Kevin Burns Blog

Want to know how top companies get better work from their teams? Supervisors who build real connections with team members create safer workplaces, higher productivity, and employees who stay longer. Learn simple ways to help supervisors move beyond just giving orders to building relationships that help the whole business succeed.

(Bonus: download a free resource, Supervisors & Safety Culture ebook)

Think your frontline turnover problem requires bigger paychecks? Think again. The real reason your best employees keep walking out the door is less to do with compensation and more with who's leading them daily. Discover how focusing on supervisor skills—not just pay scales—can dramatically reduce turnover costs.

Supervisor confidence can transform safety performance in industrial settings. Learn why confident frontline leaders are your most powerful asset in creating a strong safety culture. Learn practical strategies for developing the leadership skills your supervisors need to drive safety.

The gap between good technical skills and effective leadership can cost industrial companies millions in lost productivity, safety incidents, and employee turnover in manufacturing and industrial environments. When your best machinist, welder, or electrician becomes a supervisor, they need more than just technical expertise to succeed. Recent data shows that only 30% of workers feel engaged in their jobs - a problem that often starts with supervisors struggling to communicate team goals effectively.

If you're like most safety managers, you've tried everything to improve your safety metrics. New programs. Better PPE. Enhanced training. Stricter policies. Yet somehow, the results never quite meet your expectations. What if the most powerful tool for transforming safety performance isn't another program or policy, but something far more fundamental? What if the key to breakthrough safety performance is already on your payroll just waiting to be developed?

What if I told you that right now, your company is losing thousands of dollars waiting for new supervisors to learn their jobs? It's true. Every time you promote a great worker to supervisor, you start a two-year countdown of costly mistakes, confused teams, and missed opportunities. The worst part? Most companies think this is normal. But it doesn't have to be this way. Let me show you why this happens and how to fix it before it costs your company another dollar.

What's the real cost of underdeveloped supervisors? In today's competitive business environment, frontline supervisors can either multiply or diminish your organization's success. Through a powerful chain reaction, their leadership skills—or lack thereof—ripple through your entire operation, affecting everything from employee retention to bottom-line profits. Discover how developing your supervisors' leadership capabilities creates measurable business value.

If your supervisors are struggling with high turnover, spotty attendance, and productivity issues, you might think you made the wrong choice in promoting them. But before you blame their leadership abilities, ask yourself: Did you ever teach them how to lead? The problem with most supervisor promotions isn't the person you chose – it's what happens (or doesn't happen) after you choose them.

Industrial companies face an invisible challenge: frontline supervisors lacking essential leadership skills. This gap affects productivity, safety, and employee satisfaction. Untrained supervisors thrown into their positions struggle with decision-making, communication, and building personal connections with their team. This can cause production delays, safety concerns, and low team morale. But the true costs of not addressing these issues are the personal challenges supervisors face.

Is your workplace falling into the safety complacency trap? Discover how empowering your frontline supervisors can transform your safety culture, boost productivity, and protect your bottom line. Learn the strategies that turn supervisors into safety champions and keep complacency at bay.