When developing line leaders becomes a manufacturing performance strategy

Manufacturing performance problems rarely sit neatly in one department.

Waste may appear to be an engineering problem. Absence and attrition may be treated as HR concerns. Missed production targets might be addressed through new processes or tighter controls.

But these issues often meet at the same place: the production line, where first-line managers turn plans into day-to-day decisions.

This was the situation facing a major biscuit manufacturing operation with approximately 800 employees and 12 production lines. The site had been operating for around 90 years and produced several household-name brands. Its experience demonstrated how developing line-leader capability could influence far more than individual management performance.

A challenge involving processes and people

The organisation was dealing with two connected sets of problems.

The first concerned manufacturing waste. Mixing errors, spillage, variations in oven temperature and breakage during packing were all affecting efficiency.

The second involved shift performance. Sickness, absence, employee turnover, low job satisfaction and poor motivation were making it harder to maintain consistent output.

The organisation wanted to redesign its traditional supervisory structure. Twenty-four people would be recruited into new line-leader positions, placing greater responsibility directly at the production-line interface.

The objectives were deliberately measurable. They included reducing manufacturing waste by 25%, improving workforce stability and giving line leaders the skills to take greater ownership of production performance.

This could not be achieved by changing job titles alone. The new line leaders needed the authority, judgement and practical management capability to operate differently.

Learning designed around the working environment

Skillogy PERFORM™ was selected from a shortlist of three providers. Its practical performance-skills model could be adapted around rotating shifts while connecting development to measurable business objectives.

The resulting 18-month programme was built around 14 performance skills. These covered areas including communication, personal organisation, time management, decision-making, delegation, information management, teamwork, motivation and leadership.

The delivery model was equally important. Self-managed online learning was combined with learning cohorts, facilitated workshops and workplace projects.

Participants followed a practical cycle: assess, learn, apply and review.

The workplace was not simply somewhere participants returned to after completing their learning. It was where much of the learning took place.

Line leaders used real manufacturing issues as the basis for projects and case studies. Ideas generated during team briefings and discussions could be taken forward through production engineering and implemented as process improvements.

This gave participants an immediate reason to use what they were learning. It also allowed the organisation to assess whether increased knowledge was leading to changes in behaviour and performance.

The reported results

The results were measured at individual, team and organisational levels.

Average knowledge application across the 24 line leaders increased from 25% at the baseline assessment to 75% at the final assessment. More importantly, this improvement was accompanied by material changes in manufacturing performance.

Waste was reduced by 50% - twice the original target. Average production output reached 97% of target, supported by reductions in machinery downtime and improvements to shift rotas.

At the 24-month measurement point, the combined workforce indicator covering sickness, absence and attrition had fallen from 40% to 8%. Improvement was also recorded across 80% of the employee-attitude areas measured, including involvement, communication, job enrichment, satisfaction and motivation.

Over the two-year sampling period, the organisation reported a financial gain of £1.2 million and a return on investment of 1,200%.

The approach was subsequently extended to other functions, management populations and parts of the organisation's European operations.

The wider lesson for manufacturers

The outcome was not produced by learning content alone.

The organisation redesigned responsibility at the production-line interface, gave line leaders practical skills and connected their development to problems they could influence directly. Progress was then measured against operational objectives rather than course completion.

That distinction matters.

Management development is often evaluated through participation, satisfaction or knowledge gained. These measures have a role, but they do not show whether anything changed on the production line.

A more demanding question is whether managers are making better decisions, involving their teams more effectively and improving the processes around them.

In this case, the evidence appeared in reduced waste, stronger output, better workforce measures and a substantial reported financial return.

Developing managers should not sit separately from operational improvement. When learning is designed around real work, supported through application and measured properly, it can become part of the performance strategy itself.

Learn more about Skillogy and its practical approach to developing human capability.