Choosing the Right tool for Continuous Improvement Part # 2

 

To implement a continuous Improvement Model

1. Apply a personalized approach to workforce engagement; this will eliminate the mistake many often make to cause instinctive resistance to change by not helping the recipients of the change to understand and internalize the change in their own terms.
2. Integrate tools; by using different software like Excel spreadsheets, power point files, to deploy a structured approach to Continuous Improvement across the organization, we need a common platform to consolidate and integrate the various improvement work streams or we will struggle with consistency and sustainability across time.
3. Overcome the “Tyranny of the Now’’ with Scorecard and Sound Governance; to avoid the regression after first few months as enthusiasm wears off perceived as less urgent than the day to day “run and maintain” work in the operation, the goal should be to help the workforce understand that Improvement is not distinct from the daily routine of the operation. That paradigm shift is key to the institutionalization of Continuous Improvement in the organization.In the meantime, it’s important to embed it into the governance model of the business so that it cannot be ignored.
4. Communicate the successes; tell your employees what they are doing right and encourage them to continue the behaviors that contribute to improved efficiency. Use your Improvement tools to identify the areas that have improved and translate these successes to other areas of your business. Providing employees with the opportunity to generate "quick wins" along the way will keep driving positive change           
5. Now to prepare the organization for Excellence it is a good idea to have a journey partner external team of expert (SME) subject matter expert as fresh set of eyes because we can’t solve today’s problems with the same thinking that created the problem and this also doesn’t mean that internal team members are short-sighted or incapable. Far from it! However, they may be so close to the process that they just don’t see the problems and know what methods to apply. (They would have fixed the problems already, if they did see them and could solve them, wouldn’t they?)
6. The outside partner won’t be distracted by an operational crisis of the day, by personnel problems, or by myriad other issues that keep internal staff from spending the hours they’d like on continuous improvement. The whole job for the journey partner team is this effort, so their focus will be complete, driving faster and more effective results.
7. Core Competencies; internal staff may have been trained in quality methods and have been exposed to application, but their focus is on the core competencies of the business. When we pick the right journey partner, we’ll find someone with skills, training, and experience in a broad spectrum of continuous improvement solutions. They’re not just familiar. They’re masters. They can solve the toughest problems, communicate effectively, and provide appropriate training.
8. State of the art methods and technologies; similarly, journey partners constantly reinvest in developing expertise in relevant methods. While own team might try learning on the job, journey partner will hit the ground running and will also be able to recommend the best hardware and software alternatives to meet our specific needs.
9. Benchmark experience; outside partners have the opportunity to work with many organizations of all sizes. In doing so, they participate in generating ideas and solving problems across a variety of industries. Many valuable improvement elements can be highly transferable to other teams. (Yes, they can apply relevant methods from some other organization while still complying with non-disclosure agreements.)
10. Change Management Skills; recognizing that any change in the organization is likely to make someone unhappy, the journey partner brings not just technical skills but also effective structured change management approaches to help deliver a complete solution by getting dissenters on board.
11. Always set a target to achieve aligned with safety, quality and efficiency.