Boeing’s new plan to fix its broken culture: Execs on the factory floor

• Boeing’s new CEO plans to change the company culture by placing executives on factory floors.
• This strategy aims to address safety, communication, and trust in Boeing.
• One analyst said Boeing should have always been connecting its top managers with employees.

, for example, has been vocal about how his time driving for the company illuminated issues facing its drivers.

It could be the change Boeing needs

Richard Aboulafia, managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, told Business Insider that Boeing should have been putting executives on the factory floor well before Ortberg showed up.

“Boeing needs to root out the people who thought it was appropriate or even acceptable to not have that interaction in the first place,” he said. “Who said it was OK to run a company where there were these lengths between people who are at the top and the people actually doing the company’s business.”

Aboulafia said Ortberg could have a tough time forcing cultural change unless he cuts some of the managers who led the company through its latest crises.

Peter McNally, an analyst at Third Bridge, told BI that Ortberg’s operational background is critical to the company’s cultural revival.

“Kelly Ortberg was hired for his operational expertise, not for his ability to sell more planes,” he said. “He is an engineer with deep industry experience, and his previous experience at Rockwell Collins gives him a lot of credibility with the rank-and-file.”