UPM Raflatac is a manufacturer of self-adhesive labeling materials whose foils and papers are used to create labels around the world. The company has two production plants near Wrocław dealing with coating and finishing
Finishing team consists of 30 people who closely cooperate with each other. The team, among the others, includes production engineers and planning, shipping, and maintenance specialists UPM Raflatac is a manufacturer of self-adhesive labeling materials whose foils and papers are used to create labels around the world. The company has two production plants near Wrocław dealing with coating and finishing.
I wanted to check if my assumptions about the work of the team are translated into reality. - Marcin Klimas, Finishing Production Manager in UPM Raflatac
The main challenge for finishing team consisting of 30 people is more efficient work. Is the cooperation going as assumed by the processes? Is there a flow of knowledge in the team? Are decisions delegated as they should be? What development directions can there be? These are the questions Marcin Klimas asked himself. He wanted to look for answers in the data.
Thanks to data about cooperation within a team and data about the cooperation of a team with other areas of the company, the finishing team got to know their actual processes and place in the organization.
The profile of cooperation, the flow of knowledge, and decisions within the team gave the manager and each employee of the team a better understanding of their own work, confirmed some of the assumptions, and developed improvements that were not previously thought of.
Employee profiles helped employees by giving them a lot of feedback about their own work and helped the manager understand the roles played by them in the organization.
Everyone on the team had an insight into the Network Perspective. The tool turned out to be easy and intuitive to use. No training was needed. The results were immediately visible in the form of a graph. It was amazing for the team that every change updates immediately.
I assumed that I would put 30 people from my team on the Network Perspective; it turned out that the relationship network spread to 70 and then 100 people. The app is dynamic and can be updated depending on the needs of the team, and each change is immediately visible on the graph - Marcin Klimas, Finishing Production Manager in UPM Raflatac
The effect was visible immediately. It turned out that the finishing department was functioning very well. There are no organizational problems on the network: congestion or isolated silos. Communication in the team is multi-threaded and dynamic, and the cooperation network showed who is the key employee for the work of the team and who connects the team with other areas in the company.
We got a tool that allows us to read within a few moments who is an important node and who is on the periphery of the organization. I have already used this information during annual assessments of employees and workshops aimed at improving cooperation within a team - Marcin Klimas, Finishing Production Manager in UPM Raflatac
Several important assumptions about the work of the team have been confirmed. In the production hall, "a production leaders desk" was designated, which the team called "the eye of the cyclone." The network confirmed that it works smoothly. The formal production leaders were the actual leaders. They are responsible for changes in production, and most of the decision is going through them.
Leaders have received confirmation that the role of the leader is played well. The team had previously hoped for that but didn't know if it was for sure. The "cyclone eye" is located in the center, but communication and cooperation are widespread. This is important for the team, and thanks to the network, it was possible to illustrate it during the discussion of periodic work results.
Some important assumptions about the work of the team were confirmed. Our formal production leaders are actual leaders. - Marcin Klimas, Finishing Production Manager in UPM Raflatac
It turned out that some aspects of the work of the manager need improvement. For some time, he tried to decentralize decisions within the team. The network showed that a lot of findings flow through the manager, and he is still the dominant node on the network. Empowerment was seen in the team among employees, but still too small. Over time, thanks to Network, the team will know if there is progress.
It turned out that some aspects of my work needed improvement. For some time, I have been trying to decentralize decisions within the team. The network showed that I still have a lot to catch up on in this area because too many decisions flow through me. - Marcin Klimas, Finishing Production Manager in UPM Raflatac
It turned out that a student working on the ''production assistant'' position for 2 years plays a vital communication role and is an important node in a team. Till now, we haven't had a headcount for this position in the company. We did not recruit for that position.
I discovered that a student during her internship plays a vital communication role. Till now, we haven't had a headcount for this position in the company. We did not recruit for that position, but the person with such responsibilities and similar competences plays an important role in the team. - Marcin Klimas, Finishing Production Manager in UPM Raflatac
Thanks to the information from the network perspective, one of the shift managers received a dedicated development plan related to the management of the project group.
The first discoveries helped us to carry out the SWOT analysis of the team. We see what we are good at and what we bring to the organization. It's very motivating - Marcin Klimas, Finishing Production Manager in UPM Raflatac
