A team that communicates well, functions well. It’s one of the reasons organizations prefer meetings over multiple one-on-one conversations. That said, having too many people involved in a meeting and not having an agenda can make your meetings unproductive. The solution – a good tier meeting structure. This engages 100% of your workforce in discussions that are relevant to them. Let’s learn more.
What is a Tier Management System?
A tier management system is a systematic hierarchical structure to organize operations and enhance accountability. Each tier has distinct roles and responsibilities. In a manufacturing environment, the lower tiers handle operational execution while the higher tiers focus on strategic planning. Dividing responsibilities in this manner can help streamline communication and enable efficient decision-making.
What is a Tier Meeting?
Tier meetings have their roots in lean manufacturing principles. These refer to regular, fast-paced meetings at each level of the tier management system. A tier meeting would usually bring all the employees of one level together to review past performance, share information, discuss current issues, make decisions and assign activities.
Many organizations refer to their tier meetings as daily huddles, Short Interval Meetings (SIMs) or stand-up team meetings. These meetings are designed to typically last not more than 10-30 minutes.
What is a Tier Meeting Structure?
Tier meetings are separate yet interconnected. Meetings at each level discuss issues pertinent to the tier’s focus. Issues identified at lower tier meetings are shared at higher tier level meetings while information about decisions taken at these levels cascades to the lower tiers.
Most manufacturing units have tiered meetings at 3 levels. Some may extend to a 4th tier.
Tier 1
These meetings with frontline workers are usually held at the beginning of a day/ shift. They typically focus on day-to-day operations, safety concerns and quality control. Led by a team leader or production supervisor, the meeting covers the previous day/shift’s production, progress or decisions taken about follow-up tasks and daily priorities. Immediate problems may be addressed here while more complex issues are escalated to tier 2 meetings.
Tier 2
These meetings are held amongst all team leaders, production supervisors and mid-level management. The meetings are usually operational in nature. They focus on practical problem-solving, addressing issues identified at tier 1 meetings and creating actionable plans to implement strategic decisions taken at Tier 3 meetings.
Tier 3
These meetings may not be held on a daily basis. Tier 3 meetings involve executive decision-makers and are focused on the strategic and tactical facets of achieving long-term objectives. They address issues that affect the organization as a whole. For example, resource allocation and cost management.
Benefits of a Tier Meeting Structure
These meetings deliver multiple benefits without disrupting schedules. This includes:
Smoother Communication
These meetings enable transparent communication across departments and all levels of the organization. Every group discusses only the issues relevant to them without concerning themselves with unnecessary information. For example, employees at production floor level meetings can discuss how they will meet the day’s targets while managers can strategize measures for employee development and inter-department collaboration.
At the same time, information flows between tiers. This ensures that operational teams align their targets with broader organization goals and top-level management stays aware of on-ground productivity.
Faster Problem-Solving
Breaking meetings into tiers can help teams make faster decisions. These meetings bring together people with different perspectives yet a similar understanding of system requirements. For instance when one operator brings up an issue, other operators who are familiar with the system can quickly brainstorm solutions.
Tiered meetings also distribute the responsibility for decisions. For example, mid-level managers can take tactical decisions without having to be concerned with on-floor decisions.
Increased Accountability
Dividing the workforce into smaller groups for tiered meetings helps improve accountability. Individual tasks and team progress becomes easier to track. The tier structures ensure that roles are clearly defined and team members have a clear understanding of their responsibilities. The regular nature of these meetings also encourages teams to align their efforts with timelines.
For example, operators can be held responsible for their daily targets while team leaders can ensure that issues identified in earlier meetings are addressed through follow-up actions.
Higher Team Engagement
Tier meetings give employees at all levels a platform to express themselves and be heard. They can voice their concerns as well as share ideas.
As you would expect, employees participate more actively in discussions that are relevant to their tasks. They are more likely to commit themselves to improving processes they are actively involved in. The structure also lets employees know who to turn to for additional information and decisions.
Best Practices to build a Tier Meeting Structure
Here are a few tips to make your tiered meetings more productive.
Have an agenda
Every meeting must have a clear plan corresponding to the tier. For example, daily floor huddles may be directed towards assigning targets for the day while executive meetings may review quarterly KPIs. This lets all participants know what to expect from the meeting and keeps discussions from being side tracked. It also allows participants to make relevant preparations.
Involve the right people
Identify groups based on their role in operations. When you conduct tiered meetings, ensure it involves only the relevant group of people. This helps meetings stay focused on a goal and facilitates quicker decision making.
Standardize meeting frequency
Determine the frequency with which meetings need to be held at different tiers and standardize these routines. This involves setting aside a block of time for the meeting, ensuring all participants are aware of it and following a structured format.
Implement collaborative tools
Leverage digital tools to facilitate information sharing. Using a visual management board like Fabriq breaks down information silos and puts all participants on the same page. For example, operators can raise tickets as and when an issue arises. This helps streamline discussions during a meeting.
How LVMH Fragrance Brands used Fabriq to Benefit from a Tier Meeting Structure
LVMH Fragrance Brands use Fabriq to manage daily performance meetings and keep information flowing between tiers. They organized a 3-tier structure with daily meetings for the first 2 tiers and weekly meetings for the third tier.
The first tier members, i.e., all packaging line operators and shop floor managers met every morning between 8:30 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. This was followed by a tier 2 meeting between 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. for line facilitators, shop floor leaders and support service representatives. Tier 3 meetings for all department managers were held every Thursday between 2 pm and 3 pm.
The benefits of Fabriq for LVMH Fragrance Brands
One of the key benefits experienced has been Fabriq’s ability to represent KPI metrics in a graphic form on custom dashboards. This makes it easier for teams to understand and evaluate performance during daily huddles. Further, it has helped LVMH issue standardized instructions for morning and afternoon shifts thereby allowing for seamless transitions.
Fabriq has also empowered LVMH frontline workers to raise tickets, describe the problem they are facing and assign it to relevant individuals/ teams with an expected timeline for resolutions. This streamlined communication and made it easier to track follow-up actions.
LVMH also leveraged Fabriq’s ability to automatically consolidate data from multiple teams to drive their higher tier meetings. This ensures that decisions made at management level are based on real-time data. Further, when issues were escalated to mid and senior-level management, Fabriq allowed them to view the original ticket as well as all the action already taken. Thus, they could pick up the issue from where it was left off and arrive at a solution faster.
In this way, LVMH has leveraged Fabriq’s capabilities to foster collaboration, improve accountability and shorten response time thus reinforcing a culture of continuous improvement.
Do you want to find out more about how Fabriq can benefit your daily huddles? Request a demo to know more.
