With a traditional eight hour workday, employees typically get 13 weekends off per year. But Coleman Consulting Group has overhauled schedules to such a degree that California employees are able to get up to 26 weekends off, the equivalent to 3 months a year, with no decrease in pay or drop in company productivity. “Our job is to help companies save money and make their employees happier,” Juarez said. Listen to the podcast to hear real examples of Coleman Consulting Group’s
Three weeks have passed since the beginning of my internship here at Coleman Consulting Group. I am learning the different dynamics of corporations and production facilities, and how companies operate. My first business trip to New York opened my eyes to the factory floor, where I saw the relationship between the end product and the workers each step of the way. Immediately I saw people who were very focused and task oriented, unafraid to "step on toes" if it meant performin
For nearly 16 years, I had no idea what a consultant did. All I knew is that they helped companies improve. I learned from my dad, a Managing Partner with Coleman Consulting Group, that consultants specialize in finding solutions to make companies more efficient, but I never knew what exactly that meant. This summer, I am finally getting the opportunity to be exposed to the world of consulting. I will get to see and experience companies through a consultant's eyes. My colleg
Now more than ever, there needs to be an emphasis on flexibility for working parents. Not only are they a larger share of today’s workforce, they also demand more from employers. Decades ago, for at least one spouse, working long hours away from families was typical. This was even more true in the traditional two parent families, where often one parent stayed at home so the other could prioritize work over family time. Today that trend has shifted dramatically. Our survey da
I’ve been designing and implementing shift schedules for over 20 years. I get excited every time I have the opportunity to design something from scratch for a place that hasn’t even hired its first employee. In 2014, leading ceramic tile manufacturer Dal-Tile broke ground on its newest ceramic tile production facility in Dickson, Tennessee, and I was asked to work with the new management team to design shift schedules for the facility. The biggest challenge in designing the r
We often say at Coleman Consulting Group that a schedule is not about your day on and day off pattern or your shift length. Schedules are about understanding the impact of the entire system on process and people. #shiftschedule #shiftlength #businessneeds #employeedesires #DisruptHR #HR #Workforce #HRonPurpose #Business #turnover #schedules
I have really had to learn to bring balance to my life. I admit that not so long ago I was a workaholic. I still am to some extent, but I have done a much better job of finding ways to step away and shut down work – especially when there is fun to be had with the family. Thanksgiving is no different. I typically enjoy being the cook for Thanksgiving day. With a family of eight children, and adding their friends as they have gotten older, means cooking for two or three dozen p
I love it when we make a real difference for both the employee and the company! This story starts out like so many others in manufacturing plants all over the world. Demand for the product being produced grows, so a facility that might traditionally run Monday through Friday starts doing work on Saturdays. Demand grows further and suddenly production is happening seven days a week. This was the situation at Keystone Foods’ processing facility in Eufaula, Alabama. Growth was g
This week I visited with managers from one of our multi-site customers. Spread across North America, this organization provides services from over twenty locations in three countries. Staffed to cover many non-standard hours, turnover had been a growing problem. Engagement surveys and exit interviews continue to point to employee schedules as one of the central themes causing dissatisfaction. Another issue has been upper management neglecting to listen to employees. Earlier
Now that the summer is nearly over, many parents are getting ready for school. For many people, this tends to be a high demand period where we "bend" our schedules to make sure we are there at the right times for drop off, pickup, and to support all the afterschool demands. Work schedules that allow people to meet those demands can make a big difference for many employees. A segment of the population that continues to grow is the dual income families with kids that manage th
Are you one of those companies that has been using overtime to cover the increased demand for your product or service? Or maybe you added an extra shift of people because you were working too much overtime and realize that wasn’t the right answer either. Maybe you’re reading this and wondering where the heck is he going with this blog. Luckily I recorded this video to explain why both of these situations is a problem. I have a solution that could make your schedules more pred
Our bodies body’s Circadian Rhythm, or biological clock, is controlled by a bundle of cells (the hypothalamus) atop the bridge of the nose in your head. It tells a person when to wake up, when to go to sleep, and when to use the bathroom among other things. Circa means “about”, and dian means “daily,” so these are daily rhythms and they are the products of the biological clock. When the biological clock is in sync with the clock on the wall, everything works smoothly. Whe
Before you jump to conclusions, the title of this blog post isn’t implying that employees shouldn’t be given rest and lunch breaks. Yes, providing rest and lunch breaks costs money. It is an investment. It is an investment that is made to ensure the welfare – the health and safety – of employees is maintained. Ultimately, the health of a company is directly related to the health of its employees. So, what am I talking about? The bottom line is that rest and lunch breaks are
Over the years, many of the employees I meet have said, “I work to live, not live to work.” I think that is true of most people. We work to earn money to feed our families, buy a house, and live a good life. For most people, this simple statement means that living life is more important than making money. Too often, however, I see companies use pay as a way to modify behavior. A common example is paying a “shift differential” to encourage people to work an undesired schedule
The question I am repeatedly asked as a shift schedule consultant is, “What is the best schedule?” I have an answer to that question, but most of the time I like to turn the question around and ask, “What do you think the best schedule might be?” The conversation usually progresses like this: Shift Worker: 8-hour shifts Monday through Friday! Me: So, if I schedule you for 8-hour shifts all the time Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, you would be happy? Shift Worke