Finding the people with the right behaviors is key. Yet bring good people into a bad system and you get bad results. Bring mediocre people (if there is such a thing) into a great system and you can get great results. So, do you have a good or a bad system? How do you know? Ask and study. Look at your metrics of turnover, absenteeism, injuries, leaves of absences, and employee relations data. You probably already know which departments (managers) have the biggest problems – but data is always better than hunches.
Track the stats. Does the data show stability? Can you predict to high confidence level the outcome of the system. Is the system stable? For example, can you predict that 3 to 5 people will leave the company every month? Can you predict that you will have 2 to 3 leave requests per month? Can you predict that on any given shift you can predict 2 tardies and 1 absentee? Of course you can!
Break it down. Next, disaggregate the data. Comapare across plants, departments, shifts, managers, etc… Does it point you in a particular location? Of course it does, and it simply validated your initial hunches!
Map the process. Next “go see”. As best as you can – find out what it is like to work in that department. Review exit interviews. Do some probing. Track the experience of a new hire through the first few hours, days, months. Study the “high performers”. Why do some flourish and others can’t wait to get out?!? It could be the work, but it is likely the system of management is use. Fix it.