1. Improving Team Performance within ESOP’s
Improving Team performance within a ESOP. About 11 years ago left a company that was totally opposite of PTTECH in every way. I will be talking about the things that make the difference from my experience. When I started PTTECH I remember seeing a cartoon in one of the engineers office, and I appreciate it more each year. It really takes team work to get a job done. If there is a weak link or miscommunication their will be problems with the outcome, as we see in the next slide.
By Michael Culbertson
Project Engineer, PTTECH
4/21/06

3. Considerations for Improving Team Performance
Cultivate the Culture
Employee Empowerment
Risk Taking
Collaboration
Success Sharing
Business Systems Approach
Here are 7 considerations for improving team performance. I will be discussing each one of these items in more detail.

4. Improving Team performance by: Cultivating the Culture
We have a large percentage of knowledge workers.
We use “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” to convey the kind of organization and culture we want to preserve.
“Increasing Human Effectiveness” seminar
New Employee Survey.
By leadership.
It all starts with the leadership. Team attitude, respect, hard work, knowledge, understanding, wanting the best for both company and the individual. CEO and President exhibits these and wanted to share in the success with the employees.
*a good example is our shipping dept which has individual that personally very intelligent and well read. It makes it easy to have respect for everyone.
*Attending Seminars that help the individual be effective. For instance “Seven Habits” is a Seven week course for newer employees. Each week they discuss the topic over lunch supplied by the company.
*Understanding we are not perfect.

5. Improving Team performance by: Employee Empowerment
Excellence-By-Objective
The topics develop the employee, are proactive in nature and benefit the company by building a better employee. It’s classic win-win.
Employees need ownership of the projects entrusted to them.
The overall focus is career building for the employee and relationship building for the supervisor.
EBO is every three months the employee writes out personal and business goals and works with the supervisor to get it planned and accomplished.
*Example- my supervisor and I decided to train for a marathon as a personal goal. It worked out great and it built a relationship.

6. Improving Team performance by: Risk Taking
Define and minimize the risks.
The statistics indicate that 90% of new products fail in the markets they are intended for.
People need permission to fail once in awhile or they will not try new things.
Focus and improve on what they can do well.
Our CEO has design a lot of profitable product and he will be the first to admit he has made some bad ones.
We get awards at the end of the year.
*personal note: I went on a training seminar early in my career with PTTECH. It was understood Engineering should have the gold sticker as having the highest score. Well, my score was inverted and I got a 89 instead of 98 which meant I didn’t the highest score. I had it changed but never got the gold sticker star, so at the end of the year meeting the president bought a ball cap and had sown on it a gold star and gave it to me as an award-in front of everyone. This is some of the funny thing that they do.

7. Improving Team performance by: Collaboration
Opinions are more easily expressed in a leaner organization.
PT Tech collectively meets with all of its employees every two weeks, via a luncheon, paid for by the company.
Lunch meetings are a time to praise employees that have worked in earnest to achieve desired company outcomes, even if they have failed in doing so.
All regularly scheduled meetings generate meeting notes stored in shared company directories.
*At any time I can walk into the CEO office and share my thoughts or concerns.
* All drawings, FAI, I&M, meeting notes can be view by everyone on our server.

8. Improving Team performance by: Success Sharing
Employees participating in the ESOP have signed on for “success sharing”.
4 years ago, we informed employees we planned to start a new venture…the idea was suggested by an employee.
One way we promote team performance is through a reward system aimed at patenting of new products. In our company’s history, we’ve been granted 21 patents.
Success sharing – is big financially for PTTech employees. If the team wins everyone will win.
*Employee in purchasing recognized an opportunity and his voice was heard. As a team everyone helped get this second company going. Now a profitable company.
*Working as a team allow me to receive a patent for an electromagnetic brake.

9. For Engineering, ISO procedures helps in communication.
Improving Team performance by: Playbook Approach (opens up communications)
ISO implementation helped us to create a “playbook” for Engineering
For Engineering, ISO procedures helps in communication.
Some people get tense when you say ISO implementation. But from my point a view it has opened up communication between all departments. As you can see on the next slide Engineering uses a Design Plan worksheet to accomplice the goals.

10. Design Plan Worksheet
DPW forces conversation between Customer, Sales, Engineer, Manufacture, Shop, Testing, installation, customer feed back. A review with the appropriate people will be done all along the way of the product design. Accomplishing good communication and Team work will help the product meet the customers expectations.

12. Resource List
“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, Stephen R. Covey
“Increasing Human Effectiveness”, Managing Asset Potential,