Labour flexibility: too much of a good thing?

Labour flexibility: too much of a good thing?

Karuppan C.M. Industrial Management (USA), September/October 2006, Vol. 48 No. 5, Start page: 13 (5 pages)

Purpose – To advise companies on the management of labour flexibility. Design/methodology/approach – Bases the advice on case study of a printed-circuit board (PCB) manufacturer, asserts that many companies do not formally manage flexibility, and refers to conflicting results of research into labour flexibility, some reporting benefits others finding disadvantages such as worker burn-out. States that following implementation of labour flexibility the PCB manufacturer remained unclear of returns from the investment, describes a survey of employees and supervisors asking respondents to rate the importance of cost, quality, speed and flexibility, reports that operators rated flexibility considerably lower than supervisors, and outlines subsequent assessment of employee skills, and re-structuring of the compensation scheme. Concludes that flexibility supported output variety, but notes that workers with most cross-training returned both erratic performance and high absenteeism rates,recording that workers cross-trained for complex tasks performed below expectations. Attributes these findings to a forgetting-learning cycle,registers that movement between simple tasks was usually smooth, and gives lessons learnt as understanding that management/employee communication is vital,that everyone should share in the benefits of flexibility, that compensation schemes must reflect the organization’s strategic aims, and that training should focus on understanding and not on rote learning. Originality/value– Recognizes that flexibility has limits, and calls for development of a comprehensive measure of labour flexibility.Reference: 35BA549

Keywords: Flexible working hours, Labour efficiency, Labour utilization, Manufacturing systems, Printed circuits