|
Project
Methodologies
Six
Sigma
Ask
the Expert
The Topic: Six Sigma Adoption and Cultural Issues
Q: What employee adoption issues are associated with a new
Six Sigma deployment?
A: The
most common response from employees deploying Six Sigma
is, "Here we go again!" Organizations that pursue
improvement opportunities have often used other methodologies.
The common question is: "What makes Six Sigma any different
from the other initiatives we've tried? Why does this work
any better than the programs we already have in place?"
There
is often skepticism in the advertised benefits of Six Sigma;
average cost savings of $250,000 per project seems like
a lot of money, especially when it can add up to billions
of dollars saved over several years.
Effective
deployments require full-time support from Black Belts,
as well as significant time from others supporting Black
Belt project teams. Providing those resources, and getting
the day-to-day work done without the people deployed to
do Six Sigma, often creates anxiety.
A company
asked, "Does Six Sigma apply here? It may work if you're
building pagers, but what about the kind of work we do?"
Even among organizations with similar products and processes
as companies that have successfully deployed Six Sigma,
there is a strong conviction that they are somehow different
so it won't work here.
Without
the support of senior leaders, change initiatives are destined
to fail. When employees see that their leaders are not providing
the resources and necessary support for the deployment,
they have an excuse not to support it themselves.
Q: What strategies work well when it comes to training employees
and convincing resistant employees to adapt to new ways
of working?
A: The
ultimate convincer is success – achieving the goals
and objectives that have been identified by the organization
as critical for their continued success. However, just telling
stories of successful projects doesn't necessarily get all
employees excited about Six Sigma.
At one
financial services company, there was significant discussion
at the outset of the deployment around the integrity of
results. They put financial gates in place to qualify projects
that truly created bottom-line results, and then audited
the projects one year after completion in order to ensure
the results lasted. The audit verified that the results
were real. Communicating the criteria surrounding projects
and their subsequent success created credibility with those
outside of the deployment.
Another
company created financial incentives for project results;
not just for Champions, Black Belts and their teams, but
also for the area where process improvements were made.
The entire organization had a piece of variable compensation
at risk for Six Sigma results, which created interest and
support for the deployment.
Communicating success stories with the intention of generating
enthusiasm for Six Sigma does pay dividends. Any initiative
that is not understood will be viewed skeptically. Sharing
stories and encouraging participation in the effort excites
those involved. Our experience shows that employee satisfaction
scores are higher for those involved in Six Sigma than the
rest of the organization.
Q: Do
you recommend that companies review their culture before
implementing a Six Sigma initiative? How is that review
used when assembling their deployment plan?
A: Absolutely.
A Black Belt working projects can deliver significant savings
to an organization. However, without the support and focus
of the organization, a Six Sigma deployment will not alter
how people behave and solve problems, and thus, achieve
the substantial improvements that successful Six Sigma deployments
offer.
There
is no one right way to deploy Six Sigma. The infrastructure
and support for a successful deployment should be contingent
on the culture of the organization, and the context of the
times that Six Sigma is deployed. An understanding of the
culture and context offers insights into opportunities and
barriers to address when trying to gain the support of employees
in embracing Six Sigma.
Culture
is defined by the norms and values – both formal and
informal – that an organization lives by. Understanding
the cultural readiness for a change initiative will facilitate
decision-making around the topics of Black Belt selection,
retention and repatriation. This cultural readiness knowledge
will help shape all aspects of a successful deployment.
Q: How
can companies maintain a positive culture and momentum for
Six Sigma as the initiative matures and employees turn over?
A: The
Six Sigma methodology is most successful when integrated
into a company's business strategy, and not deployed merely
as an off-the-shelf tool kit or a set of training sessions.
Though many corporations initially consider Six Sigma only
for profitability, they quickly learn that Six Sigma is
the best business transformation program available today.
The real benefit of Six Sigma is the culture change to becoming
a customer-focused, fact-based, data-driven organization.
The ultimate measure of Six Sigma success is when your company
can say "It is the way we work."
Reader
Feedback
Do you have a series of four to five questions focused on
a specific Six Sigma topic? Would you like to have them
answered by an industry expert? Make sure they are general
enough to help a broad audience, and submit your topic along
with the four to five questions to iSixSigma Experts.
Copyright
© 2000-2005 iSixSigma LLC – All Rights Reserved
Reproduction Without Permission Is Strictly Prohibited –
Request Permission
|
