Employee Scheduling Becomes Spotlight Issue For U.S. Manufacturers

For Immediate Release - Wednesday, July 16, 2008

In an effort to reduce controllable costs, executives are searching high and low to find new alternatives for cost reduction. Frankly, there aren't a lot of places to look. The largest category of potential cost reduction for most facility is labor and for that reason, management teams are looking for new ways to improve. The website www.corepractice.comis a potential resource for management teams to get started. They offer a half day workshop that covers both best practices and case studies that are industry specific. The only cost of the workshop is travel and the workshop is conducted by someone with over 10 years experience in the field. Employee scheduling is hard enough. Use the workshop to maximize your current assets while reducing controllable costs.

It’s Not About the Money: To improve employee morale and productivity, increasing compensation may be precisely the wrong tack.

For Immediate Release - Thursday, May 29th 2008

The COO of a leading international manufacturing company recently called with a problem: He was under considerable stress because he was facing a union drive at one of his plants in Ohio. It was clear to him that employee dissatisfaction there was terribly high and that the union had made significant inroads. He wanted to know how much he had to increase pay and other benefits to make sure the union vote didn’t pass.

We spent the following weeks researching the company’s labor practices and employee attitudes to understand more. The COO was right about one thing: the workers were unhappy, with 72 percent saying things were getting worse on the job. But he was surprised to learn that 77 percent of the employees felt the current pay and benefits were perfectly fine. Increased compensation would not solve the problem. If salaries weren’t right, attrition would be a key indicator, but employees weren’t leaving or threatening to.

So what did the workers want?

Over the past ten years, we’ve conducted an in-depth study into the attitudes of more than 100,000 shift workers at over 150 companies around the world. Through face-to-face surveys taken during work hours, we sought primarily to gather information about what employees like and dislike in their work environment, the changes they hope to see, health and safety issues and how work schedules impact personal lives. Of all the thousands of pieces of data we collected, one stood out: 81 percent of employees surveyed felt that their pay and benefits were adequate. In fact, compensation paled in comparison to good management-employee communications when we determined what really affects productivity. In other words, while most companies try to inflate employees’ morale by shoveling more dollars at them, less expensive strategies will do.

Thus, when we looked into the problems at our client’s company, we were not surprised at our findings. There, 47 percent of the employees surveyed were working more than 11 hours of overtime each week. At some companies, that can be an attractive aspect of the job because it brings in extra income. But in this case, 56 percent didn’t feel that way, saying they were working more overtime than they wanted. And they were particularly negative about the extra time at the plant because, according to 62 percent of the workers, their schedules weren’t sufficiently predictable to permit them to know when they would work and when not. In an employee base populated primarily by single parents, workers were struggling to maintain adequate child care while finding time to spend with their kids.
Based on this information, we were able to immediately convince the COO to implement plans for more consistent schedules that met the needs of the employees as well as the imperatives of flexibility and cost for the business. We rejiggered the traditional eight-hour, five-day workweek into 12-hour shifts over six days and staggered employees among the shifts. In so doing, the COO could be certain of having enough people available to put in the extra time necessary to produce a new consumer food product that was in high demand. Fluctuations in volume could be handled by adding a Sunday shift, while still giving employees three days off each week. The employees, in turn, would know precisely when they would be putting in their 40 hours each week. In addition, the COO could offer those with special childcare concerns the option of volunteering for weekend shifts. Within months of implementing this policy, cost per unit and output per employee improved while absenteeism and labor costs dropped.

Improving schedules was only part of the solution. Like many other large businesses, the company had fostered an “us vs. them” attitude among the workers towards management, which made employees less than enthusiastic about pursuing the organization’s goals. This attitude was driven by management’s tendency to make changes at the factory after consulting only a small, hand-selected group of employees, leaving out the vast majority of shift workers. As a result, the survey revealed that a mere 26 percent of the shift workers felt that the management team cared about the employees, a full 13 percent below the norm in the databank created by our numerous surveys, and just 19 percent believed the management team communicated well with employees. Meanwhile, 52 percent of employees said they did not feel like they were an essential part of the company.

Some of these results reflected workers’ perception and not reality. For example, as evidence of senior management taking them for granted, the workers offered the disparity in the amount of time spent on the job. They wondered why they were at the plant nights and weekends while senior managers were only there Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. The managers countered that, in fact, they worked at least 55 hours every week, but they were in their offices and not easily visible to the assembly lines. “It’s not a big deal,” one of the managers said. “The workers on the floor just don’t understand.”

Perhaps, but that attitude only exacerbated the sentiment that the front office doesn’t care about the shop floor employees. A lack of communication was also to blame: Senior managers typically didn’t approach employees for their input about operations and factory changes or their thoughts about their jobs because they feared the worst – that they would be asked to tackle a complex, painful alteration of some time-worn procedure or subject to a diatribe about working conditions. Moreover, scheduled monthly update meetings usually failed to address employee concerns. Although factory workers said they liked sitting down for a half hour, eating doughnuts, drinking coffee, and getting paid for it, they admitted that they would prefer to have managers show up at the assembly line more frequently at random times so they could see and hear first-hand the issues at the front.

Before our employee study, management’s primary ideas to boost morale included adding a new break room and repainting existing ones. This wouldn’t have helped: Our survey found that 74 percent of employees felt that working conditions were good at this facility. But after learning that the core of worker dissatisfaction was related to the growing gap between employees and their managers, the COO changed direction. He instituted a new communications strategy focused on providing information to employees that they felt was useful. As an example, the agenda of the quarterly plant wide update meeting was transformed. Instead of sixty minutes of high level numbers and charts that looked the same each session, the results were condensed so that concerns about work life and other critical employee issues could be addressed. In addition, once every four weeks senior managers were required to work shifts similar to the people that report to them.

With the new schedules and more open communications, the employees were mollified. The vote to unionize was defeated by a large margin. Moreover, the manufacturing firm realized over $1.6 million in cost savings and profit during this process, with $675,000 directly related to morale improvements.
Deterioration of employee satisfaction is a slippery slope. Productivity is the first to suffer, but it certainly isn’t the only aspect of the business affected. Turnover, training costs, product quality and attendance are also heavily hit. Most companies make the mistake of thinking that throwing money at labor challenges is the only sure solution. In the short term, that may be true. But for a sustainable program, with a continuing return on investment, something much more creative – born of listening closely to what the employees say they want – is the only real option.

Resources

John Frehse, “Shift Worker Productivity Need Not Be an Oxymoron,” s+b, Leading Ideas Online, 6/5/07: This article looks at the causes of low productivity and how management teams lack the appropriate knowledge and skills to solve this problem. http://www.strategy-business.com/li/leadingideas/li00028?pg=all

T.H. Monk and S. Folkard, Making Shiftwork Tolerable (CRC, 1992): This guide examines the experiences of shift workers and the workplace problems they encounter. http://www.amazon.com/Making-Shiftwork-Tolerable-T-Monk/dp/0850668220

Tom Rankin, New Forms of Work Organization: The Challenge for North American Unions (University of Toronto Press, 1992): Details the changing world for unions, new compensation practices and the difficult environment for shift workers in North America in the late 20th century. http://www.amazon.com/New-Forms-Work-Organization-Challenge/dp/0802073980/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210904728&sr=1-2

David Wainwright and Michael Calnan, Work Stress: The Making of a Modern Epidemic (Open University Press, 2002): Explores the unhealthy shift work environment and the psychology behind the epidemic of low paying jobs. http://www.amazon.com/Work-Stress-Making-Modern-Epidemic/dp/0335207073

Core Practice Partners Breaking News: 12 Hour Shifts - this is the Blogger link to similar posts on employee scheduling.

12 Hour Shifts Breakthrough For Employee Scheduling Helps Companies in The U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Improve Morale and Productivity

For Immediate Release - Monday, April 28, 2008

Core Practice Partners has cracked the code. 12 hour shift schedules have tremendous success in some environments, but fail in others. The manufacturing environment can be the same, the demographic can be the same, and the plants can even be across the street from each other, but one may find success with 12 hour shifts while the other fails. Why? Demographics are important as is the type of work environment whether it is a call center, manufacturing plant, mine, or distribution facility. What is more important is the need to get the schedule rotation right (day on and day off pattern or night and day shift rotation or both) and to follow strict change management procedures. Employees need to be involved in the process. The combination of expertise and experience at Core Practice Partners has allowed them to consistently provide successful operations management consulting to Fortune 500 companies around the globe. 12 hour shifts can save companies a lot of money, but if they don't know how to design implement the right solutions, cost savings become stranded.

For more information about Core Practice Partners and their services, please contact John Frehse at 212-534-0539.

Shift Work Discussion Group Highlights Scheduling Issues

For Immediate Release - Friday, March 28, 2008

The new Shift Work Scheduling Discussion Group located at the site titled Scheduling Center of Excellence is highlighting the lack of information available to management teams regarding shift schedule management, schedule creation, and flexible schedules. Health and safety issues are also taking a top position of interest in the blog. Because it is a completely free community, all levels of organizations are participating. Both shift workers and mangers and VP level executives are asking questions and getting real answers.

The site, managed by Core Practice Partners LLC, has provided a bridge between employees and managers and is slowly removing the "us vs. them" mentality of those that are participating.

Chinese Labor Market Feels Growing Pains- Core Practice Partners Works The Solution

For Immediate Release: March 24, 2008 - Shanghai China

Chinese labor is starting to see signs trouble as the government assigns more rights to shift workers and labor laws grow.

Athough the average factory worker still makes around 1000 RMB (about $140 USD) each month, new rules on firing employees, workweek hours, and overtime constraints are causing some manufacturing companies to look elsewhere.

Americans in the same positions make at least 20 times the Chinese wage rate, but with global competition, this is not enough of a savings. Most manufacturers are producing commodities and the margins are tight. As competitors head to areas like Vietnam to further reduce costs and increase flexibility, others are likely to follow.

Looking globally at this challenge, it is clear that although markets are maturing slowly in places like Taiwan and China, they are in fact maturing. Human rights issues and employee protections are improving the quality of life of impoverished communities around China in the short term. New concerns about neighboring competition may drive jobs out of the country and hurt the Chinese labor market in the longterm.

So, China is viewing Vietnam and others similarly to how America views China - a low cost provider that can hurt jobs.

What happens when we run out of places to go next? The slow evolution of our global economy and the technologies that drive it will and do change the way we do business.

Americans have always said that the world needs ditch diggers, too. That may not be true in 20 years as technologies from companies like Vermeer (in Iowa) replace those jobs.

The fact that Chinese labor is maturing is a good sign for civil rights, but also highlights that civil evolution may be a bad thing for capital markets.

Top Rated Employee Schedules and Employee Scheduling Techniques Recognized By International Institute for Labor Strategy and Kraft Foods

For Immediate Release: February 26, 2008

Past clients and think tanks alike have put their stamp of approval on the Core Practice Partners methodology and results. To highlight the achievements of the company, Ethan Franklin shared some differentiators. “There are other companies that consult on scheduling, but we are truly different. We are comprised of real experts with degrees in law, business, and engineering. Some of our people have degrees in all three areas. There is a difference in being able to draw some interesting schedules and understanding the entire industry. We have the comprehensive skills and experience to get the job done properly.”

Bill Cowell of Core Practice Partners outlined the key points. “Schedule design is the easy part of developing a new schedule. The key to developing the right schedule is to understand the unique aspects of each facility: the operations and labor strategy required to make the business successful, inputs from employees to gain their buy-in, as well as the safety and health aspects. A comprehensive implementation strategy must be developed to ensure that the cost saving benefits are achieved and any potential negative effects of change are eliminated or minimized.”

To highlight expertise and allow customers to look before they leap, Core Practice Partners has recently begun offering their famous Labor Strategy Workshop for free (unless travel is required then that is the only cost). Educating the potential client before they go after various opportunities provides a level of comfort that they appreciate.

Core Practice Partners Employee Scheduling Retreat Uncovers Why Excel Spreadsheets Aren’t the Answer

For immediate release: February 20, 2008

Core Practice Partners, based in New York and Chicago, recently held a two day scheduling retreat for labor management experts from around the world. A hot topic for the retreat was the current trend to use Excel spreadsheets to manage employee schedules. Management teams have long been looking for the silver bullet to make scheduling more effective, and this is the most recent novelty.

John Frehse, Chief Strategist for Core Practice Partners, spent time during his lecture discussing root problems with labor strategy and how the Excel spreadsheet revolution has done more harm than good. “Instead of focusing on core issues like idle time, overtime, employee morale, and general effectiveness management teams are looking at tools to more easily manage a bad system. Correcting the bad schedules needs to be the focus.”

The increased web presence of companies offering free tools for scheduling is creating momentum for things that move managers further away from the real issues. “Understanding the key cost saving and profit making opportunities is the first step,” according to Ethan Franklin, also of Core Practice Partners. “Discovering the schedules that make your employees want to come to work and be productive is step two.” Ethan Franklin has over 10 years experience in the scheduling field and spent over an hour with retreat participants drawing a wide variety of different schedule models. “Many people have forgotten about steps one and two and are busy trying to manage the current inefficient process. We need them to take a step back and do it right,” said Mr. Franklin. “Excel tools are gimmicks that distract us from solving the real problems.”

Core Practice Partners offers a powerful labor strategy workshop that uncovers hidden cost issues and shares best practices. In these workshops, management teams learn real skills to improve scheduling and learn to think differently about these challenges. As retreat participants signed their local management teams up for the workshop, it looked like at least they had gotten the message.

Employees with Shift Work Schedules: Core Practice Partners Releases Top Five Employee Issues Related To Shift Work Environments

For Immediate Release: January 23, 2008

Core Practice Partners, located in Chicago Illinois, has just released the top 5 employee issues relating to environments with shift work schedules. This study was based on extensive research including responses from over 100,000 shift workers in the United States. Considering 81% of the employees told Core Practice Partners they had good pay and benefits, management teams were surprised it wasn’t about the money. 79% of employees felt working conditions were good.

1. 64% of employees feel their schedules aren’t predictable.
2. 61% of employees feel the management team doesn’t care about the shift workers.
3. 58% said they were working more overtime than they wanted.
4. 57% got most of their information through the “grapevine.”
5. 52% felt they were not made to feel part of the organization

Senior Partner John Frehse made it clear that “There is no such thing as the average shift worker, but the trends are pointing to the need for major changes. Managers can take a deep breath knowing that, for the most part, it isn’t about the money. It is, however, about respect for the lifestyle of the shift worker. They have lives too and according to our survey results, management teams aren’t getting it.”

Core Practice Partners recent announcement comes following recent news of other troubling health concerns for shift workers - cancer. The partners at this consulting firm aren’t taking any chances. According to Senior Partner Ethan Franklin, “We need to look at more of a holistic solution for America’s workers. Driving change one dimensionally, thinking of cost savings only will not have lasting success. We need to treat the entire labor crisis in our country, including the people that actually do the work!”

The consultants at Core Practice Partners believe that making this study public will wake management teams up to the realities of the modern shift worker.

Core Practice Partners Announces Methodology For Employee Schedules That Helps Recruit and Retain Shift Workers

For Immediate Release: January 8, 2008

Since the first night shift in history was conceived, the vast majority of employees have not been overly excited about the prospect of shift work. Issues with circadian rhythms, time away from family, and overall stress have all been factors in causing low morale and shift worker turnover. Core Practice Partners believes they have a better way and today from their offices in Chicago announced the three pronged approach to treating shift workers with what they believe is long overdue respect.

Core Practice Partners does focus on business considerations and cost savings for a large portion of the consulting work they do, but employees are also critical according to Senior Partner John Frehse. “Our clients are running businesses and can’t afford to take their eye off the ball. However, they need solutions to improve employee morale and they partner with us to make positive things happen.” After assessing the business requirements, Core Practice Partners works with employees to explore how they want to accomplish the typically wide variety of challenges.

“Employee preferences first must be gathered and analyzed against our extensive database of benchmarks to help guide the process,” according to Senior Project Manager Bill Cowell. Bill works with employees directly to gain feedback and combine employee responses with the needs of the business. Second, Core Practice Partners combines these efforts with education on why change is happening. According to Bill, employees do much better in even difficult change scenarios if they are not kept in the dark about the reasons for change. Finally, health and nutrition education is added so that employees can take advantage of the latest information on shift work and health. According to Mr. Frehse, “We know that shift workers or anyone for that matter will not do everything we teach them when it comes to health and nutrition. Awareness is critical, and at a minimum we are helping employees make strides forward.”

Core Practice Partners, based in Chicago, IL, is the leading consultancy globally on labor strategy in shift work environments.

Employee Schedules That Reduce Potential Night Shift Cancer Risk - A Core Practice Partners Exclusive

For Immediate Release: December 26, 2007

Core Practice Partners has announced new strategies to fight the potential risk of cancer on night shift. The two pronged approach consists of health and nutrition education for shift workers combined with schedules that minimize exposure to night shift hours. Considering night shifts are preferred over afternoon shifts almost 2 to 1 according to the Core Practice Partners benchmark database, finding a way to make them healthier should be a top priority.

According to Senior Partner John Frehse, “The studies on night shift have accelerated acceptance of what we already know. The fear of cancer is causing employers to take action now rather than waiting for the United States to confirm that night shift is indeed a cause for cancer. There is not one silver bullet that makes working a night shift unhealthy, but rather a list of over 100 factors that when combined create a debilitating experience for employees.”

To fight this health crisis, Core Practice Partners has created shift schedules that minimize exposure to working between the hours of 10pm and 6am, the most common hours shift workers would be sleeping if they weren’t working. On traditional 8 hour night shifts employee typically work between 10pm and 6am or 11pm to 7am. This accounts for 5 night shifts each week. Alternatives can bring night shift exposure down 30% without hurting the required business coverage in companies demanding maximum capital utilization.

Alternative schedules are only part of the solution. According to Core Practice Partners exercise, nutrition, and sleep strategies are also critical pieces of the equation. 64 ounce sodas and fast food burgers are common dietary staples of the night shift employee. Few options exist during the night shift hours and the 24 hour drive thru may be the most convenient. Coming off of night shifts, employees are typically exhausted but struggle to find quality sleep. Little education is provided for night shift employees on sleep strategies to improve their quality of life. With the exhaustion associated with poor diet and little sleep, exercise is an unlikely activity for the night shift worker.

The announcement by Core Practice Partners that a holistic approach is now available to improve the quality of life of the shift worker while not adversely impacting the business breaks new ground for companies that want the best for their employees but have aggressive goals for top and bottom line performance.

Employee Schedules: The Top 10 U.S. Management Mistakes of 2007 Released By Core Practice Partners LLC

For Immediate Release: December 17, 2007

Every year Core Practice Partners releases its list of the top scheduling mistakes of the last 12 months. Educating the public has become a major part of the Core Practice mission. The workshops and seminars combined with ongoing project work with companies like Kraft Foods has made this firm a valuable labor strategy resource to the public.

This year’s list had a few newcomers, but most of the issues have stayed the same for the last five years - a real sign that adopting best practices is slow going here in the United States.

1. Copying a schedule from another facility

Many clients this year had at least one schedule that was copied from another facility, either inside their organization or from a competitor. Companies that copy schedules think that because it works somewhere else it has to work for their operation. There are several problems with this thinking. The first is that employee demographics may be different and the schedule may not allow for acceptable employee morale. The second is that demand profiles and other business considerations may not be the same and the schedule won’t provide adequate flexibility. Finally, it may not be working at the facility from where it has been copied and bad practices are being applied.

2. All schedules have one shift length, typically 8 hours

Typically different parts of an organization have different demand profiles and require different coverage. If every part of an organization is working the same schedule, mathematically it is difficult to satisfy the needs of the business (and the employees probably aren’t very happy either). 8 hour shifts are the typical standard and are a tell tale sign of a broken system.

3. Weekend Warrior Crew

The Weekend Warrior is the idea that a group of people can work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on 12-hour shifts and that will allow everyone else to work Monday thru Thursday. There are several problems with this strategy. The first is that skills on weekends are not as strong as the more senior workforce during the week. Turnover is also high on the weekend shift where most people consider it a second job.

4. Keeping Overtime below 8 or 9%

Overtime is an effective tool and based on the fixed labor costs associated with straight time, it can often be less expensive than the first 40 hours. The big enemy in ever company is idle time. In these situations, the fully loaded cost of labor is incurred.

5. Difficulty Flexing Up in High Season and Down in Low Season

Most companies have schedules that are only effective if the volumes don’t change. The problem is that volumes almost always change and flexibility is more important than ever.

6. No understanding of Health and Safety of Days on and Days Off

Many companies refuse to work 12 hour shifts because they feel they are unsafe, but don’t have as much of a problem working 7 shifts in a row (many work 13 shifts in a row during the busy season). This, in many cases, can be more detrimental.

7. Inflexible and Costly HR Policies

Many HR teams do not understand the valuable financial role they play in driving revenue. The HR manual may be the single greatest driver of labor productivity and cost savings if written and managed properly.

8. No Part time / Temporary worker Strategy

For those organizations with high seasonality and less need for skilled employees, not having a part time or temporary work strategy is a huge missed opportunity.

9. Inefficient Break and Lunch Relief

The small things add up and they add up quickly. If you have the wrong break and lunch structure, it may be a mistake you can’t correct.

10. Us vs. Them Mentality

No matter what Core Practice Partners has done in the industry to improve labor relations, companies continue to drive a wedge between their management teams and shift workers. The more shift workers know, the more bought into the company they will be. Without great communication and team work, not only will morale go down, but poor communication will further separate employees from the goals of the company.

Core Practice Partners is the leading expert internationally in labor strategy for companies that don’t work traditional day shift schedules.

Employee Schedules that Improve Morale and Save Money - Impossible?

For Immediate Release - December 13, 2007

With more companies forced to work weekends to improve capital utilization and reduce fixed costs per unit, employee morale is tanking across the country. Most firms have taken their widely accepted 8-hour, Monday – Friday schedules and adapted them to weekend work. In doing so, employees are often working seven shifts in a row, getting single days off, and working 75% of their weekends.

To counteract this trend, Core Practice Partners is working directly with employees and management teams to create better solutions. A recent implementation at a Fortune 500 companies manufacturing operations yielded schedules that gave the employees an extra 13 weeks off a year, half their weekends off (doubled from 25%), and they never worked more than 4 shifts in a row. The employee morale has gone through the roof. Three months after implementation 82% of the workforce says they are satisfied or strongly satisfied with the new schedule compared to 27% before implementation.

How are these types of results possible? The Core Practice Partners methodology includes working directly with management and employees. First, business requirements are understood and a variety of strategies are formulated to maximize results. Next, employees are asked approximately 75 questions about their likes and dislikes to narrow the field of options. By using real business data along with accurate employee feedback Core Practice can create schedules that truly serves both parts of the organization.

The extensive employee survey benchmarks enhance the experience by normalizing employee feedback and comparing it to similar industries and demographics. We can identify data points outside of normal ranges and head off employee morale issues before they happen and turnaround issues that are happening now.

About Core Practice Partners: Core Practice Partners, based in Chicago IL with offices in New York, South Carolina, and California, is the leading consulting firm internationally in Labor Management for companies that don’t work traditional “9 to 5” schedules - in other words, shift workers. Methodology includes analyzing low cost shift work scheduling options, improving employee morale, and using labor strategies to minimize costs in seasonal work environments. For more information contact Susan Satterfield at 212-534-0539 or 866-663-7056.

Night Shift Link to Cancer Further Reinforces Need for Work Life Balancer

For Immediate Release – December 12, 2007

With the recent news that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (the cancer arm of the World Health Organization) was adding overnight shift work as a probable carcinogen, shift workers around the world have been searching for more information. Regardless of what future studies show, few have argued that overnight shifts are healthy. Shift workers need tools to better manage the lifestyle challenges they face.

The Core Practice Partners Work Life Balancer is the tool. This innovative tool analyzes the actual schedules shift workers work and creates a plan to maximize health. The tool shows not just when employees should sleep and wake, but also outlines the best times for various types of exercise, when to enjoy protein or carbohydrate meals, and cautionary advice based on potential scheduling issues.

This low cost option empowers employees to make the right decisions. Employers can never control employee activities outside of work, but the education that is critical to make the right decisions is packed in this valuable tool.

Employees that have already taken advantage of the Work Life Balancer have called it both “eye opening” and “empowering”.

Let the Work Life Balancer help you manage the risks associated with poor health and fatigue. Empower your employees with advice that can both change their lives for the better and improve your bottom line.

Contact John Frehse at Core Practice Partners for more details at 1-866-663-7056 or email him at jfrehse@corepractice.com.

Core Practice Partners Pioneers Employee Morale and Employee Schedules

For Immediate Release – December 6, 2007

On December 4, 2008 Core Practice Partners announced the release of the new CPP Scheduling Database that includes both the top rated workforce schedules in the country, and responses to various employee morale issues.

Senior Partner John Frehse said, "The most recent results will allow our clients to avoid the frequent mistakes made when trying to improve OEE and productivity using labor schedules. Our clients can now accurately predict the success of their initiatives as well as formulate more powerful strategies that directly hit the bottom line."

Ethan Franklin of Core Practice Partners discussed the approach, "Our clients are often quick to talk about spending more money on new capital. We stress the need to review current asset utilization and performance before we can make any recommendations. In many cases we can delay expenditures by improving the current operation. This may include reducing idle time, identifying adverse costs, improving start ups and shut downs, and better matching the workforce to the changing needs of the customer. Flexibility and predictability are often opposing forces in the world of shift work. We have ways of succeeding in both categories at the same time.

"The new database is available starting December 6, 2008 and all advisory and change management services will be updated with this new information. The Core Practice Executive Workshops will also contain this new data.

About Core Practice Partners: Core Practice Partners, based in Chicago IL with offices in New York, South Carolina, and California is the leading consulting firm internationally in Labor Management for companies that don’t work traditional “9 to 5” schedules - in other words, shift workers. Methodology includes analyzing low cost shift work scheduling options, improving employee morale, and using labor strategies to minimize costs in seasonal work environments. For more information contact Susan Satterfield at 212-534-0539 or 866-663-7056.