“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – (Albert Einstein)
Whilst most leaders have heard of Continuous Improvement, most organisations seem to view it as a series of projects designed to streamline processes and or save money, often implemented by a continuous improvement ‘team’ that swoop in to fix something before moving onto the next project. The problem with this approach is that the improvements are only continuous if you are in the CI team – otherwise you are left wondering what they did and when the next time will be that they come to your part of the business to improve something – not to mention that because the change was implemented by an outside team, the improvement usually backslides once back in the hands of the usual team, as they were not engaged and didn’t understand or buy into the change. True Continuous Improvement is based on people who encounter problems solving those problems – a little at a time, day by day, every day. Engaging the whole workforce in continuous improvement is the soundest investment a business can make – as the saying goes, why just pay people for their hands, when you can have their brains as well?
Real employee engagement comes through the combination of engagement in the purpose and values of the company in which they work, and the enablement they feel they have to make a difference to that purpose, and CI provides the greatest enablement to make that difference.
At ASENSYS we have our clear, proven methodology for engaging your organisation in continuous improvement, and for putting into place the training, coaching, exploration and learning needed to create a workforce dedicated to improving upon the status quo, and never accepting that ‘the way it has always been done’ is the right way to do it for the future.
In order to live by the philosophy of continuous improvement, during our engagement your people will learn;
Problem identification: not just the ones that jump up and bite, but the hidden ones that happen over and over again but are hidden by exception processes.
Root cause analysis: how to see through the noise to the biggest reasons for a problem, fixing the root cause and not just the symptom (over and over and over…..)
Data driven decision making: why use noise to influence your allocation of precious resources when you can use data to get the biggest bang for your buck?
Proactive management of business performance: put a management system in place across the business that allows any leader or employee to see at a glance where the organisation is failing, or is at risk of failure, such that problems can be identified and actions implemented.
Process Confirmation: our process to make sure that everything you have put in place will be locked in and continue to drive the organisation daily on an ongoing basis, and that leaders and employees are not returning to previous ways of working.
Continuous Improvement is a way of life, and one that engages employees in stimulating and interesting work – engages them in relentless pursuit of progress.
Next, understand our Proactive Leadership solution