Consultancy
Een Verbetertraject Doe Je Niet Zomaar ErbijMany organisations launch a range of improvement initiatives, with the result that employees may find themselves dealing with several initiatives at the same time. However, this carries a risk, writes Willem Spronk of BPM Consult, because improvement is not something you can simply do on the side.
Continuous improvement takes time. When you speak with managers and employees about freeing up time to work on continuous improvement, it is often perceived as something that has to be done on top of everything else, making it difficult to establish an effective improvement structure. Most people already feel extremely busy with their ‘regular’ day-to-day tasks.
Can you feel good about taking on improvements if you are already unable to deliver what has been agreed? Or when complaints are piling up? In practice, the answer is usually no.
This means that workload is a serious issue that gets in the way of improvement. And that is while improvement is precisely about eliminating the ‘hidden factory’: the part of the work that goes into correcting errors and performing tasks that add no value.
By removing this waste, the workload decreases, leaving more time to continue improving or to do more for the customer. This, in turn, leads to greater customer satisfaction in several ways: delivery becomes faster, fewer errors are made, and more time is available for a tailored approach.
Every organisation must continue to invest in a culture and structure focused on improvement in order to remain healthy. However, this is far from easy in a context of high workload, where every employee is constantly overwhelmed by work in progress and daily issues. How do you deal with that?
Embedding continuous improvement is a challenging undertaking
At BPM Consult, we see three pitfalls that particularly hinder continuous improvement.
The first is a lack of insight into the actual benefits. Because people do not have a clear understanding of the correct or ideal way of working, no one can clearly identify what is wasteful and what is not, expressed in terms of operating costs, correction and repair costs, prevention costs, defects and scrap. As a result, everything in the work seems equally important, and the potential for improvement is not sufficiently recognised.
A second pitfall is the ‘additional’ pressure that arises during the start-up phase. When you begin working on improvement, there is always a period of having to push through despite difficulties. During this time, the same errors are still being made and need to be corrected, while time also has to be set aside for improvement.
It also takes time before the improvements that have been implemented start to produce results. During this period, belief in improvement can quickly fade, and the improvement effort may stall due to a lack of confidence.
A third pitfall that obstructs continuous improvement is reprioritisation. Getting time and keeping time are two very different things. Continuous improvement requires a structural allocation of time. However, there will come a moment when an urgent commitment for a team member must take precedence. This rarely remains a one-off exception and often grows into a structural encroachment on the time set aside for improvement.
This is usually followed by a temporary pause of the entire initiative, for example because the rollout of a new application demands more effort and the time has to be found somewhere. Ultimately, the improvement initiative comes to an end because a ‘different direction’ is chosen by senior management.
Improvement requires structure and clear agreements.
In an ideal situation, improvement is not something done alongside your work, but an integral part of your responsibilities. There should always be room for improvement. However, as already indicated, a number of factors stand in the way of this shift. Fortunately, in practice we also see solutions to overcome these barriers.
An important motivator for truly embracing a culture of continuous improvement is having insight into the potential benefits that improvements can deliver. This requires a clear understanding of how the work should ideally be carried out. Once there is a well-designed model of the ideal process, it becomes relatively straightforward to analyse what is going wrong and what the consequences are in terms of wasted time, costs and job satisfaction.
The work process immediately shows where improvements are needed. In many cases, the payback period for an improvement can be expressed in hours, days or weeks rather than years. Improvements often deliver quick results, but you have to be able to see this. Therefore, always make the ideal way of working transparent, as well as the benefits of investing in improvement.
To avoid the second pitfall, the pressure during the start-up phase, the most practical advice is to start small and focus initially on freeing up time. Begin with ‘quick wins’; improvements that take relatively little effort to implement but deliver significant time savings.
A second tip in this area is to remain steadfast. Be aware in advance that the start requires the most energy and perseverance. Appoint an energetic project leader, arrange a strong improvement coach and ensure sufficient backing from a ‘champion’ at senior management level.
A member of the senior management team with a firm belief in a systematic approach to continuous improvement also provides a direct solution to the third pitfall, reprioritisation. Ensure that at the highest level in the organisation there is always someone who keeps continuous improvement on the agenda and enforces ongoing commitment.
In addition, it is advisable to make clear agreements with all managers in advance, for example in a set of ground rules. Ask for commitment, perhaps even in the form of a symbolic signature.
Continuous improvement is about finding and maintaining a new balance
Working on improvement, and continuing to do so, does not happen automatically. Especially at the beginning, employees tend to experience it as something that has to be done on top of their existing work. And while initiatives are often launched with enthusiasm, the momentum gradually fades over time.
Continuous improvement requires perseverance, consistency and a firm belief in its value. By being aware of the pitfalls involved in embedding an improvement structure, and by anticipating them in advance, you can set a long-term movement in motion that leads to solid results. Both the customer and the organisation itself ultimately benefit from this.
