Employee Feedback for Lean Six Sigma Process Improvement Initiatives
Lean Six Sigma programs may be helpful to define and fix problems within processes and may also be used to help reduce waste within an organization. Ultimately, by reducing waste and improving efficiency, expenses are reduced which leads to increased profits. Most companies are interested in improving their bottom line, and Lean Six Sigma programs may be useful in defining improvement areas for increasing profits. One method for helping with Lean Six Sigma efforts is to gain feedback from employees. Employees use the processes that are put in place by management staff and they are typically the ones who know how these processes may be improved.
Six Sigma initiatives often use the abbreviation DMAIC: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. This abbreviation helps to drive the process improvement efforts. Employee feedback may be used during all stages of this process to help company leadership find and implement improvement areas. The following sections will describe ways employee feedback may be used to measure organizational effectiveness, analyze current processes and procedural effectiveness, and improve the company overall.
Define: Process improvement programs should begin with a definition of the problem or problems to be solved. Leadership and management staff generally have a good idea of problem areas within their organizations. Defining the problems to be solved helps to narrow the focus of the improvement efforts. A narrow focus will help to guide the overall analysis.
Measure: During process improvement initiatives it is necessary to determine areas of measurement so data can be collected for analysis. This data collection and measurement is a building block for improvement. Employees often possess measurable information which can be collected and used as data points for process improvement initiatives. By allowing employees to participate in anonymous surveys on organizational effectiveness and measuring their answers on a numeric scale, a company begins to develop data points for analysis. These data points can be fed into statistical analysis software to show how well a company is performing. These data points may be used in developing illuminating charts and graphs that can help company leadership to see a "map" of how well their company is doing. This improved situational awareness may help them to gain insight into how the company may be improved.
Analyze: As discussed above, once data is collected it may be placed into powerful statistical analysis tools to develop data points for analysis. The data should provide a snapshot of how well the employees think the organization is performing. Anonymous feedback tools, such as written or online surveys can provide the means to collect this data. By asking employees pertinent questions about the company provides them with the opportunity give anonymous feedback in measurable ways. Once the data is collected it can be graphed on a numeric scale to show the organizational leadership how well the company is doing. If the majority of employee feedback shows low numbers in certain measured areas, then the leadership and management staff may now have insight into areas that may need to be fixed. Oftentimes process improvement initiatives look for data that already exists, such as numbers of trouble calls, delay times in production, shipping errors, etc., but they may not account for measuring employee feedback. This powerful process can provide measurable data that can be analyzed, with the results being fed into improvement efforts.
Improve: After the data from the employee feedback process is measured and analyzed, company leadership and management staff may begin to determine areas within the organization that can be improved. They may not have even realized that a problem existed, but by allowing employees to anonymously provide open and honest feedback they may have found unrealized improvement areas that can reduce waste and increase profits.
Control: Once the improvements have been implemented it is necessary to control the improvements to help ensure they remain in place and that they are long-lasting. One way improvements can be controlled is to conduct the exact same survey several months later. If the improvements were successful, the respondents' answers should show improvement. If there are still weak areas, it may mean that improvement efforts were not as effective as planned.
What areas should be analyzed? Adaptive Leadership Systems, LLC has developed an Organizational Effectiveness Analysis Tool, which essentially completes step 1 of the DMAIC process (Define). We have defined 5 core areas which we think apply to most (if not all) organizations. These areas are: Communications, Processes, Systems Approach to Operations, Commitment to Excellence, and Values. Our analysis tools capture information from a company's employees, analyze and interpret the results and present actionable information to the organizational leaders. Our products may be used as an integral part of a Lean/Six Sigma program. To find out more about Adaptive Leadership Systems, LLC, or to contact us, please visit our website or email our customer support staff. Thank you.
Best Regards,
Adaptive Leadership Systems, LLC
"Situational Awareness for Effective Business Leadership" sm
www.adaptiveleadershipsystems.com
Our Products / Business Management Software:
www.adaptiveleadershipsystems.net
Adaptive Leadership Systems, LLC
"Situational Awareness for Effective Business Leadership" sm
www.adaptiveleadershipsystems.com
Our Products / Business Management Software:
www.adaptiveleadershipsystems.net
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