As an industry leader and producer of point-of-purchase displays and corrugated boxes, TimBar Packaging has always embraced the principles and disciplines of LEAN manufacturing. A client since 2005, TimBar approached TalentQuest with a specific goal in mind: to raise the level of effectiveness of their manufacturing management teams by providing supervisors with a common set of complete leadership skills and tools that would be used at every production facility.
After assessing its long-term business goals, TimBar’s senior leadership discovered that operational prowess was not enough to take their business to the next level. They realized that by combining comprehensive leadership skills with the principles of LEAN manufacturing, their supervisors would have the tools they needed to effectively analyze operational metrics and the confidence they needed to manage their teams in a way that maximized business results.
TimBar’s senior leadership worked closely with TalentQuest to develop a supervisory course path for the company’s enterprise learning program, TimBarTech. TalentQuest’s Developing Emerging Leaders program was customized to create “TimBar Leadership Boot Camp” for TimBarTech. Senior leaders found that the “Coaching for Excellence,” “Gaining Credibility and Influence” and “Managing Change” modules resonated with the company’s business initiatives and culture, so the program was tailored to address these components.
In the boot camp program, participants gain knowledge of management fundamentals and practice the skills associated with successful management. The boot camp blends lectures, group discussions, case studies and role-playing. Participants also learn best practices in leadership, teambuilding and communication and strategies to apply these in the TimBar culture. Focusing on business success, participants learn how to decipher and balance the needs of their ‘critical maintenance clients’ with those of their ‘strategic growth clients’ while managing the needs of their invaluable team members at the same time.
In groups that were led by supervisors who had completed the leadership boot camp, TimBar saw improvements in productivity and operational metrics in the first year. In fact, their performance metrics were 15 percent higher than those of other groups within the organization. The program was rolled out in one facility the first year, and then in the remaining facilities the following year. It has been an integral part of increasing TimBar’s operational capabilities – taking the business to the next level.
