This blog unexpectedly explores the motivational effect of hand towels; I was recently part of a kaizen brainstorming exercise where the focus of the group was trying to improve staff morale.
So how are hand towels linked to motivation? Well I don't believe there is a direct correlation between the two, however to lean on the work of Herzberg's theory of motivation it was clear that members of staff viewed any shortage as a frustration, especially in areas which were deemed to be 'getting the basics right' and couldn't understand how an organisation with 250 employees could not provide something as simple as this (a hygiene factor in Herzberg's terminology).
Following root cause analysis, it turned out that the reason there had been some shortages was not due to supply problems or unrealistic budgetary constraints but a number of redundancies in the maintenance team; this resulted in the remaining members of staff feeling over worked and lead them to prioritise their duties based on 'who shouted the loudest' which coincidentally in this organisation was always management.
This resulted in basic supplies being ordered infrequently and in larger batches that required as there 'simply wasn't sufficient time' to check current requirements.
Working through the analysis of this 'issue' further a member of staff came up with a simple solution using Kanban. By simply colour coding the hand towel holder (see below image) it was very easy for any member of staff to identify when a new order was required and could email the office manager.
(Proposed Kanban Idea)
If organisations are to truly embrace a Lean culture then why shouldn't we encourage the use of its principles in every aspect of the company, from the process to the premises? Particularly if this results in time savings, increased efficiency and a boost to staff morale.
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