Case Study: Employee Burnout
Each month, we choose one of our case studies from real-member issues in our CEO peer group meetings. The objective is to share a real-world CEO challenge with practical solutions and experiences so that if you know anyone that is facing something similar, you can help them with ideas. We will never reveal anything confidential or of sensitive nature.
Case Study: Employee Burnout
Industry: Manufacturing
Category(s) of the COPI: Challenge, Opportunity, Problem, or Idea:
Employee Motivation and Employee Burnout
THE ISSUE:
The manufacturer is down a few people in operations and busier than they’ve probably ever been. They’re in danger of losing key people who are rock stars at productivity because the workload is overwhelming. And they are struggling to find reliable help. Leadership is looking for solutions, something quick to assist key staff in avoiding burnout while ramping up hiring and onboarding for a long-term solution. My question is:
how do I keep key people motivated when the workload is overwhelming? I want to give them hope and some relief.
THE INSIGHTS:
Offer bonuses or added vacation time to their balances to show appreciation
If possible - Look at temp agencies to relieve the workload.
Change timelines for incoming orders, if an option
Offer incentives to current staff to bring in a helper that could be trusted to do simple tasks and be issued a small contract labor 1099. For example, a parent brings a teenaged son, daughter, college student, neighbor, or someone they go to church with.
Anyone in the office who can just let some tasks wait and are not important could free up some hands to help with production for some hours. Some examples are admin tasks such as filing, bill pay, or any tasks that can wait, or office staff could receive OT if they wanted some of it for doing these tasks when production isn’t doing it, like on an evening or weekend. Not sure if the office staff feels the same burnout as the production staff, so sometimes this brings the team together when that is the case.
Reduce the workload, i.e., push back deliverables with an incentive to the customer for delaying the order.
Set longer lead times for new orders, so you’re not further backlogged.
If there’s a way to hire support for more simple aspects of production and have your team do the more complicated work. Is there a tech school somewhere you can hire and offer to bus individuals in?
From a people perspective, communicating empathy and appreciation to the team and team meetings clearly lays out the tangible efforts to get people hired and trained. Give consistent updates on that progress.
Send handwritten notes to key people in the employees’ life, for example, a spouse, to let them know the incredible contribution the person is making and how much they mean to the company. Thank the spouse for their ongoing support.
Use a company called Send Out Cards to send personalized cards and gifts to team members. Pull pictures from their social media to personalize the cards. The platform allows you to select a wide variety of gifts and send them directly to their house. It’s unexpected and always appreciated.
Hire someone to come to the office for 30-minute chair massages.
Purchase gift cards for restaurants they would never go to.
Take the entire team out for lunch, something as simple as pizza, get them out of the office, and let them decompress.
Rotate employees for 1:1 breakfast, lunch, etc., and let them know how much you appreciate them.
Is there any machinery you can combine to decrease labor, not a short-term but long-term fix that would take away labor tasks?
THE OUTCOME:
Got the office staff involved in the process, and that created a team environment for everyone,
Pushed back lead times and offered customers incentives for longer delays
Even when the office staff put on their messages, “sorry, we’re not available right now, we’re in the back completing customer orders on time, or we’re paying attention, personalized messages that you're taking care of customer’s orders.”
Mailed personalized cards, using the “send out card” service to each individual’s home, thanking their spouses or significant others.
I looked at expanding and partnering with local companies to uncover some talent.
The team is more cohesive and appreciative and not as burned out; we also did a pizza party off-site together as a team, and we continue lending support and encouragement.
