It’s Not Just About Money Part II – Intrinsic Value
My recent blog post generated a lot of positive feedback about the need for companies to include additional measurements, along with money, when discussing the benefits of their continuous improvement (CI) program with employees and other key stakeholders. So much so, that I promised to continue with Part II of the discussion. Contrary to popular belief, not all CI projects are designed to focus on cost savings. Many may actually cost the company money to achieve the stated goal. These projects can include implementing program enhancements to increase customer satisfaction, meeting safety regulations, and complying with governmental regulations. Yet the return on investment for each of these types of projects can have significant positive impact on a company. For example, I co-led a project that focused on corporate compliance with federal safety issues. Through the use of CI methodologies, we were able to evaluate the requirements, identify potential gaps, and develop plans to ensure that all departments were in compliance. While this project did not have demonstrable direct savings, the costs of not implementing this program could have had devastating results for the company, including significant fines and penalties. CI can, and should, have an impact on every part of the company. The more clearly leaders can communicate all the benefits of a CI program (both financial and intrinsic), the faster employees, shareholders, and customers will be onboard. It doesn’t matter how great your CI program is; if there’s no buy-in from your team and if staff isn’t engaged, it will never happen. Through stakeholder management and communications planning, I help clients develop and deliver clear key messages, as well as solicit feedback from the right people within the organization. If you have a business process that needs a “check-up,” please email me! I’d love to help you get back to a healthy, productive...
Read MoreRecipe for Success: Using Spaghetti to Improve Your Business Operations
I remember a Family Circus cartoon from a few years ago which focused on Billy’s trip from the family’s kitchen to the mail box outside. Instead of a direct path, he took a very circuitous route. Just looking at the cartoon makes one dizzy and tired, due to the complexity built into a seemingly easy process! Often a company will face the same problem as Billy. Instead of a direct path, employees must go through multiple indirect steps to complete a task. This can delay the completion of a task due to added time and cause frustration for employees. It is sometimes difficult to visualize the intricacy of these convoluted processes. One method to help clarify the issue is to develop a spaghetti map. If this is a new term for you, rest assured that spaghetti mapping does not involve throwing wet noodles at a wall to see what sticks. According to isixSigma.com, a spaghetti map is “A method that uses a continuous line to trace the path and distance traveled of a particular object or person throughout a process.” By mapping out the actual route used, it is possible to identify opportunities for process improvement and reduce wasted time. How are you helping your employees to work smarter by reducing the amount of time they spend on non-productive activities? If you have a business process that needs a “check-up,” please email me! I’d love to help you get back to a healthy, productive workplace! ...
Read MoreIt’s Not Just About Money: Communicating Your Continuous Improvement Initiatives
One of the most important aspects of an effective continuous improvement (CI) program is the communication about the program’s progress. How a company communicates to its employees, customers, and shareholders can have a significant impact on the success of its CI program. In my role as a CI consultant, I have seen this done very well and very poorly. Some companies only report the anticipated cost savings and potential labor reductions associated with their CI initiatives. While this can yield short-term praise from shareholders, it can also lead to employees feeling demoralized and disenfranchised leading to distrust for all CI practitioners. An effective CI program should not rely solely on monetary gains to demonstrate its usefulness. Often, a small change can have a large impact, significantly increasing customer and/or employee satisfaction. This can make a greater impression than a monetary savings throughout your company. How do you tell your employees about your CI achievements? Are you focusing on improvements, or only on the money? If you have a business process that needs a “check-up,” please email me! I’d love to help you get back to a healthy, productive...
Read MoreBrand Promise: How to Make It and Keep It With Six Sigma
In March, Coca-Cola launched its first global marketing campaign in more than a decade with its “Taste the Feeling” tagline. The campaign highlights the company’s ‘One Brand’ strategy, which brings its four products – Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Life – under the Coca-Cola master brand instead of being marketed as separate products. The decision is an important one for Coca-Cola, as it is for any company that manages its brand and product portfolio. Advertising the four products together under one brand can communicate the breadth of the company’s offerings, clarify consumer choices, and potentially build significant brand synergies. But it also carries some risk. Although company slogans have become synonymous with the high-profile brands they represent, these words are not simply clever taglines. They describe what the companies are pledging to deliver, as well as what is special about their products and services. Changing a tagline for the sake of changing it can be a recipe for disaster, if there’s no meat behind it. But what does making good on a brand promise mean for a company? First of all, it means the company is able to consistently deliver the products, services and experiences it promises to deliver. When this happens – and customers know about it – customer satisfaction skyrockets and the business benefit from higher net income. The reality is that building a strong brand means delivering maximum value to customers as consistently as possible. And that means every employee delivering on the brand promise, in every action affecting suppliers, coworkers and customers, every time. An effective brand promise relies on three key areas – business strategy, communication and implementation. It is the third area – implementation – where plans sometimes go awry. Advertisements go out everywhere, but nothing else changes. Customer expectations are raised and then dashed, with predictable results. It is no coincidence that in organizations building successful, high-value brands, the departments responsible for these three areas – executive, marketing and operations teams – must work closely together. The conundrum, for some, is how to get to consistent delivery of the brand promise. Six Sigma – often viewed only as a way to reduce costs and eliminate variation from business processes – actually can be a wonderful tool set for linking executive goals (business strategy), marketing communication (brand promise) and management (operational activities). Knowing what is important to customers, knowing precisely how the organization will deliver on those attributes, and then actually delivering are all vital to profitability and growth. If you have a business process that needs a “check-up,” please email me! I’d love to help you get back to a healthy, productive...
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