The 4 Words that Matter--Really!

Do you ever find yourself struggling to get your boss to approve a new project or initiative? I know I struggled with that until I learned and used the four words that matter in every conversation.  I remember during my first year as the Corporate Ergonomist at a very large health system that our “ergo” department as it was called, seemingly fought every day to make headway with “the powers that be” that ergo was important and it mattered.  We couldn’t get funding for projects that would improve the safety of the employees and we were told we were lucky to even exist.  The typical feeling from upper management regarding ergonomics was that we were a “nice to have” department and their common response to our project proposals was “it sounds like a nice project but other things are of greater priority”. 

At first I couldn’t figure this out.  Why isn’t preventing injuries, improving employee health and productivity a priority?  In my role I ended up being a “required” member of operational and facility improvement projects and teams.  It was during these project meetings and discussions with key stakeholders that I was able to key in on the words that matter—the words that result in attention, priority and approval by upper management.  Once I knew what those words were and the order in which to use them my proposals and recommendations would not only get noticed, they would get approved!

The 4 Words that Matter

So, what are those words?  The 4 letter acronym is QDCS—Quality, Deliver, Cost and (yes) Safety.  I learned those words well before I learned about Lean.  (QDCS is commonly used in Lean for identifying waste).  You might be thinking to yourself that those words aren’t anything new to you.  You’re right!  Every company cares (or should care) about the quality of their services and products, the delivery of their products and services to their customers, the cost (no brainer!) involved in creating and maintaining their products and services and safety (and let me add to this health and wellness) of their employees who create the products or provide the service.  But—and this is the important question—do you use these words in every conversation you have within your department and to those outside your department?

Let me give you an example of what happened to a proposed project of mine at the employer.  The project was involved the dock area of one of the health system’s hospitals where everything was shipped and received—basically the bones of the hospital.  The way boxes were received and the manual handling involved resulted in employee injuries and lost time along with a high level of employee dissatisfaction.  My initial proposal focused on the workers’ comp and injury prevention benefits from redesigning the dock.  I had the backing of the occupational health director and VP of HR so I thought it was a slam dunk to get approval from the VP of supply chain to go ahead with the project.  Nothing doing—he couldn’t see the value in moving forward based upon what I proposed.   The proposal was dropped.  It was during this time when I had my “epiphany of QDC and then S.  To test this out I revised my proposal and focus the value and benefits of the project:

·        Q—less manual handling, less damage to products, reduce errors, better packaging of items to be shipped

·        D—faster receiving of products; faster delivery of received products; increased internal customer satisfaction; quicker packing and shipping; better staffing and hiring practices; improved employee morale

·        C—less time meant less labor required to handle the same amount of receivables and shipping; cost of changes (different receiving/shipping processes, some new equipment, some change in layout of equipment) kept to minimize; ROI in under 8 months

·        S—oh, and by the way, as a side effect of doing the above we will reduce to the risk of injury to near zero; workers’ comp costs should approach zero   

The difference between the two proposals was the result of the change in the focus of the conversation.  Would my first proposal have resulted in the same QDC as the second proposal?  Essentially yes.  I will admit I fined tuned the work flow plan to achieve even greater time savings but overall the proposals were basically the same.  I simply used the language of the executives—QDC and then S.  By the way, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that it is imperative to follow up taking about QDCS with actions that result in QDCS.  The implementation of my proposal did result in the stated QDCS and it got me and my department seen as a key member of all operational initiatives and projects going forward. 

QDCS is even more vital to me now as a consultant.  My clients expect (as well they should) the services I provide will positively impact QDCS.  When I recommend changing the work processes and/or work environment I do so with the intention of helping my clients improve their quality, delivery, cost and, yes, the safety of their organization. 

So if your department, initiative or project is languishing I’d highly recommend you start by changing the conversation (of course, you must follow up your words with actions that produce QDCS.  The words will open the door; the results will keep them open or close it shut).  Make QDCS the focus of everything you do and say—this will be of benefit to you, your employees and your company.   By doing so, the red lights will more turn into green lights.