Earlier this month I attended a meeting for health care-focused Lean practitioners in the Indianapolis area. While we discussed several subjects, one topic was at the top of everyone’s list: how to financially justify employing continuous improvement (CI) in an organization, especially with senior staff members.
As part of the presentation that day, a CI team from a local hospital explained their journey from a limited and obscure function within the organization to one that holds a key role in the eyes of the business. An important part of this transformation came about by changing how project savings were calculated.
Early in the program, the CI team determined the value and/or savings associated with a project. This led to several discussions about the validity of the savings calculations. It did not take long for the CI team and management to agree that monetary valuations should be determined in conjunction with members of the Finance Department. This gave the financial validation needed for data presented by the CI team to the management team.
The CI program went from an unknown entity to an important part of the organization. This was done, in part, by a joint effort of the CI team working with the Finance Department. Every CI program needs to establish credibility within the business. How has that been done in your organization?
How are you helping your employees to work smarter by reducing the amount of time they spend on non-productive activities and correcting errors? If your business processes need a “check-up,” please email me at michael@leadingchangeforgood.com! I’d love to help you get back to a healthy, productive workplace
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