Getting Workshop Buy-In: How to Stop Your Team Doing Their Own Thing

"The workshop lads just do their own thing."

I hear this on almost every site visit. The owner has spent time creating processes, maybe even invested in software, but the team on the floor carries on as they always have.

It's frustrating. It's expensive. And it's completely fixable.

SectionWhy Your Team Ignores Your Processes

Before we fix the problem, we need to understand it. Your team isn't ignoring your processes because they're lazy or stupid. They're ignoring them because:

1. They Don't See the Point

From the workshop floor, your new process looks like extra work. More paperwork. More steps. More hassle. They can't see how it benefits them—only how it slows them down.

2. The Old Way Still Works (For Them)

Your fabricators have been doing things a certain way for years. It works. Jobs get done. Why change? The problems caused by their approach—poor job costing, missed information, customer complaints—often don't land on their desk. They land on yours.

3. There's No Consequence

If someone doesn't follow the process, what happens? Usually nothing. The owner might grumble, but the job still gets done somehow. Without real consequences, the process becomes optional.

4. They Weren't Involved

Processes designed in the office and imposed on the workshop rarely stick. The people doing the work weren't consulted. Their practical concerns weren't addressed. It feels like something done to them, not with them.

SectionThe Vision Problem

Here's what I told a client recently: "simPRO isn't the answer to solve all the problems—it's just a system. We need to create an exciting environment where we're all in this together and we all want to be going in the same direction."

That's the real issue. Your team doesn't share your vision for the business. They turn up, do their hours, and go home. The business's success or failure feels like your problem, not theirs.

Until you fix that, every process will feel like an imposition.

SectionBuilding Genuine Buy-In

Step 1: Paint the Picture

Your team needs to understand where the business is going and why it matters to them. Not vague corporate speak—real, tangible benefits.

"If we get our job costing right, we can quote more accurately. That means we win more profitable work. More profitable work means better wages, better equipment, and job security."

Connect the dots between the process and their interests.

Step 2: Involve Them in the Solution

Before you implement a new process, talk to the people who'll use it. Ask them:

• •What problems do you see with how we do things now?
• •What would make your job easier?
• •What's going to be difficult about this new approach?

You don't have to do everything they suggest, but they need to feel heard. Often, they'll identify practical issues you hadn't considered.

Step 3: Identify Your Champions

In every workshop, there's usually someone who gets it. Maybe it's your lead fabricator. Maybe it's a younger team member who's more comfortable with technology. Find them. Invest in them. Make them your ally.

When the new process comes from a respected peer rather than "management," it lands differently.

Step 4: Make It Easy

Every extra step is friction. Every unnecessary field is resistance. Strip your processes down to the essentials. If you're asking someone to log time on the simPRO app, make sure it takes 30 seconds, not 5 minutes.

Step 5: Create Real Accountability

This is the hard part. You need consequences for not following the process—and they need to be consistent.

That doesn't mean being a tyrant. It means:

• •Tracking compliance. You can't manage what you don't measure.
• •Addressing issues immediately. Don't let things slide for weeks then explode.
• •Making it a performance issue. Following processes is part of the job, not optional extra credit.

Step 6: Celebrate Wins

When the new process works—when a job comes in on budget because the costing was accurate, when a customer compliments the clear communication—share that win with the team. Connect it back to the process they followed.

People repeat behaviours that get recognised.

SectionThe Time Tracking Example

Let's take a specific example: time tracking. You've got a clocking system, but "the lads don't really use it."

Here's how to fix it:

1. •

   Explain why it matters. "When we don't know how long jobs actually take, we quote wrong. We lose money. That affects everyone."

2. •

   Make it dead simple. If clocking in takes more than 10 seconds, it's too complicated.

3. •

   Review it daily. At first, someone needs to check every day. Who clocked in? Who didn't? Address gaps immediately.

4. •

   Link it to something they care about. Maybe accurate time tracking leads to fairer bonus calculations. Maybe it identifies who's actually productive (and who's coasting).

5. •

   Remove the workarounds. If people can still get paid without clocking in, they won't clock in. Make the system the only path.

SectionThe Role of Your Office Manager

In many engineering businesses, the office manager is the key to implementation success. They understand both worlds—the admin requirements and the operational reality.

Give them authority. Make them the process champion. Let them be the one who follows up when things slip. It's often more effective than the owner doing it directly.

SectionThe Long Game

Changing workshop culture doesn't happen overnight. Expect resistance. Expect setbacks. Expect to repeat yourself more times than feels reasonable.

But stick with it. Consistency beats intensity. Small improvements compound. And eventually, the new way becomes "just how we do things here."

That's when you've won.

Struggling to get your team aligned? Book a free discovery call and let's talk about building a culture of accountability in your engineering business.