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Process Improvement Best Practices
Process Improvement Best Practices
Best Practices
In Process
Improvement by Tom Dolan
P
rocess improvement tools have been used One of the most significant ways process im-
to evaluate business processes ranging provement projects have changed in the last five
from employee satisfaction to customer years is through the use of the internet (see Figure
help desk support. 1). The internet makes it easy for people to contact
A variety of quality tools and quality management others with similar challenges and identify common
standards, including benchmarking, process map- solutions. More importantly, it speeds up data col-
ping, root cause analysis, Six Sigma and ISO 9001, lection and puts people who are regularly involved
are available to help manage these improvement in implementing best practice projects in contact
projects. The focus of this article is the human side of with their colleagues.
managing and implementing an improvement project. In a recent survey conducted online by the
In 50 Words
Or Less FIGURE 1 Benchmarking Using
The Internet
• The internet has revolutionized process How often do you use the internet to
collect information on best practices?
improvement projects by facilitating
benchmarking. Never
Daily
13%
15%
• Getting executive management commit-
ment and communicating are the most
Monthly
important steps. Weekly
35%
37%
• Process improvement is continuous and
can generate significant returns.
Source: The Benchmarking Exchange survey
Benchmarking Exchange, we queried a group of needs to agree the problem exists, and the organi-
people who are regularly involved in process zation needs to see management stand behind the
improvement projects. Figure 2 shows the respon- improvement effort.
ders most frequent answers to a question asking “You must have full, visible support from upper
them to identify their biggest problems when management, and it should be widely known the
implementing process improvement projects.1 process improvement project answers directly to
The responders then made several recommenda- the top management team,” recommended Donna
tions to overcome the obstacles they identified. Smith from GPC Electronics.
250 204
182 180 direct the improvement effort. Involvement
200 155 should be seen as part of their job, with
150 implementation metrics tied to perfor-
mance reviews.
100
In general, process improvement is an
50 inside job, but there are times when it may
0 be appropriate to hire an outside consultant.
Acceptance Acceptance Lack of human Lack of financial Communicating
of results by of results by resources to resources to results For example, a facilitator can be used to help
senior department implement implement address and minimize political issues. An
executives heads changes changes
outside consulting group can provide exper-
tise that doesn’t exist in-house. When imple-
Source: The Benchmarking Exchange survey
menting IT projects, in which technology
3
50
500
Number of responses
9
41
40
6
39
37
38
9
36
9
35
400
34
300
200
100
0
Benchmarking Cause Change Control Decision Customer Design of Knowledge Performance Process
and effect management charts making driven experiments management measurement mapping
analysis processes
Source: The Benchmarking Exchange Six Sigma survey. For additional information, visit www.benchnet.com.
changes rapidly, in-house personnel may not be able ter to implement 85% of your planned work on
to evaluate, implement and fine-tune the process. time than miss the target date by even a little. You
can always go back and add the final 25% in a sub-
Define the Strategy and Vision sequent release.
The team’s first job is to clearly articulate the “Don’t let the project drift,” advised Al Hollo-
project’s aim and expected improvements. way of Longaberger Co. “It is better to reschedule
Understand how the existing process works—not or cancel the project than to let it coast.”
just how it is supposed to work—prior to trying to
improve it. Define what is broken, why it should Communicate, Communicate
be improved and what monetary benefit to the Second only to the importance of securing execu-
business will result if it is improved. tive management commitment is the need to com-
Take time to really understand what people do. municate. At the start of the project, develop a
Try different approaches to give staff opportunities communications plan and keep it updated. Com-
to open up about problems. “Make sure to include munication should clearly articulate the vision, pur-
all stakeholders in the process, and don’t stop pose and status of the project to everyone involved.
investigating when the first idea pops up,” sug- Benefits of anticipated changes need to be pretold,
gested John Palmer of Saudi Aramco. told and retold to gain buy-in and support.
Process mapping is a powerful tool several “Communicate up, down, around and through-
respondents recommended using to define and out the organization. Be visible. Be open to sugges-
visually display the overall process. Creating a tions, and keep moving forward,” recommended
map of the current process often uncovers previ- Rosemary Gregory at NASA.
ously unidentified gaps or redundant efforts. With the project team, communicate often, give
Identify suppliers, inputs, the process, outputs and clear guidelines and review results collectively.
customers of the process. Include everyone in- Maintain focus on the improvement project
volved in the process, not just management. through regular update sessions, and keep the
During a recent process mapping exercise, each team informed about its progress against goals.
person was asked how long his or her part of the Whether through regular meetings or reports,
process took. The division’s manager was shocked find some mechanism to regularly communicate
at some of the lag times uncovered. progress and benefits to executives. Use initial
Once a team gets started, it may uncover addi- investigation results and “back of envelope” finan-
tional problems that expand the scope of the pro- cial calculations to lock in management sponsor-
ject. The project leader should guard against ship and project a budget.
“scope creep” and ensure the team stays focused Acknowledge any setbacks you’ve faced. They
on the main problem. Don’t try to change things will occur—but focus on how problems were
beyond the scope of your process. It is better to addressed and resulting changes. Management
have success in one or two areas than to use a shot- will be more receptive to accepting change if you
gun approach that doesn’t yield good results. demonstrate a financial benefit for the company.
Remain focused, but set aggressive goals. This Employee support is critical for the successful
encourages the team to look past incremental implementation of the improvement. Publish results
improvements and evaluate creative solutions four (successful and otherwise) on the corporate intranet
or five times more significant. or through another in-house communication tool so
Move fast. Don’t skip steps, but aim for projects everyone learns about and can anticipate the project.
to last about 90 to 120 days. If the process takes too Promote improved results early and often. Get
long, the project loses its focus, and management stakeholders to talk about the proposed process
attention moves on to other issues. improvement to generate enthusiasm from col-
Plan a reasonably aggressive timetable, and then leagues.
stick to it at all costs. As a safeguard, you may Share as much information as possible with all
want to identify milestones where the project could stakeholders, and incorporate their feedback into
be terminated and still deliver benefits. It is far bet- the plan. Don’t segment data for different audi-
review processes to validate improvements and Ensure motivation for the new improvement is
sustain continuous improvement. ongoing and the control plan has regularly sched-
Process flowcharting and process modeling tech- uled follow-up activities.
niques can be used to illustrate the improvement. Control is a huge issue when it comes to change.
Many changes will stay in place for
a couple of weeks while people are
conscious of them. But everyone
eventually goes back to the old way
of doing things. It is important to
ensure sufficient controls are in
place to prevent the backslide.
People and organizations don’t
turn around overnight. Be patient,
persistent and flexible. Change takes
time. Ultimately, an organization
committed to process improvement
will foster a culture of change in
which improvements become
ingrained and long-term. It’s a con-
tinuous process, and one that can
generate significant returns.
REFERENCE
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