A Study on WeSupport, a WeChat-based Learning Platform
Case Story 5: Line Manager – Effectively dealing with conflict and communicating with workers through WeChat
Xiao Pengfei, a 42-year-old line manager originally from Anhui Province, has put the tips from CCR CSR’ s WeSupport WeChat platform to good use at his factory.
On a personal level, WeChat has helped him stay connected with his family. He has spent the past 15 years working at the same factory in Dongguan, while his wife is back in the hometown taking care of their elderly parents and his son is off in college in Hunan Province. Pengfei lives in a dorm by himself where free Wi-Fi is provided, thus making it easy for him to stay in touch with family during his spare time.
But during the interview, Pengfei stresses the importance of WeChat in his work as a line manager.“ As all workers on my line have installed WeChat, I established a WeChat group with them to pass down all policies from top management and to organize dining out and activities at the weekend. This method of communication seems to be more accepted by young worker and workers provide much clearer feedback on each matter,” he says.
According to Pengfei, many young workers these days have a greater plethora of life choices available than them and are under less economic pressure. He believes the majority of young workers have chosen to work in the factory at such a young age not out of economic necessity, but because they don’ t want to finish school. They are much more free-spirited and often skip out on overtime shifts during peak season when they so please. Pengfei thinks that because of the age difference between young workers and their older counter parts, line managers have to spend more time guiding the young workers. As the lesson on“ How to be a good line manager” on CCR CSR’ s WeChat Platform outlines, the manager of each production line should not only be the“ technical advisor” answering technical questions, he / she should also regularly strive to improve their own management styles, advise employees on how they can improve, take time to understand what their workers are really thinking, explain the purpose of each requirement and guide workers in the right direction.
Having worked as a line manager for over ten years, Pengfei has been constantly reviewing his management style and taking part in courses to improve his management skills. CCR CSR’ s WeChat post“ How to deal with conflicts with workers?” has left Pengfei with a deep impression as he has used some of the tips in practice.
Not so long ago, a new employee was transferred to Pengfei’ s line from another line and many of the products he made failed the quality test. Pengfei went on to ask the reason and the worker replied:“ This is how I do my work”. This answer provoked Pengfei, causing him to criticize the workers’ attitude in front of other workers. This only made the situation worse. This worker claimed that his products were like this on other lines too and questioned whether Pengfei had a personal issue with him. They kept on quarreling for several minutes until Pengfei suddenly recalled the tips in the WeChat post.“ I calmed down and realized that only when we are both calm, will we find a solution. So I apologized to him and asked him to disregard my bad temper before.” Pengfei then calmly emphasized that although his initial tone was wrong, the quality of the products is very important and is their promise to the factory and brand.
After hearing Pengfei’ s apology, the worker calmed down and began to listen to Pengfei’ s suggestion on how to improve the quality of his products. Since then, the worker has been performing very well and all his products have passed the quality test.
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