Trainer's Guide

Every good supervisor always seeks to improve the work methods of his unit. The WORK SIMPLIFICATION PROGRAM is designed to furnish such supervisors with handy, clear blueprints of the present working methods of their own units. Analysis of the facts on these blueprints will help eliminate bottlenecks and lost effort and make supervisory work easier. WORK SIMPLIFICATION is a tested program for improving the method of doing work - finding a “better way” - doing a better job with less effort and in less time.

You And Work Simplification

What It Is

The Work Simplification Program is an agency-wide work-study program, sponsored by the top management of your agency. Its purpose is to improve operations, particularly clerical operations involving large volumes of paper work. It is the natural enemy of excessive records and cumbersome repetitive operations.

First-line supervisors carry on this work-study job as a regular part of their supervisory duties. It is a lifetime job for them and a continuing job for you. Your share of the job is to show these first-line people how to simplify work through the use of a simple time tested method. Then you pitch in and help them with their actual simplification efforts.

Why It Is Important

Work Simplification attacks the mass paper work problems which affect every citizen and every federal employee. Even in peacetime, the government employed over 150,000 clerks excluding such classifications as postal clerks and carriers. Now, more than 90% of regular federal employees have some direct connection with these mass operating problems.

The simplification of this work which cuts across the whole federal government is clearly in the public interest and in the interest of those who have to deal directly with it. The President of the United States has repeatedly emphasized the need for finding better, more economical and more efficient ways of doing the job.

It is easy to see that this job is too big to be tackled by any one group of people. Only if each of the federal agencies, seeing the problem, takes action within its own walls can the job be done. The management of your agency sees this and is moving now, with your help, to mobilize the first-line supervisors.

Why It Is A Supervisors’ Program

The “first-line” supervisor is the one man who is constantly face-to-face with the realities of running a government office. Most of the paper work problems revolve around his desk. He knows both the work requirements and the problems first hand. He does the job - and the one who does the job is the one who is in the best position to do the job better. This applies to developing improvements and to getting action on improvements after they are developed.

So Work Simplification is a supervisors’ program. Your job, as a trainer, is to help him.

What You Are Going To Do

Learning The Game

You have been selected to form the “spearhead” of Work Simplification in your agency. Therefore you must know the “answers” to a few important questions: What is the method of simplifying work which first-line supervisors can use to best advantage? What is the best way to teach it to them?

Thus, your first part in the program will be to learn the system. In this, you will have the help of people who have done this work in other places and who have taught the plan to first-line supervisors in agencies like this one. Even more important, this learning job will be made easier by the use of tested training materials. These materials present Work Simplification to you in a way that has proved successful (and speedy) in industry, the armed forces and other government offices.

You may find that a part of the program merely restates facts and methods you already know from your past experience. If that is so, all the better for you. Then you will have more time to pick up the special details of this particular plan - angles which will help you quickly to equip first-line supervisors to get started on improving operations.

Teaching The Game

When you have mastered the plan, you and the other people who are forming the “spearhead” team will begin to show the first-line supervisors how to do Work Simplification. In showing this method to the supervisors you are a “trainer” - but not in the usual formal sense of the word.

You will work with small groups - say ten or less - in a series of three informal discussion sessions. Altogether, these discussions will cover about 3½ hours time. Between the sessions you will intersperse “laboratory” periods during which you will help the supervisors work out actual improvements to procedures they have brought in from their own offices.

Winning The Game

The third part of what you are going to do is the follow-up to see that the supervisor, the agency - and the government as a whole - get the fullest benefits from Work Simplification. This means you will take such steps as:

Making a master plan for the whole program and keeping the plan up to date.
Keeping up personal contacts with operating officials and top management so that everyone knows what is going on.
Keeping the program on its time schedule by spotting and removing obstacles.
Helping supervisors refine improvement proposals involving the more complicated aspects of work simplification.
Assisting to work out problems with respect to procedures that cut across organizational lines.
Helping supervisors “sell” and install improvements.
Watching for by-products of the program in the form of ideas requiring top management attention and bringing these points to the notice of those who are in a position to act.

Yours is a full-time continuing Work Simplification job. You will always be learning new “tricks of the trade” since there is an inexhaustible supply of them. You will continue to train groups of supervisors, covering them all and then going back to pick up the new ones who have come in since you started. And you will continue to follow up in an effort to capture every last benefit. Finally you will see to it that reports of accomplishments of the program are prepared and brought to the attention of the proper topside officials.

Arrangements

“Frills” are at a minimum in the Work Simplification Program and should be held there. But any program requires “arrangements” - details that must be taken care of. These details are your responsibility. Double check them, because a program complete in every other way will fall down if the detail arrangements are slipshod.

Be Sure You Have A Plan and Keep It Up To Date

Line Up Your Objectives

Your agency management has stated the general objectives of Work Simplification. Spell them out again in terms of the parts of the organization with which you are working. If you have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish you will improve your “batting average.”

Line Up Your Time Schedule

Your agency management has determined the time span for the total agency program. Apply this to the territory you have to cover and set yourself some deadlines. Then work out the order in which various units are to start on the program. Keeping in mind such factors as receptivity, likelihood of “pay dirt,” size of the job in terms of the numbers of supervisors to be trained and availability of personnel to assist you.

Line Up Your Staff

Considering all factors, it will take you about a month, on the average, to teach and help ten supervisors get started on Work Simplification. So you will need one trained “trainer” for every ten supervisors you expect to cover in a month. However, a trainer often may find it possible to start on a second group before he has completed the work with the first.

Get the plan approved and furnish copies of it to all persons concerned. Change the plan to meet changing conditions - don’t make haphazard deviations.

Follow Details Through Day-By-Day To Keep The Program Sparking

Know what is going on every day. See that the time schedule is followed. If it isn’t, adjust it so that it can be met.

Watch the performance of all individuals concerned with the program. If anyone begins to lag, take action before it is too late.

Obtain a good, comfortable meeting place and be sure it is available whenever it is needed.

Keep the program supplied with the necessary props, printed materials.

Be sure everyone concerned with the program knows where to find you - how to reach you on the telephone.

Get Off To A Good Start

The first group of supervisors is all-important. Select it carefully. Choose people who are receptive, who have the time and who work in situations ideally suited to Work Simplification. Above all, choose the first group from those who have a reputation for open-mindedness, a willingness to go along with constructive ideas and for getting action and showing results when given an assignment. The results obtained by this first panel will pave the way for the rest of the program.

Limit each training group to a maximum of ten persons.

Once the first panel of supervisors has been selected and trained, select subsequent groups of supervisors on the basis of common problems, likelihood of “pay dirt” in their units and general receptivity to the idea.

Tool And Materials

The right tools and materials at the right place, in the right amount, at the right time are just as important in Work Simplification as they are in any other action program. Be sure you arrange for:

THe Right Kind Of A Work Place

It should be big enough to accommodate ten supervisors and you comfortably with plenty of room to spread out your work papers.

Check for good lighting, good acoustics, ventilation, comfortable chairs, plenty of ash trays.

Tables should be provided. They will be needed in the “laboratory” work.

Also, a blackboard, chalk and an eraser.

The Necessary Printed Materials

These include:

An introductory poster presentation on the Work Simplification program called “Meet Yourself.”
Visual training cards to be used in training conferences on the three tools of Work Simplification - the Work Distribution Chart, Process Chart and Work Count. These can be obtained already mounted on an easel. You will merely have to furnish a stand or table.
At least 10 copies of each of the three Supervisor’s “Guides” - one of each for each supervisor. There is one of these for each subject - in effect the supervisor’s textbook.
Sample “task list” forms for each supervisor. A “prefabricated working paper.”
Sample “process chart” forms for each supervisor. A “prefabricated working paper.”

The Necessary Stationery Supplies

Several pencils for each supervisor.
Large sheets of blank paper or columnar accounting pads for making work distribution charts.
An 18” ruler or straight-edge for each supervisor.

A Mimeographed Outline Of the Course

You will prepare a course outline to fit your local conditions. Be sure each supervisor gets a copy. This outline should list:

The starting and closing time, place and purpose of each training session.
The starting and closing time, place, and purpose of each group “laboratory” session.
The name, office address and phone number of the trainer in charge.

The First Training Session

You know what Work Simplification is and how to use it. You know your part of the responsibility for carrying it through. You have arranged the details and you have the tools and materials on hand, in the right amount, at the right place, at the right time.

Now, you are ready to pass this “know how” on to the key men, the first-line supervisors.

Objectives Of The First Session

Three things must be accomplished in this first meeting:

You establish the right personal relationship with the supervisors.
You give them a general picture of Work Simplification - a bird’s eye view of the whole program.
You show them how to make and use a Work Distribution Chart.

Get Acquainted

(5 minutes)

Begin by introducing yourself. Tell who you are, where you came from, what you have done and what you propose to do. But make it brief. Then, be sure you know each supervisor and that they know each other.

Introduce The Program

(5 minutes)

Your management has made a statement endorsing Work Simplification. Read it. Add your own personal endorsement. Then explain the “course outline,” read it, and distribute a copy to each supervisor.

”Meet Yourself”

(15 minutes)

Next step in the first session is to deliver the “Meet Yourself” presentation to give the group a picture of the whole program. For hints on how to present this, see your “Supervisor’s Training Outline for ‘Meet yourself.’”

Work Distribution Chart

(60 minutes)

After completing “Meet Yourself” move right into the Work Distribution Chart training. The people have seen what the program is and should be interested. If they are, they will want to get on with the job.

Remember to change the pitch of your approach to the audience. The “lecture” part of the program is over. From now on, it’s a discussion group. See your “Supervisor’s Training Outline for the Work Distribution Chart.” When you have completed the Work Distribution training the first session is finished except for these things:

Distribute the “Supervisor’s Guide to the Work Distribution Chart.” Remember that this is done after the training.
Tell the supervisors to have their employees fill out task lists. Furnish them with blank forms.
Set the time and place for the group laboratory session to which the supervisors will bring their task lists.
Set the time and place for the next training session.

Group Laboratory Session

(120 minutes)

Between the first and second training sessions the supervisors meet with you to make up their work distribution charts. This session consists of actual work. Each supervisor sits at a table with his task lists and work distribution chart paper. As each one makes his chart you move around the room and help. Some of them will not finish their charts at this meeting. It is your responsibility to follow up and see that the charts are finished.

The Second Training Session

The training is well underway now. You have shown the supervisors how to make the Work Distribution Chart. You have helped them make their charts. Now you show them how to make the process chart.

Objectives Of The Second Session

One thing must be accomplished in the second session:

You show the supervisors how to make a process chart. Concentrate on this objective. You want to keep the meeting informal but be ruthless in holding to your objective.

Introduction

(10 minutes)

Check attendance. Open the meeting with brief remarks about the group experience with the Work Distribution Chart to establish continuity in the training. Make any necessary general announcements, but be brief.

The Process Chart

(50 minutes)

Move right into the process chart training. Consult your “Training Outline for the Process Chart” for detailed instructions on handling this instruction. Remember to keep it informal. Allow time for questions, but keep the questions on the subject.

When you have completed the Process Chart training the second session is finished except for these things:

Distribute the “Supervisor’s Guide to the Process Chart,” one to each supervisor.
Tell the supervisors to select the process they are going to chart and compile rough notes on every detail in the process.
Set the time and place for group laboratory session on process charting. They will bring their notes on the process they have selected and all of the other working papers they have accumulated.
Set the time and place for the next training session.

Group Laboratory Session

(120 minutes)

Between the second and third training sessions the supervisors meet with you to make up their first process chart. Like the first laboratory session, this is a working meeting. The supervisors arrive with the notes on the process they have selected for charting. They also have their work distribution chart papers for reference.

You pass out blank process chart forms. Then they proceed to make up their process charts. You circulate around the group and help them. But remember to let the supervisors do the job themselves. You only help them over the rough spots.

The Third Training Session

This is the last of the training sessions. It is followed by two kinds of laboratory work. First, you work individually with each supervisor to help him get started on counting work. Then the group meets again for laboratory work on recommended improvements.

Objectives Of The Third Session

There are two things you must accomplish at this session. They are:

You put across the idea of Work Count, what it is, how to do it.
You tie-up any loose ends, questions or doubts about the Work Distribution Chart and the Process Chart.

Introduction

(10 minutes)

Check attendance. Discuss a few process charting points to maintain continuity with the previous session. Report on top management’s expressions of interest in the program’s progress by way of re-emphasizing top management support.

The Work Count

(50 minutes)

Move right in to the Work Count instruction. For hints on how to handle this instruction see your “Training Outline on the Work Count.” Note that at the end of the work count training outline there are suggestions on how to summarize the course. Follow these, tieing together the Work Distribution Chart, the Process Chart and the Work Count in the minds of the supervisors. When you have finished this instruction the formal training is complete, except for these things:

Distribute the “Supervisor’s Guide to the Work Count.”
Make a “final call” for questions.
Ask the supervisors to remain at the end of the meeting to arrange individual appointments for private laboratory work on work count.
Set the time and place for the final group laboratory session, to which each supervisor will bring all of his work papers.

Individual Laboratory Work

(120 minutes with each supervisor)

You have made an individual appointment with each supervisor. (See point 3 above.) Now you proceed to visit him at his desk. There you help him determine what work to count and where to count in his own office.

During this visit you look for signs of tentative improvements which may be developing in the supervisor’s mind. Make a suggestion or two to encourage him. Then remind him to get all his work papers together (including work count facts) and bring them to the final group laboratory session.

Final Group Laboratory Session

(180 minutes)

Here you are faced with a group of supervisors who have completed round one of Work Simplification. They understand and have performed the mechanical process of recording the facts about their work in the proper form. They should arrive with their task lists, work distribution chart, process chart and notes and work count facts. Perhaps they have already started developing their recommended improvements. They will certainly have some ideas.

Your job is to start the supervisors writing up their proposed improvements. Have them make “after” process charts illustrating improved methods and help them develop brief memos summarizing the changes and benefits. If they haven’t finished the final write-ups by the end of the period, you are responsible for the follow up.

When you have followed the course of action outlined in this booklet you should end up with a group of ten supervisors who have achieved a tangible result. More important they should be in a frame of mind to continue with Work Simplification as a regular part of the pattern of their job. Wish them good luck and send them on their way - BUT REMEMBER THAT WITHIN THE LIMITS OF YOUR TIME, YOU HAVE A CONTINUING RESPONSIBILITY TO FOLLOW UP THE JOB.