Any information that contributes to an efficient and productive operation must be readily digested and analyzed. The numerous variables that are involved must be studied and understood from end-to-end. It's much easier to connect with employees when you have an understanding of the process and and can articulate their value to its success.
A supervisor is responsible for finding the inefficiencies or problems in workflows, monitoring production processes, quality, supply chain, inventory, manufacturing, and a host of other operations. Ultimately, the success of the company rests with supervisors, their employees, and the efficiency of their operations. Supervisors attempt to fine-tune operational processes to be more efficient and profitable for the company.
Supervisors use tools like performance measurement, flowcharts, best practices information, and benchmarking. These tools help determine where the problems are and the best methods to correct them. Technology is changing at a phenomenal pace and what is new today is gone tomorrow. To keep pace, supervisors must always be looking to upgrade their computer skills along with their managing skills.
Supervisors break down every process, analyze it, and make it (and its final product) better. The universal goal is customer satisfaction, achieved through improving quality, efficiency and ultimately reducing costs for everyone.
I always looked at every operation with an eye towards tweaking it a little and making it more efficient. If any time could be saved, even mere minutes, I would make a change. It not only saved time, but employees got the message that we needed to be looking everywhere to become more efficient.
The key to making things work successfully is the supervisors’ ability to enlist the efforts of his or her employees. Motivated employees will produce more with higher quality; have fewer accidents and better attendance. The most critical characteristic of a successful leader is the type of relationship he has with his or her workers, peers, and bosses. Because of its degree of importance, relationships will be discussed in length in following chapters. Positive relationships are built on trust, integrity, honesty, listening, fairness, and the belief in one another.