From the Editor In-plant Inspiration

In-plants are big in the religious sector. Really big. A couple examples:

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' in-plant in Salt Lake City boasts 400 employees.

• The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a 140-employee in-plant in Nampa, Idaho.

• Gospel Publishing House, the in-plant for the Assemblies of God and the subject of our cover story, has 93 people in its Springfield, Mo., plant.

And then there's the Watchtower Society for the Jehovah's Witnesses. Though it shies away from revealing its employee count, it is vast enough to have bought seven new MAN Roland web presses a few years back and has multiple printing facilities.

These organizations all share a strong drive to get their message out to the world. They figured out long ago that the least expensive way to do this is to print that message themselves. This gives them complete control over their materials and allows them to produce and distribute items more quickly—something you would think every organization would value.

Though many do, it's hard to see why others think they will be better served by closing their printing operations and paying outside printers to do the same work. In many cases, the decision to outsource is simply the idea of the moment—something new to try.

Where did the idea come from? Usually from someone new to the company. Why did upper management choose to listen to that new person and not to long-time employees? Because often existing employees never offered ideas of their own.

Part of the reason for this is revealed in our story called "Develop Your Employees," which details a trend too many bosses follow—they solve employees' problems rather than helping them find their own solutions. It's quicker this way, they reason.

But this has a backlash: employees are afraid to offer suggestions. After all, the boss is the expert. This quashes innovation, and things end up being done the same way they have always been done. Until...

A new decision-maker is hired. After years of receiving scant input from employees, upper management is in awe of anything this person suggests. Actual ideas! Unfortunately one of those ideas is often "outsource stuff."

What's the solution? First, those in management roles must trust their employees more, ask them more questions and motivate them to offer ideas. And second, employees (that includes those same managers) must have the courage to offer their own ideas to their bosses. What changes can the in-plant make to save money, increase productivity and better serve the organization? Get ideas from your employees; present them to your bosses.

When the only new ideas are coming from new hires, your survival is at the whim of an unknown force.