“Our planner needs training. The plans are wrong, and product isn’t getting out the door.”
This was the brief when a client called us in recently. The production team was frustrated, and leadership felt a skills gap was the root cause.
But when we arrived, we didn’t see a skills gap. We saw a person who was anxious, defensive, and clearly under immense pressure.
Our consultant left their laptop and notebook in their bag. They just grabbed a coffee and talked.
The Real Org Chart.
Behind the official company structure, there is always a reality of how work actually gets done. By listening, really listening, to the planner’s experience, the systemic issues began to surface:
The Invisible Tasks: The planner was managing production labour and rotas, tasks usually owned by production managers.
Bad Data: Other departments were providing late or inaccurate information, forcing the planner to spend their day firefighting rather than planning.
The Conflict of Interest: Using a SIPOC diagram (Supplier, Input, Process, Output, Customer), we realised the planner was wearing too many hats. They were planning for production, but they were also managing the warehouse and dispatch.
The Structural Trap
Because the planner was also the customer (dispatch), the production team knew that if they didn’t perform, the planner would simply run around, find the stock, and fix the mess at the final hour.
Production sat in the middle with a safety net, while the planner was being blamed for the very chaos they were working 12-hour days to resolve.
The Moral of the Story
No amount of “Planning 101” training would have fixed this. The issue wasn’t the person, it was a lack of clear accountability and a broken structure.
At Counter Gravity Consulting we believe in the right tool for the right job:
We Listen First: We look for the reality, not just the official version.
We Tailor: Every organisation is unique. Off-the-shelf training is rarely the silver bullet.
We Challenge: We propose the right solution for the business, even if it means less training work for us.
By re-aligning roles and clarifying accountabilities, we didn’t just save the company money and improve throughput, we saved a talented employee from burnout.
Is your team struggling with performance issues that might actually be system issues?
🚀 Reach out to us today. Let’s have a coffee and find out what’s really going on.
