General Motors
Team-Building Impacts Quality and Profitability
Situation
A GM assembly plant was getting ready to launch a new product. At the same time, they wanted to
implement a team concept across the entire plant. Top leadership, team leaders/group leaders,
and team members all needed to be trained. The plant wanted to complete this training during a
one-week shutdown before the new product launch.
Solution
Learning Designs worked with joint leadership to develop a plan of action. Our first step was to interview
a cross-section of the plant to determine readiness for teams. After the interviews, we scheduled a
three-day offsite meeting with approximately 50 top leaders to share the interview data, develop guidelines,
and establish team boundaries.Our next step was to develop training for area leaders, team leaders/group leaders, and team members.
We agreed that a large group format would be the best option for the team training. We trained all area leaders two weeks prior to the large group training exercise. They received a one-day overview of the team member training to prepare them for the impending organizational change.
Our staff developed a 1-1/2 day training program for team leaders/group leaders that covered role clarification, personal style, supportive leadership, facilitation skills, and coaching. We trained approximately 400 team leaders/group leaders in one week over two different shifts.
We also developed a 2-1/2 day training program for team members that covered team advantages, guidelines and boundaries, team development, conflict resolution, and effective team meetings. We trained approximately 3,000 team members in one week over two shifts.
Outcome
GM's joint leadership declared the project a success. At a follow-up meeting, plant leadership reported
that 80% of the teams were functioning effectively in their team meetings-an impressive improvement.
They said that the program's results exceeded their expectations and they would recommend this large
group format to other plants.