Communication is key in Haiti

There is often a distrust between workers and employers and Better Work has found incidences of verbal abuse, bullying, and even sexual harassment indicating the need to equip supervisors with the skills to manage effectively. “Verbal abuse in particular appears when supervisors are under a lot of stress and don’t know how to handle all the different expectations placed on them”, said Louis Edher Decoste, a Training Officer for Better Work Haiti.

How to address workers is one of the topics of the Supervisory Skills Training, as Louis Edher explained: “Participants are trained to avoid a passive or authoritarian style of leadership and to strike a fair balance between the interests of the company and the interests of staff”.

The Supervisory Skills Training is designed to give supervisors and middle managers a deeper understanding of important leadership and supervision concepts. The training is held over three days. The first two days are consecutive and the third day usually takes place a while afterwards so that supervisors can come back and share their experience in applying their new knowledge and skills in the workplace.

It doesn’t take long for both supervisors and workers feel the difference: “On the third day when supervisors come back and share their stories, the majority give details of how little changes in their behaviour, tone and approach can have a huge impact and help them motivate workers but also keep good relations with them”, said Louis Edher.

Both Dorival Kesnord and Dassou Arsene took the training and felt more equipped to communicate with their colleagues. “Thanks to this training, I can now say that I am a professional. I learned how to communicate in the workplace; to listen to people. All the things I discovered in the training help me both at home and work”, said Dassou.

Dorival thinks his improved relationship with the workers has also called the attention of his superiors: “Before I took this training I used to fire people without taking the time to resolve problems. But now I feel more comfortable with myself. I learnt how to communicate with the workers and we get along better. My superior is happier with the job I am doing too.”

Communication is key in Haiti

There is often a distrust between workers and employers and Better Work has found incidences of verbal abuse, bullying, and even sexual harassment indicating the need to equip supervisors with the skills to manage effectively. “Verbal abuse in particular appears when supervisors are under a lot of stress and don’t know how to handle all the different expectations placed on them”, said Louis Edher Decoste, a Training Officer for Better Work Haiti.

How to address workers is one of the topics of the Supervisory Skills Training, as Louis Edher explained: “Participants are trained to avoid a passive or authoritarian style of leadership and to strike a fair balance between the interests of the company and the interests of staff”.

The Supervisory Skills Training is designed to give supervisors and middle managers a deeper understanding of important leadership and supervision concepts. The training is held over three days. The first two days are consecutive and the third day usually takes place a while afterwards so that supervisors can come back and share their experience in applying their new knowledge and skills in the workplace.

It doesn’t take long for both supervisors and workers feel the difference: “On the third day when supervisors come back and share their stories, the majority give details of how little changes in their behaviour, tone and approach can have a huge impact and help them motivate workers but also keep good relations with them”, said Louis Edher.

Both Dorival Kesnord and Dassou Arsene took the training and felt more equipped to communicate with their colleagues. “Thanks to this training, I can now say that I am a professional. I learned how to communicate in the workplace; to listen to people. All the things I discovered in the training help me both at home and work”, said Dassou.

Dorival thinks his improved relationship with the workers has also called the attention of his superiors: “Before I took this training I used to fire people without taking the time to resolve problems. But now I feel more comfortable with myself. I learnt how to communicate with the workers and we get along better. My superior is happier with the job I am doing too.”

Improved relationships in Nicaragua

Can you imagine suddenly having to manage about 45 people with no supervisory experience and without having more than an hour or two of instruction? It’s a daunting prospect, isn’t it? Better Work’s mission in Nicaragua is to develop a new generation of skilled supervisors who can build positive relationships with their workers to help improve the entire industry, explains Edgard Zuniga, a trainer for Better Work Nicaragua.

This is a reality for more than 2000 supervisors working in Better Work factories in Nicaragua. The vast majority of these supervisors were originally line workers who were asked to transition to supervisory roles almost overnight.

Supervisors play a key role in the factory. “Having good supervisory skills can improve the working life of staff and promote harmony and productivity in the workplace. Before joining Better Work in 2011, I was an auditor for a private company. I saw workers leave one factory because a newer factory was offering more money. But shortly afterwards, they came back to work in the first factory. When I asked why they had returned, they told me it was because of better supervisors in the original factory. This taught me that workers are not just evaluating jobs in terms of money: they want to work in factories where supervisors communicate well with them and treat them with the respect they deserve”, explains Edgard.

Edgard and the Better Work Nicaragua Team are providing Supervisory Skills Training which teaches supervisors about how to influence people, developing a positive attitude, and understanding of fairness, listening, building relationships, conflict resolution, praising, instructing and more.

“We’ve had great feedback from training participants. Some factories said improved relations between supervisors and workers are increasing productivity. Yet the impact it is having on individuals is even more even important to me. One factory tells us that a couple of supervisors were promoted afterwards; others are saying that the working environment is smoother and conflicts are being reduced”, concluded Edgard.

Building empathy in Indonesia

Sudarmi works as a Chief Supervisor in the Sewing Department at a garment factory in Bogor, West Java. Her subordinates include four supervisors and hundreds of sewing operators. She admits that working in a garment factory has its challenges, including interpersonal relationships.

“I didn’t know how to communicate effectively with my subordinates, let alone inspire them. I sometimes became very aggressive and upset when I face problems at work,” Sudarmi said.

She also acknowledges the burden of her workload, exasperated by physical and mental weariness and demands to meet buyer targets. All that considered, she decided to register for Better Work Indonesia’s Supervisory Skill Training.

“Through the training, I feel like I had a certain enlightenment. I came to an awareness about the importance of communication in achieving success. The top management, junior managers, supervisors, and sewing operators are not machines. We carry out more than just our jobs, but we also interact with one another,” Sudarmi later said.

Upon the completion of the training, Sudarmi gathered all the supervisors and discussed possible methods of improvement to work performance and productivity.

Upon the completion of the training, Sudarmi gathered all the supervisors and discusses possible methods of improvement to work performance and productivity.

“I used to be less sensitive to the problems they encounter. Through more open communication, I realised that some sewing operators have weaknesses in their sewing skills, which may have led them to feel frustrated. I conducted various discussions with my fellow supervisors, and we decided to organize a training on sewing skills to enhance the skills of the operators,” Sudarmi explained.

Sudarmi’s proposal received a positive response from the operators working under her. She and other fellow workers believe that skill enhancement will boost their self-confidence in accomplishing their tasks and the challenges in their work productivity will now be gradually overcome.

Dassou Arsene also took the training in Indonesia. “Thanks to this training, I can now say that I am a professional. I learned how to communicate in the workplace; to listen to people. All the things I discovered in the training help me both at home and work”, said Dassou.

The factory managers have also noticed changes in supervisors’ behaviour, in and outside of work. “Changes also happened in the more personal front. Many participants described applying their Supervisory Skills Training knowledge to their family situation and have seen significant improvements. Family relationships are improving and kids feel more appreciated”, said one factory manager.

Collective efforts in Lesotho

Even though Mpho Likonela knew he was lucky to have a job given Lesotho’s high unemployment rate, until recently, the textile factory worker awoke most mornings overcome by a feeling of dread. Each day he went to work in the factory’s cutting section, the 33-year-old was subjected to verbal abuse by a short-tempered supervisor. If Mpho cut the wrong piece of material or laid out fabric incorrectly, he was rudely reprimanded in front of his co-workers by the supervisor.

“I sometimes wished I could call in sick just to have a day without an encounter with him,” Mpho recalled, before adding, “but alas, even a day’s worth of wages is something I cannot afford to miss. I have a wife and two children that I have to take care of, and every cent I make counts.”

The constant criticism demotivated Mpho and affected not only his self-esteem, but also his work performance. He remembers thinking that if only his boss would teach him to do the problematic tasks correctly, maybe the work environment could improve, and he would stop making silly mistakes.

However, just when his work situation appeared desperate, Better Work Lesotho, started to engage with Mpho’s employers and the environment began to improve.

Better Work Lesotho’s report at the time, which covers 14 factories, revealed that “workers in 11 factories were being verbally harassed by supervisors who use inappropriate, offensive language in their communication with workers.”

To address this pervasive challenge, a Supervisory Skills training course was rolled out, focusing on people skills, such as effective communication, motivation of workers and creating a friendly working environment. It quickly became one of the most successful courses in Better Work’s curriculum.

Mpho claims that when his supervisor came back from the Better Work Supervisory Skills training, he was acting very differently. He was more humble and approached his staff with respect, which prompted many of them to question why the training hadn’t happened earlier.

“His new approach has made a whole lot of difference in the cutting section. When there is a problem, our supervisor will call us as a team and point out the mistake. We will discuss as a team what went wrong, and the possible solutions. We take care of the quality of the work we produce, as we now understand that it is a collective effort”, said Mpho.

Dialogue between workers and managers in Vietnam

Bent forward, her elbows resting on one of her worker’s sewing table, Tu Thi Huyen Trang holds a piece of fabric in her hand that is going to become the back pocket of a pair of jeans, sold in department stores from Los Angeles to Tokyo. She points at the thread that lines around the fabric and discusses with her colleague how it should be sewn onto the pants.

Trang works as production supervisor at the Thuan Phuong textile factory located in District 6 of bustling Ho Chi Minh City, overseeing more than one hundred workers in the sewing department.

After two years at the factory, Trang got promoted to group leader then a few years later she was made a production supervisor, responsible for assisting the everyday work of over 100 garment workers. With a modest smile, Trang explains: “I was very happy when I got promoted but also a little worried whether I could live up to the expectations”.

Among many different types of professional development, Better Work offers Supervisory Skills Training, which teaches supervisors to mediate between workers and management more effectively and strike a fair balance between the interests of the company and the interests of the staff. This training has served her well, especially in one particular instance.

At the Thuan Phuong factory, which has implemented a piece-rate salary, one of the workers’ biggest concern is receiving a decent remuneration at the end of each month. “Last year we received a very difficult order with many details, which required a lot of attention and time. As a result the productivity of my production line decreased significantly. My workers were very concerned that they would not get paid much at the end of the month,” said Trang with a serious look on her face. “So I went to see the management team, who asked me to talk to the workers and advise them to do as well as possible. At the end of the month the management decided to double the workers’ salary. I was very happy and proud and felt that the workers trusted me even more after that,” stated Trang as her face lights up.

Skills for beyond the workplace in Jordan

In Jordan, participants of the Supervisory Training Skills said they noticed their communication skills improved considerably. “After just two days of training, my workers told me that they notice a difference in way I communicate with them, and in my overall attitude”, stated Evan Mestarihi.

Mohammad Irfan, a factory coordinator who also took the training, has noticed the training has affected supervisors not only in the workplace. “This training makes supervisors better people – and not only in the workplace”.

To Farhan Ifram, a manager in Jordan, the training has “narrowed the gap between theory and practice and broadened the minds of participants”.

New working ways in Cambodia

In Cambodia, both workers and managers have welcomed the skill-set acquired by supervisors. “Before the training, if supervisors could not solve a problem they would just report to the department head, but after the training they knew how to solve the problem themselves”, pointed out Zhang Min, an assistant factory manager.

Dan Lay Eang, a worker in Cambodia, now has a better relationship with her supervisor. “Before the training, when my supervisor saw something wrong she would complain again and again. Since the training, she has stopped complaining and now explains how to do the work properly”.

Supervisors in Cambodia agree. “The training has changed the way we work, especially our attitudes, teaching us to be more patient. We realise we don’t have to behave in a win-lose manner. Now we try to find a solution that is good for management as well as workers” said Kung Leakhena, who also took the training.