Manufacturing Skills Queensland

Teys Bros successfully used the Probe for People and Leadership (PLP) assessment tool to better understand employee issues and establish a broader staff development program.

Teys Bros achievements

used PLP to gain data from four separate sites
obtained input cross-functional representatives to obtain comprehensive data
because of PLP, Teys Bros implemented:
- professional feedback program
- better salary sacrificing
- staff career advice
- more toolbox talks
- CEO presentations on company vision and objectives

Family-owned Teys Bros Pty Ltd originated in 1946 when four Teys brothers, who owned butcher shops in Brisbane, bought a slaughter yard at Beenleigh, south of the city, to supply their customers. Today the company employs more than 2,500 staff at export beef processing plants at Beenleigh, south of Brisbane, Rockhampton and Biloela, in central Queensland, and Naracoorte, in South Australia. It operates a 30,000-head feedlot, a tannery, wholesaling divisions and a value-adding arm, Teys Food Services, which makes export-quality packaged beef portions.

Australia’s largest family-owned beef processor and exporter says encouraging staff to be as candid as possible in identifying ways to improve the company’s people management has paid dividends.

Queensland-based Teys Bros Pty Ltd engaged the skills division of QMI Solutions, Manufacturing Skills Queensland (MSQ), to help it pinpoint where and how it should lift its game in managing employees and using their skills.

David Matthews, Teys Bros General Manager, Human Resources said MSQ used a benchmarking tool known as Probe for Leadership and People (PLP) to determine how the company ranked internationally against others in the same industry sector.

The PLP program, designed to deliver a culture shift in the company, focused on middle management. "We wanted the views of middle management because they have the most influence with people in the work force and could influence change with employees the most," Matthews said.

MSQ was engaged initially to deliver the PLP program at Teys Bros’ processing plant at Beenleigh in August 2008. Based on its success, the program was extended to Teys Bros’ other Queensland plants, in Biloela and Rockhampton, in late 2008 and Naracoorte, South Australia, in February 2009.

"We selected a team of people in each location that would give us the best representation," Matthews said. The teams included area managers, quality assurance officers, supervisors, leading hands and some employees training to move into higher positions within the company.

PROBE for People and Leadership

The benchmarking process Probe for Leadership and People is based on the recognition that an organisation’s performance is directly linked to its people management. The assessment tool uses individual questionnaires and group discussions moderated by an independent facilitator from Manufacturing Skills Queensland to determine performance scores across four key areas:

leadership and culture,
employee development,
employee involvement, and
work organisation.

Consensus scores agreed to through the group discussions are analysed and compared with other organisations in a database to:

produce visual representations of how a company compares with others in its industry sector, and
identify the weakest and strongest elements in its practice and performance.

Those selected were involved in a structured process, overseen by MSQ, which required responses to individual questionnaires and group workshops to elicit feedback about the company’s practices and performance.

Matthews said he deliberately sought out employees he knew held firm views about the company’s perceived or real shortcomings. He stressed to each participant the need for an honest assessment of the company. "I spoke to them individually. I told them the process was anonymous and I never wanted to see their individual response forms."

MSQ ran the PLP program for Teys Bros and gave members of the assessment group at each plant a questionnaire requiring 73 responses to carefully designed questions covering aspects of company leadership and culture, employee development and involvement and work organisation.

The questions are based on what is considered to be a world-class human resources model and there are questions relevant to business practices, or what they say they do while other questions focus on business performance.

Survey group participants were given five options to answer each question, ranging from poor to best practice. The questionnaires were completed by individual group members who were later brought together to decide on a consensus score for each of the 73 questions.

Final scores were fed into a computer program containing a results database of more than 2,000 organisations. The program could immediately produce a range of charts and graphs showing where a company stood in relation to others in the same industry, whether it was "world class" at one end of the scale or "rich with opportunity" at the other, and its strengths and weaknesses.

The outcome of the PLP program could be used to chart Teys Bros’ progress in implementing changes. Teys Bros are able to put a peg in the ground showing where they are today and can now be followed up in the future to chart improvements.

Matthews said the PLP process had already seen Teys Bros implement several changes in its employee management practices.

The company was developing a professional feedback and appraisal program and better opportunities for salary sacrificing. It had established a graduate employment program and was responding to requests from staff for more career advice and guidance.

"We need to find out what they want to learn; what they want to know. It’s important, because the two things we need in our industry are cattle and people."

Matthews said communication within the company was a key area where improved performance already had been evident.

"People are dealing with each other and interacting better. If they find there is a problem in one area (of operations) that’s now getting communicated quickly and a lot more effectively."

Matthews said past experiences had highlighted a need for change. "We have improved communication by holding more toolbox talks. We make sure they are well controlled and to the point. The toolbox talks have probably been the biggest benefit."

Matthews said the PLP process had identified a lack of understanding of the company’s direction and goals. In response, the company developed presentations for CEO Brad Teys, who visited all company sites to outline the company’s core values and direction.

"We received a lot of positive feedback about that. The CEO did it because, coming from him, it carries a lot of weight," Matthews said.

Historically, communication is usually an area identified as needing improvement. Employees are interested in knowing the direction of the business and want to feel part of it. However, a common problem is that people in management, supervisory or leadership roles work their way up from the shop floor with minimal leadership training to prepare them for the role.

Matthews said he recommended other manufacturers use MSQ and the PLP program. "Much of the information we had previously was anecdotal. We didn’t have anything concrete to hang our hat on," he said.

"We had looked at several other assessment models but felt they didn’t cover as much as was covered by MSQ’s program. With a group approach, we felt we were going to get a better result."

Case Studies

Teys Bros gets to the meat of better employee management

Teys Bros achievements

PROBE for People and Leadership