“Wherever you go in this country, you are going to find a diverse workforce; you have to be able to manage that, and if you can’t you are not going to make it. You’ve got to change the way you work.”
That’s how Larry Vincent, president of Mastex Industries, a Holyoke textile company that lost its traditional business in 1999, summed up the broad subject of diversity and how companies must address it. Over the past eight years, Vincent and his partners, Jeffrey Stream, vice president of Finance, and Israel Schepps, vice president of Quality and TS Certification, have completely changed both the core of the business and the culture of the organization, and with impressive results. Today, Mastex is the nation’s third-largest manufacturer of automotive airbag fabric.
Vincent attributes this success largely to a diverse, though predominantly Puerto Rican/Latino, workforce and to Mastex management that has learned to both accommodate and utilize culturally distinctive characteristics. “All cultures have idiosyncracies to them. You can find out what they are and use them to your benefit,” he said.
With this approach Mastex has reduced absenteeism, turnover, lost-time accidents, low productivity, and the high-scrap issues that plague so many manufacturers.
Communication is the key building block to managing a diverse workforce successfully, said Vincent. When he arrived at Mastex in 1995 as director of Manufacturing, he began holding regular meetings with employees, who are called “associates.”
The meetings are to educate, to mutually inform, and to build trust, he explained, adding that these meetings are two-way: management shares information about the company’s financial position, educating associates how the bottom line actually affects them. Associates, meanwhile, share their needs as well as ideas for solving problems on the floor while management listens and takes action appropriately.
Communication occurs not only in meetings, but constantly, every day; the management team is out on the floor communicating its vision and listening to the workers as they talk about the realities of today, Vincent explained. “You need information from everyone, and that has to be a constant information loop. You’ve got to be able to listen. You can have the best systems, you can have the best machinery, but if you don’t work with people and are not on the same page, it doesn’t matter what color you are, what religion you are. If everybody knows what the rules are and that you are willing to work with them, they’ll pull together.”
Rules are strict at Mastex, and infractions are dealt with immediately and consistently. In times past, for example, when some associates would arrive late or with an obvious hangover, they would be sent home immediately, and their co-workers would have to fill in the gaps. At one point, the company’s best technician was fired for insubordination, although it created production difficulties. He was eventually allowed back and is today a strong leader and productive worker; in fact, he was recently sent to Spain to purchase new machinery and then led the installation team.
Strict enforcement of the rules, tempered by respect and understanding, allows associates to be clear about what is expected of them and to be successful in their jobs. “It’s a win-win for everyone,” said Vincent.
Treating people with respect and understanding is also a key to success with this workforce. “Respeto” is a uniquely defining characteristic of Puerto Rican/Latino culture having to do with the basic right of all humans to be treated with dignity and deference. A breach of “respeto” may have severe consequences for relationships, including a rupture.
At Mastex the basic principle of respect shows up at shift change when the president shakes workers’ hands each day; when the workers shake one another’s hands as they arrive or depart; in the strict prohibition against yelling by anyone, including management; and in the constant attention to saving the person’s face if there are performance issues to be addressed.
While such issues are handled directly, the person is treated with dignity and is never demeaned. The result is a working environment that encourages the best from everyone, said Vincent, with few workers wanting to leave; turnover is less than 2%.
Mastex is a high-technology company with QS9000, ISO9002, and TS16949 certifications but does not require new hires to speak, read, or write English, nor to have a particular level of education. The company develops its own workforce with peer instruction and on-the-job training. Accommodating their strong visual and oral learning orientation, training and instructions are given orally and repetitiously, pictures are used wherever needed, and computers have touchscreen capabilities. Process flow charts depicting operators, machines, and documents are hung throughout the plant and are used as training aids and daily reminders. Associates know exactly where they are in the process flow, how they need to react, and what they need to do for documentation.
Math and language skills are developed in the context of the job. According to Vincent, people know the rudiments of math; if something is wrong with their paychecks, they know in a heartbeat. Mastex takes the basic knowledge that people come with and expands it on the job. Within six months or so, new hires’ language and math skills improve dramatically. Vincent recognizes that formal classrooms could be intimidating and demeaning to this largely unschooled, male Latino workforce, so employees learn very effectively on the job and from their peers.
Absenteeism and tardiness were an issue for Mastex in years past. By observing, asking, and mostly listening, Vincent said he and his managers eventually understood that coming to work every day at a set hour is extremely stressful, particularly for his Puerto Rican workforce.
The daily work grind is stressful for everyone, regardless of culture, but for dominant U.S. (Anglo) culture, work is its own virtue. In fact, Anglo culture instills such a strong work value that a person’s identity is associated with what they do for a living.
It is expected that in a clash between work and some other pull, work will prevail. On the other hand, Latino culture emphasizes the value of relationships and accountability to one’s affinity group. In a clash between the needs of work and the group, it is expected that the group will prevail. As one woman put it, “I have only one mother. If she needs me, I’ll be there. If I lose my job, I’ll find another one.”
Capitalizing on the Latino strength of participation and peer accountability in affinity groups, Mastex has created and developed strong, self-directed work groups by shift and by work area. Each group has a set of benchmarks in production, quality, attendance, and turnover (which they now help set) and is accountable for these benchmarks. Members of work groups are cross-trained and, therefore, take up any slack in case of absences. Being a part of a group helps mitigate the stress of the daily work grind, and accountability to peers helps motivate everyone to come to work.
Today, Mastex is running a 24/7 operation with no management or supervision after 6 p.m. or on Sundays. While still a challenge, absenteeism is no longer a major factor, with attendance at 75% of scheduled days.
Lost-time accidents are no longer a major issue, either; in fact, Mastex has not suffered one in the past four years. The change came through a series of associates’ meetings when the associates suggested drug tests be given for any reported incident, including for management. That, with ongoing education and awareness, has reduced workers’ compensation costs from $500,000 each year to $38,000 today. Work groups are accountable for their safety records and work together to keep themselves accident-free.
These work groups are led by group leaders rather than supervisors. Again, by listening and learning about their Latino workers, management understood that becoming a supervisor (member of management) was not desirable or even acceptable to this community. People who stand above or outside of the group are ostracized by their peers both at work and in the neighborhood.
Yet, natural leaders do emerge and are recognized and utilized by management. These naturally selected leaders are gradually given more responsibility and more compensation until they become acknowledged group leaders. At Mastex today, there are group leaders and managers, but no supervisors in the traditional sense.
A remarkable asset of this workforce is its response to crises. They rally together and do whatever it takes to solve the problem. For example, in December 2000, the company experienced a major fire that nearly closed down the plant just days before Christmas. Many associates had plans to go to Puerto Rico, but without being asked, they cancelled their vacations, worked 24 hours a day, and within one week the plant was up and running again. At another time illness swept through the plant affecting many people. Employees organized themselves and covered for one another, and production didn’t skip a beat.
Constant routine day in and day out is also stressful. According to Vincent, when things are humming along smoothly, associates become anxious and begin to experience issues. Management utilizes their rallying strength and problem-solving abilities by posing complex or immediate problems that need to be solved in order to keep a customer or meet a deadline. Management occasionally interrupts the daily routine by having a work group meet in the president’s office, or by buying pizza for lunch or creating other spontaneous activities.
Work groups are encouraged to make decisions on their own, tapping into their strengths and creativity. Mistakes are acknowledged and used as a learning tool.
With an atmosphere of accepting mistakes and learning from them rather than being blamed for them, associates feel free to make suggestions and the work groups to make decisions based on their hands-on knowledge. The company benefits greatly from employees’ collective intelligence. For example, the loom-weaving machine was originally engineered to cut the fabric before the end of the run, leaving approximately 30% waste. Mastex technicians designed and installed a modification that eliminated the need to cut the fabric and turn it into first-quality product. The modification reduced waste to 5% and was so successful, the original equipment manufacturer has adopted it. In fact, the problem-solving skills of Mastex’ workforce have resulted in a remarkable overall quality of 2.5% for 2006.
Mastex shares its good fortune with its workforce in a variety of ways. Associates have low-cost (to them) health and dental benefits, they were recently awarded two paid personal leave days (increased from one), and are occasionally recipients of bonuses in good years. Awards for a job well-done are occasionally given: gift certificates for restaurants, YMCA events, sports or movie tickets. Ever-concerned about building employee’s confidence and self-esteem, Mastex’s awards always include family members, so that they know how successful their spouse or parent is.
While much of Mastex’s approach is simply good management in this complex age, its ability to discover and capitalize on the cultural strengths of its largely Puerto Rican/Latino workforce is somewhat extraordinary, and Vincent said it should also be inspirational. Other business owners can achieve similar results, but only if they are willing to make a full commitment.
“You have to change the way you work,” he explained. “You have to customize to the human resources you are dealing with. You have to be willing to listen, to understand what’s important to the workers. You have to have a commitment, and they have to believe in your commitment.
“It takes time and effort, and you’ve got to stay on top of it,” he added. “It doesn’t happen overnight, but in the long run it’s worth it. We have something very special with these guys. They are growing every day.”