Axalta Drivus Manager, Robin Taylor has visited many businesses over his career and the successful ones have one thing in common - they have a business culture that engages and values their employees and continue to evolve. “Not utilising human potential” is one of the eight wastes of ‘Lean Foundations’ that he frequently discusses.
Too often, people and their ideas are put down whenever they try or suggest something new. Or, perhaps worse, other employees suppress innovation, and a ‘no care’ attitude spreads throughout the business.
Here are two important questions to consider:
- Does your business culture encourage new ideas and collaboration?
Give your employees the chance to engage in challenging the ‘norm’ and work with one another to address any issues in your business. It is important to show your employees that you value their input and you’re open to exploring options that may challenge the status quo.
Often, when you ask people the reasoning behind the way they do things, the answer is: that is how we have always done it! To thrive and grow though, we need all our people looking for ways to do things better.
- Does your business reward and recognise people that challenge the norm?
Encourage your employees to seek new methods and processes, and recognise the employees who do so, even if their ideas don’t quite work as expected. We need to be constantly challenging ourselves to look at things from a new angle.
Easier said than done? The good news is the Axalta Drivus Team can help. Drivus is part of Axalta’s ongoing commitment to providing innovative solutions to the Australian and New Zealand collision repair industry. For more information on how Drivus Business Services can help your bodyshop, contact Axalta on 1800 292 852 or visit: axalta.au/drivus