washington State. Year-
round work and high wages made it the preferred employer in its area. However, due to
high operating costs and ineffective managerial practices it went through numerous
owners and was shut down until Ken Peterson reopened it. Peterson had an “open door”
approach to leadership and envisioned an engaged workforce, but despite his efforts the
plant seemed to be heading in the same direction as with previous owners. After deciding
that external help would be needed, Peterson submitted a request for proposals and hired
the consulting firm Scontrino-Powell.

Path Forward

After conversations with Peterson and plant management, as well as interviews with
employees, it became clear to Scontrino-Powell that the best approach would be to
develop and implement a formal and structured employee involvement process designed
around the framework of Lean and Continuous Process Improvement (CPI). Below are
the key features of the approach Columbia Aluminum adopted.

First, they established a large steering committee of 18 employees covering all levels and
areas in the plant. Scontrino–Powell designed and delivered a multiple-
day training workshop to the steering committee on Employee
Involvement and Continuous Process Improvement. After this base of knowledge was
 developed, it was important that the steering committee also get firsthand exposure to the
concepts and strategies they just learned. To accomplish this, the committee went on site
visits to plants across the United States and experienced firsthand different approaches
for CPI and employee involvement.

After the site visits, the steering committee decided that they wanted a highly structured
approach to employee involvement. They worked with the consultants to design a
system, applying ideas from the training and site visits. The employee involvement
system included the following:
1. Training: Supervisors and managers participated in five days of training on Employee
Involvement and Process Improvement. The training increased buy-in for the new
involvement practices and provided leaders with the knowledge and skills they would
need to support their direct reports as they became involved in process improvements.
2. Facilitation: Employee Facilitators played an important role as well. Scontrino–Powell
designed and implemented a selection process open only to the existing
workforce. Employees with the right set of skills and experience were selected and
trained to become facilitators.
3. Problem-Solving Teams: These teams were established by managers and equipped
with the tools and support to map plant processes, identify problems, develop solutions,
and implement them.

Problem-Solving Teams

Problem-solving teams were the main vehicle through which employee involvement
happened at Columbia Aluminum. Specifically, problem-solving teams…
 Were composed of front-line staff
 Participated in 20 hours of training on Process Improvement tools and techniques based
on Lean concepts
 Had full union support (many team members were also union members)
 Always had facilitator support (at least one trained facilitator was assigned to each
problem-solving team)
 Were sponsored by management and committee members
 Designed their own team names and logos (some teams even had t-shirts made with
their logos and names)
 Met on a weekly basis
 Were given the freedom to select their own projects (many teams started off by focusing
on smaller issues and creature comforts before taking on more challenging areas)
 Focused their efforts on one issue at a time and applied Lean tools to identify waste, fix
problems, and increase productivity
 After designing their improvements, teams presented them to the steering committee (it
took an average of 12 meetings to complete a project)
 Were rewarded for the successful completion of projects (rewards were token
gestures, such as engraved pocket knives)
 Were not formally evaluated on their performance, although supervisors and
managers were formally evaluated (this helped employees take a learning orientation
and ensured leadership accountability)

Results

The results were positive and dramatic. 24 months after Scontrino–Powell was
brought in for this work, over 60% of the plants workforce (600 total) were actively
engaged on problem solving teams. As a result of their hard work, the following
outcomes were achieved:
 Productivity shot up 6% during the first year after the project was rolled out (as the
result of improvements in production methods and waste reduction)
 Return on Investment during the first year was over 1,000% (based on costs vs. gains
resulting directly from problem-solving teams)
 Product quality improved and was higher than competitors
 An employee stock ownership plan was created so employees could share in these
gains
 There was a significant improvement in safety (fewer accidents)
 Labor-management cooperation improved dramatically