Undercover Boss: A Fictionalized Case Study

Harvard Business Review

20 Feb 201904:23

Summary

TLDRQuintero Hayashi, the president of Rising Sun Airlines' ground division, goes undercover as a ground crew member to understand the challenges in meeting the ideal 12-minute turn time for planes. He discovers that the crew struggles with efficiency and coordination, and that attrition rates are high due to temporary workers not staying long. Hayashi's observations lead to discussions about hiring more staff, improving training and wages, and implementing technology for better oversight. However, he is still searching for a creative and cost-effective solution to streamline the process.

Takeaways

🛫 Quintero Hayashi, the president of RSA, is facing challenges with the ground crews' efficiency in servicing planes at airports across Japan.
🕒 The ideal turn time for servicing a plane is 12 minutes, but the current average is 18 minutes.
🔍 Ken, a manager, goes undercover as a member of the ground crew to understand the workers' perspective and identify issues affecting efficiency.
🧹 Ground crews are tasked with cleaning planes, including clearing seat packages, wiping food trays, and vacuuming seats.
👥 Ken's team, consisting of six members, manages to turn a Boeing 787 in 18 minutes, which is above the ideal time.
📈 Turn times vary among different crews, with some achieving as low as 16 minutes, indicating potential for improvement.
🗣️ 'Ladies Stop Watch' is a nickname for a manager who uses a stopwatch to keep the crew on pace, highlighting the pressure to meet turn times.
🔑 Ken observes that the crew's performance improves when they are well-coordinated, suggesting the importance of teamwork and management.
📉 Attrition rates have risen, and temporary workers are hired, but they tend not to stay long, indicating a potential issue with job satisfaction or conditions.
💡 Ken is considering various solutions, including hiring more workers, improving training and wages, enhancing supervision, or investing in technology.
🤔 Despite the undercover experience, Ken is still searching for creative and cost-effective solutions to reduce turn time without a clear answer.

Q & A

Who is Quintero Hayashi and what is his role in the company?
-Quintero Hayashi is the president of RSA, a division of Rising Sun Airlines, responsible for servicing the company's planes at airports across Japan.
What is the ideal turn time for an RSA flight?
-The ideal turn time for an RSA flight is 12 minutes.
Why did Ken go undercover as a member of the ground crew?
-Ken went undercover to understand the workers' perspective and identify why they aren't meeting the ideal turnaround time.
What was Ken's first assignment as a member of the ground crew?
-Ken's first assignment was cleaning planes at Narita International Airport, which involved clearing seat packages, wiping food trays, and vacuuming seats.
What is the average turn time for the crew that Ken joined?
-The crew that Ken joined helps turn a Boeing 787 in 18 minutes on average.
Who is Toshi and what does he think about the crew size?
-Toshi is a recent hire who joined the crew a month ago. He believes the crew needs to be bigger, especially for larger planes like the 747.
What is the nickname given to the manager by the crew and why?
-The manager is nicknamed 'Ladies Stop Watch' by the crew because she shouts up the time to help them keep pace.
What is the attrition rate issue that Ken observed in the crew?
-Ken observed that attrition rates have risen in the past year, with many temporary workers hired to fill in but not staying long-term.
What is the secret to Naboo's success in turning planes quickly?
-Naboo is regarded as an expert in the crew and has tricks to turn planes quickly, although these tricks are not in the manual.
What suggestions did Ken make after his undercover experience?
-Ken suggested hiring more crewmembers, providing better training and higher wages, and ensuring stronger oversight of the teams.
What is the alternative solution proposed to Ken's suggestions and why is it considered?
-An alternative solution proposed was to use technology, specifically wearable tracking devices, to monitor employee performance. This is considered to be a one-time investment that could achieve the same result without a huge budget increase.
What is the main challenge Ken faces in finding a solution to reduce turn time?
-Ken's main challenge is finding a creative and less costly way to solve the problem of reducing turn time, as the suggestions made so far involve significant budget increases.

Outlines

00:00

🕵️ Undercover Boss at Rising Sun Airlines

Quintero Hayashi, the president of RSA, a division of Rising Sun Airlines, goes undercover as a ground crew member to understand why the crew is struggling to meet the ideal 12-minute turn time for planes. Despite increased flight frequency, the ground crews are unable to clean, check, restock, and refill planes quickly enough. Hayashi's goal is to find a solution that could involve hiring more workers, improving efficiency with better supervision, or finding a cost-effective technical solution. He learns firsthand about the challenges faced by the workers and the need for a better understanding of their perspective.

🛫 The Reality of Ground Crew Work

The script introduces the audience to the daily tasks of the ground crew, including cleaning planes at Narita International Airport. The crew, including recent hire Masquerading and experienced worker Nambu Oh, face the pressure of tight turn times. The crew's average turn time is 18 minutes, and they discuss the difficulty of cleaning larger planes like the 747 within the desired time frame. The script highlights the high attrition rate and the reliance on temporary workers, who often leave quickly, contributing to the ongoing challenges.

🕒 The Struggle with Turn Times

The narrative focuses on the crew's efforts to improve their turn times, with 'Ladies Stopwatch' urging the team to keep pace. The crew faces the challenge of coordinating their work effectively to meet the target times. Ken, the undercover boss, works hard to improve his own turn times, but he also observes that competition and recognition for the best cleaner do not significantly impact the overall team performance. He concludes that better coordination and possibly more managers for oversight could be part of the solution.

💡 Seeking Innovative Solutions

After his undercover experience, Ken presents his findings to the board. He suggests hiring more crew members and providing better training and wages to improve retention and efficiency. However, the board is concerned about the budget implications and suggests using technology, such as wearable tracking devices, as a one-time investment to monitor employee performance. Ken is left contemplating whether there might be more creative and less costly solutions to the problem, indicating that the experiment has not yet yielded a clear answer.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡President

A president is the highest-ranking officer in a company or organization, often responsible for major decisions and overseeing operations. In the script, Quintero Hayashi is the president of RSA, the ground division of Rising Sun Airlines, and is faced with the challenge of improving the efficiency of ground crews.

💡Ground Crew

Ground crews are teams of workers responsible for servicing aircraft on the ground, including cleaning, refueling, and restocking. In the video, they are struggling to meet the ideal turn time, which is a critical issue for the airline's operations.

💡Turn Time

Turn time refers to the time it takes to prepare an aircraft for its next flight after it has arrived. The ideal turn time in the script is 12 minutes, but the average time has been longer, indicating inefficiencies in the ground crews' work.

💡Undercover

Going undercover means working secretly within a group to observe their activities without revealing one's true identity. Ken, the president, goes undercover as a ground crew member to understand the challenges his employees face firsthand.

💡Efficiency

Efficiency is the degree to which an activity is performed with the least waste of time and effort. The script discusses the need for the ground crews to be more efficient to reduce turn times and improve overall performance.

💡Attrition Rates

Attrition rates refer to the rate at which employees leave a company, often voluntarily. The script mentions that attrition rates have risen, indicating a high turnover of ground crew members, which could be affecting the efficiency of the teams.

💡Temporary Workers

Temporary workers are employees who work for a limited period and are often hired to fill short-term needs. The script notes that many temporary workers have been hired to compensate for the increased attrition rates, but they tend not to stay long-term.

💡Wearable Tracking Devices

Wearable tracking devices are technology that can monitor an employee's performance, often used to improve efficiency and productivity. In the script, one suggestion to improve turn times is to invest in these devices to monitor the ground crews' work.

💡Manager

A manager is a person responsible for overseeing a team or department. In the context of the script, managers are suggested to be hired to provide stronger oversight and coordination of the ground crews to improve efficiency.

💡Coordination

Coordination refers to the organization of the activities of a group to work together effectively. Ken observes that teams perform best when they are fully coordinated, suggesting that better teamwork could lead to improved turn times.

💡Budget Increase

A budget increase is the allocation of more funds to a particular area of a business. The script discusses the potential need for a budget increase to hire more crewmembers and managers, but there is concern about the impact on shareholder promises.

💡Creative Solutions

Creative solutions are innovative approaches to solving problems. Ken is searching for creative and less costly ways to reduce turn times, indicating a need for out-of-the-box thinking beyond traditional methods.

Highlights

Quintero Hayashi, president of RSA, goes undercover as a ground crew member to understand the challenges faced by workers in meeting the ideal turnaround time for planes.

The ideal turn time for planes is 12 minutes, but the current average time is 18 minutes.

Ground crews are struggling with the increased frequency of flights and the need to clean, check, restock, and refill planes quickly.

Ken, an undercover crew member, helps turn a Boeing 787 in 18 minutes with a six-member team.

Crew member Toshi, who joined a month ago, discusses the difficulty of cleaning a 747 quickly with a small team.

The crew identifies the need for a larger team, especially for bigger planes, to improve turnaround times.

High attrition rates and the hiring of temporary workers are mentioned as issues affecting the efficiency of the ground crews.

Crew member Naboo Oh is recognized as an expert by his peers and is trusted with cleaning the toilets due to his skills.

Ken observes that teams perform best when fully coordinated and that competitions can improve turn times.

The use of wearable tracking devices is suggested as a technological solution to monitor employee performance.

Ken's undercover experience did not yield any creative, less costly solutions to the problem of reducing turn time.

The transcript highlights the importance of understanding the workers' perspective in finding effective solutions to operational challenges.

The crew's performance is evaluated based on the fastest and most efficient cleaner on each turn.

Ladies Stopwatch is a nickname for a manager who keeps the crew on pace by shouting the time.

The transcript suggests that better training, higher wages, and more crewmembers could improve the situation.

The crew's attrition rate is a concern, with many temporary workers not staying long-term.

Ken's observations lead to a discussion about the need for more managers and stronger oversight of the teams.

The board is presented with the dilemma of increasing the budget for more crewmembers versus investing in technology.