In the previous article we talked about the importance of supervision in the operation and the impact it generates on the company's results and also on the work environment. Poor supervision is synonymous with direct monetary loss because it prevents the correct execution of tasks that are paid for, additionally it generates a direct damage to the quality of the fruit, for example, poor thinning means an impact on the final quality of the fruit, the same with the harvest, load adjustment, pruning, leaf removal, etc., but it also entails an indirect loss in the quality of the equipment by creating a vicious circle of poor performance that sooner or later will negatively affect the work environment and can be more expensive than all the previous losses.
Below we list some topics with sample questions to assess the overall quality of our teams. This will help you get a pretty good idea of the state of our monitoring groups:
1. Ability to interpret patterns: While this is closely linked to who generates the guidelines, where these must be clear and quantifiable, many supervisors leave a lot of room for a rating through impression.
- “Manager’s question: Juan, how is the work of that crew going?”
- Supervisor's response: "Okay, boss, calm down the crew."
- Expected response: “Good Boss, a 70% of the group assimilated the pattern well, and I hope the 30% will do so tomorrow, the average performance is slightly below what was expected, but it is on the rise.”
2. Availability of information: It is important for the supervisor to keep a record of what he or she evaluates, with a daily number of samples that allow for a generous universe of data.
- Manager's question: “Alberto, how many darts are left per linear meter?”
- Supervisor response: “I don’t know very well, Boss, the accountant didn’t come today.”
- Expected response: “We are doing well, our average today is 15 per linear meter. We have high numbers of 25 and the lowest of 5 in weaker plants. The thinning average is 40 plants/day, where the highest ones do 70, those that are losing 20.”
3. Quality of information: It must be objective and without personal impressions, and must be presented in an appropriate format. Once the use of slips of paper has become almost normal, we must promote better practices.
- Manager Question: Paul, let me see your records?
- Supervisor's response: "I kept the notebook, Boss, but I wrote it down on this little piece of paper."
- Expected response: “The data has already been uploaded to the main platform, the number of samples today was 140, which is equivalent to 20 per person, you can see the summary in the report of the day.”
4. Every quality control system, in this case tasks, must carry with it a audit process, hopefully daily.
- Manager Question: “Jose, are you sure this count is correct? I walked by and I think I saw more fruit on the ground.”
- Supervisor's response: “Sure boss, I counted three times.”
- Expected response: "We have very similar numbers with the counter, with an average of 10 fruits per plant, which we hope to lower tomorrow after the guideline review."
The number of questions we can ask to determine the level of our teams is very broad, but it is likely that with just these four we can already see if we are closer to the low or high level. The difference between the first and the second is not only a huge gap in terms of the clarity and consistency of the answers, but it is also 100% certain that the effectiveness of the second, its frequency of failures, the magnitude of these and the associated economic losses are much lower. If we add to this base the daily management of information, the results are enormous.
As Compás Agrosistemas, we know the importance of having excellent teams, we know what tools to give them, and how to achieve this transformation in one season, our experience is there. Contact us to help you build simple but solid information systems that will be your team's tools for controlling your work.
To learn more about our work, schedule a meeting at: www.compasagrosistemas.cl
