All winning value analysis teams are a combination of attitudes, talent, and traits matched with the right leadership to give them the vision, goals, objectives, and a “can do” attitude; a team that takes responsibility for its actions and pride in its accomplishments. Most value analysis team members, however, become disenchanted with their team’s performance, not due to the time commitment or workload required, but because they feel they are not appreciated or listened to.
To avoid these negative team dynamics, we have documented and observed “Six Powerful Steps for Developing a Proud and Productive Value Analysis Team” that we would like to share with you so that you too can build, maintain, and sustain your VA team(s) at peak performance over the long term:
1. Select Them Right
Most VA team leaders and members are selected because of their position or title in the organization (director of purchasing, director of engineering, director of performance improvement, accounting manager, etc.). We need instead to select team leaders and members who have the ideal competencies such as analytical thinker, organized, reliable, enthusiastic, takes initiative, welcomes challenges and change, etc. From our experience, if the right people with the right competencies aren’t carefully selected up front, your VA team will never have the leadership and skill level that is required for peak performance. So let’s get it right the first time!
2. Hold Them Accountable
How many VA team meetings have you sat through that ended up looking like nothing gets done? Top performing VA teams welcome accountability to save money, but they need to know what they are being held accountable for using the SMART SYSTEM (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bounded objectives) to achieve bottom line results.
3. Establish a System
One of the easiest ways to ensure accountability with your value analysis teams is to implement a multi-step evaluation/selection system that can be measured and managed by your team leaders – not your team members. A system that is proven and repeatable will make it easier and take less time for your team members, since they will have a defined path to follow as opposed to letting them “wing it.”
4. Foster Team Spirit
Jill Konrath, a Minnesota consultant, tells us, “The best (value analysis teams) have an all-for-one and one-for-all environment.” “Knowledge is shared, not hoarded,” she says. “Team leaders encourage (team members) to learn and grow from each other. They support peer coaching and mentoring. They celebrate everyone’s successes. They believe they’re all in this together and that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.” This mindset engenders team spirit and is the foundation for building a best-in-class value analysis team.
5. Keep On Training
Ongoing VA team training will keep your team members competent, confident, competitive, and cutting edge. “Training is a continual process – not a (onetime) event,” say Dave Anderson, a Los Altos, California-based trainer. “No one can ever consider themselves as ‘trained’ (in value analysis). Confidence is a… (value analysis team member’s) greatest ally and this confidence comes from continually upgrading competencies through training.”
6. Show Support
Most VA team members resign or become inactive, not because of the time commitment or the workload that is required, but because they don’t feel appreciated or listened to. Therefore, it is in the best interest of team leaders to pay attention to the care and maintenance of their team members by noticing and asking questions on how their team members feel, act, and are performing. This can be accomplished by scheduling maintenance checks at the close of every meeting, frequently contacting them by phone, e-mail, or in person to discuss their projects, and by conducting quarterly satisfaction surveys. This enables you to handle a problem before the members become completely disengaged.
The development of a proud and productive value analysis team takes time, patience, and fortitude. It all begins with respect for your VA team members and wanting the best for them. You need to find ways to praise them individually and as a team. This will grow their self-image and professionalism, and this pride will then translate into peak performance.