The eighth waste: non-utilized talent

Abstract

In a changing economic climate, characterized by great pressure to improve productivity and reduce costs, industries use different management approaches, with lean manufacturing being the most popular in recent years. Lean manufacturing is based on value creation for the customer and the elimination of the waste which occurs during the production process, while improving working conditions. There are eight types of waste in lean manufacturing. The well-known seven wastes are production process-oriented, while the eighth waste is directly related to management’s ability to utilize personnel. This type of manufacturing waste occurs when management in a manufacturing environment fails to ensure that all the employees’ potential talent is being well utilized. This talent refers to management’s ability to use critical thinking and continuous improvement feedback from employees to improve a lean manufacturing process. When management does not engage with manufacturing employees on topics of continuous improvement and allow employees to produce change for the better, that is considered a manufacturing waste. Although performance management and the use of the employees’ talent are crucial to ensure a competitive advantage, there is a lack of research regarding this type of waste: non-utilized talent. On the other hand, there is a lot of literature addressing processoriented wastes. The purpose of this work is to explore this “talent waste” and identify the contributing factors for this type of waste, such as: lack of reward, lack of recognition, lack of motivation, lack of training/knowledge, organizational injustice, undefined goals, etc. A tool is also introduced which takes the form of a questionnaire that will allow managers to evaluate their workers and help them to identify if there is “talent waste” in their companies, as well as the main causes related to this type of waste. To the authors’ knowledge this work is innovative and valuable because it will help companies increase