In today’s business climate everyone is looking for an edge to validate business efficiency and productivity. That search might be in any of the areas of our product or service development, production, sales/marketing or fulfillment. So what do we rely on in this era of better efficiencies? Frankly we look at just about everything… from materials or product costs to quality initiatives, and from product demand projections to logistics streamlining for purchase and delivery. But our highest costs are most frequently associated with our people and where they perform all or part of the product or service we offer.
So how is that managed? The critical performance elements for all of our companies is how do we maintain a smooth running operation that is both effective and consistent. The ability to maintain a tactical edge is all about having a strategy that allows us to maintain our value offering and also to improve. That ability to share and communicate what works best and what doesn’t work is paramount to a reliable business operation. It is vital to communicate and share best practices to both new employees and to the seasoned team.
Companies have begun to examine and appreciate the value of not only having an effective Training Program for educating new employees about the basics but also to help communicate new process improvement to all members of our existing team.
Good training regimes used to be limited to the mechanical production lines or repetitive operations where processes and procedures were obvious. The era of cycle time improvement and quality initiatives has taken it to a new level. Now it might also include sales, marketing, advertising, customer service and even product development. More importantly we have found out that identifying and communicating change initiatives or insuring deployment of new best practices requires a system which allows this to happen in an interactive way.
In the last 30 years “Training Methodology” has come under the microscope of best practices as well. We not only need the training to be effective but we quickly found that there must also be a way to measure what it is we are doing, how effectively we are doing it and ultimate to understand why it continues to be a good idea.
The original “Four Levels” of Training Evaluation as early 1975 by people like Donald Kirkpatrick have become a staple for what needs to be measured in training on a regular basis. So on the front-end the training needs 1) a reactive participation and 2) a learning environment, then followed by 3) an actual application of new job process and hopefully 4) a realized new business impact. But that entire training process is only effective if someone can show management (the stakeholders) what ROI was actually received by the programs. Thus the ideas of Phillips and Stone (in 2006) to carefully evaluate, quantify and measure the overall impact throughout the process ,as well as a tangible ROI at the end, becomes critical to measuring success in an effective training deployment.
I was fortunate to be involved in analyzing the effectiveness of annual training programs and it requires a commitment to involve people from the top down in understanding the real value to this as a vital continuous improvement tool and not only as a front-end learning system. There needs to be methodology in place for contributions to a knowledge management library and also the ability to share that “learning information” effectively with all of your employees. It’s crucial to set up base metrics, measure the current state of company, identify the current areas of need, develop a plan for addressing the most pressing areas, implement the training plan and then measure the results from tangible to intangible. It is ultimately critical to engage your whole business team in the training process.
Let’s talk if you are struggling with any issue of training or change management or process improvement because there is methodology to insure both implementation strategies and develop measurable effectiveness.
The Performance Detective
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
TQM ... Total Quality Management by any Name
What is the best current business quality process? Which business expert represents the strongest variation for quality adjustment? What can really be derived from a new quality strategy? What makes an approach popular for a while and then fall out of favor? Can it be determined what the very best approach is for my business? What makes a product or service truly “excellent”? This analysis of Quality Management is meant to expand the basic notion that quality improvement is mainly for a manufacturing application. The fundamental quality process improvement should be even more critical in a non manufacturing application because of the influence on your People, your Process and your bottom line Performance.
The most expansive business theories have evolved over time with new people putting a slightly different twist or a new spin to make these practices more appealing and ultimately more productive. As you will appreciate, regardless of the tactics, it is strategically more important for all of your people to first understand the basics of "Who, What, When, Where, Why and How” then to jump in and immediately try and implement quality improvements. A pragmatic approach is all about achieving measurable results and eventually maintaining vital change in a permanent way and realize new team impetus for the entire organization.
As a short history… earliest records show that the ancient Greeks and early Chinese recorded the quality concept of Continuous Improvement. The roots of today’s Quality Management can be tracked to the early production ideas of the20’s and later concepts pioneered in Japan in the 40’s by Americans; Deming, Drucker, Feigenbum and Juran. Later Japanese quality experts like Shingo and Taguchi expanded the original models along with newer American quality initiatives extensively written about in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s.
The roots of Quality Assessment and Total Quality Management (TQM)go back to early efforts for uncovering and optimizing the best of breed practices. In TQM organizations the customer holds a dynamic position and the quality organization measures their progress from the customer perspective. But quality focused companies know that the commitment of the entire organization (the “Total” of TQM) creates an even stronger and more impactful benefit. The four key targets of the quality approach insures that your product/service be consistent, meet your customer needs, be delivered on a timely basis and is offered at a fair price. Committed TQM organizations also know that the task of staying competitive is ongoing and also demands continuous monitoring and a strong mechanism for ongoing process improvement.
The overarching success or failure of any Quality initiative is comprehensive participation and purposeful commitment to the entire quality effort. This approach requires and “all in commitment” from top management, supervisors, and all of your team. It demands that the process and your people commit to an action that is vital, precisely understood, properly trained for, continually engaged in and vitally encouraged to act upon. This also means that you nurture an environment that demonstrate to all of your people that they are valued for their input and empowered to learn about the entire process within the cross functional quality teams you will establish.
So what is the main difference between TQM (Deming) and the popular Six Sigma? A quick assessment of the two quality programs is offers that TQM improves quality by adhering to internal requirements and Six Sigma focuses on improving quality and by reducing defects. In today’s world the current popular quality efforts also blends together “Lean and Six Sigma” which adds the critical elements of low cost and increased productivity. The drive for Business Excellence is a secondary advantage here but potentially more important as the company realizes an empowered work environment and a new sense of the possible with a higher level of personal achievement and product awareness.
A quick assessment of the Six Sigma action program allows for five core steps in implementing the quality changes following the “DMAIC” process; Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. The hidden component of the entire program is the emphasis to effectively and regularly communicate your progress. This communication reaffirms both the needed action for the implemented changes and also critical interaction with all of the stakeholders. The last critical element to maintain these changes, is effectively utilizing some form of Kaizen, which means enacting a strong Continuous Improvement program to insure the recording and implementation of the vital changes you have identified.
I was fortunate to be involved with a world class organization that conducted quality efforts throughout the organization. That attitude started with the smallest self-evaluation of all processes, identifying key elements for critical procedures and pursuing a goal of Business Excellence long before it was popular as a business philosophy. For a final overview let’s take a pragmatic view of business excellence, one that companies should regularly strive to achieve. Businesses usually define profitability by the volume of sales, the perceived value that the product/service possesses, and the efficiency with which the product is produced. To cut-to-the-chase many people simply refer to it as “How fast, how good, and how cheap”.
For Business Excellence each area requires attention and an understanding of techniques needed to manage them. “How Fast” is a combination of quality manufacturing techniques and cycle time improvement. “How Good” is enhanced by setting a high level of quality and continuous improvement. Finally “How Cheap” is a variety of Rational Management Processes which include cycle time improvement, waste reduction and lean elements as well as a strong commitment to a total value process like Kepner-Tregoe.
In summary this circles back to our original set of questions and ultimately… What does it take to successfully drive a “Quality Management” implementation? We suggest that no matter what else is technically included within a quality program, the fundamentals of any implementation must have:
1) A fulltime quality leader who oversees a formal process moving forward.
2) From the top down the organization must be committed and involved in the effort.
3) Identify the new vision for why and what it is to be accomplished.
4) The entire business team should be involved, acknowledged and encouraged to contribute.
5) A system of measurement and metrics is necessary at multiple points in the process.
6) A dynamic and interactive knowledge management system for improvements and training.
7) Develop a regular schedule for updates, challenges and new ideas.
8) Establish your customers as the driver for identifying the areas of effective improvement and the ultimate measure of realized success.
9) Make the entire process challenging and contagious for all team members as their motivated involvement is an ultimate and lasting benefit in and of itself.
We can address the essential elements of Quality… so take the initial steps and discuss the challenges that you may face. First you must identify the fundamental challenge you wish to resolve and secondly you must understand if you already have in place the team necessary to move forward with a new commitment to real Quality Excellence.
The Performance Detective
The most expansive business theories have evolved over time with new people putting a slightly different twist or a new spin to make these practices more appealing and ultimately more productive. As you will appreciate, regardless of the tactics, it is strategically more important for all of your people to first understand the basics of "Who, What, When, Where, Why and How” then to jump in and immediately try and implement quality improvements. A pragmatic approach is all about achieving measurable results and eventually maintaining vital change in a permanent way and realize new team impetus for the entire organization.
As a short history… earliest records show that the ancient Greeks and early Chinese recorded the quality concept of Continuous Improvement. The roots of today’s Quality Management can be tracked to the early production ideas of the20’s and later concepts pioneered in Japan in the 40’s by Americans; Deming, Drucker, Feigenbum and Juran. Later Japanese quality experts like Shingo and Taguchi expanded the original models along with newer American quality initiatives extensively written about in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s.
The roots of Quality Assessment and Total Quality Management (TQM)go back to early efforts for uncovering and optimizing the best of breed practices. In TQM organizations the customer holds a dynamic position and the quality organization measures their progress from the customer perspective. But quality focused companies know that the commitment of the entire organization (the “Total” of TQM) creates an even stronger and more impactful benefit. The four key targets of the quality approach insures that your product/service be consistent, meet your customer needs, be delivered on a timely basis and is offered at a fair price. Committed TQM organizations also know that the task of staying competitive is ongoing and also demands continuous monitoring and a strong mechanism for ongoing process improvement.
The overarching success or failure of any Quality initiative is comprehensive participation and purposeful commitment to the entire quality effort. This approach requires and “all in commitment” from top management, supervisors, and all of your team. It demands that the process and your people commit to an action that is vital, precisely understood, properly trained for, continually engaged in and vitally encouraged to act upon. This also means that you nurture an environment that demonstrate to all of your people that they are valued for their input and empowered to learn about the entire process within the cross functional quality teams you will establish.
So what is the main difference between TQM (Deming) and the popular Six Sigma? A quick assessment of the two quality programs is offers that TQM improves quality by adhering to internal requirements and Six Sigma focuses on improving quality and by reducing defects. In today’s world the current popular quality efforts also blends together “Lean and Six Sigma” which adds the critical elements of low cost and increased productivity. The drive for Business Excellence is a secondary advantage here but potentially more important as the company realizes an empowered work environment and a new sense of the possible with a higher level of personal achievement and product awareness.
A quick assessment of the Six Sigma action program allows for five core steps in implementing the quality changes following the “DMAIC” process; Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. The hidden component of the entire program is the emphasis to effectively and regularly communicate your progress. This communication reaffirms both the needed action for the implemented changes and also critical interaction with all of the stakeholders. The last critical element to maintain these changes, is effectively utilizing some form of Kaizen, which means enacting a strong Continuous Improvement program to insure the recording and implementation of the vital changes you have identified.
I was fortunate to be involved with a world class organization that conducted quality efforts throughout the organization. That attitude started with the smallest self-evaluation of all processes, identifying key elements for critical procedures and pursuing a goal of Business Excellence long before it was popular as a business philosophy. For a final overview let’s take a pragmatic view of business excellence, one that companies should regularly strive to achieve. Businesses usually define profitability by the volume of sales, the perceived value that the product/service possesses, and the efficiency with which the product is produced. To cut-to-the-chase many people simply refer to it as “How fast, how good, and how cheap”.
For Business Excellence each area requires attention and an understanding of techniques needed to manage them. “How Fast” is a combination of quality manufacturing techniques and cycle time improvement. “How Good” is enhanced by setting a high level of quality and continuous improvement. Finally “How Cheap” is a variety of Rational Management Processes which include cycle time improvement, waste reduction and lean elements as well as a strong commitment to a total value process like Kepner-Tregoe.
In summary this circles back to our original set of questions and ultimately… What does it take to successfully drive a “Quality Management” implementation? We suggest that no matter what else is technically included within a quality program, the fundamentals of any implementation must have:
1) A fulltime quality leader who oversees a formal process moving forward.
2) From the top down the organization must be committed and involved in the effort.
3) Identify the new vision for why and what it is to be accomplished.
4) The entire business team should be involved, acknowledged and encouraged to contribute.
5) A system of measurement and metrics is necessary at multiple points in the process.
6) A dynamic and interactive knowledge management system for improvements and training.
7) Develop a regular schedule for updates, challenges and new ideas.
8) Establish your customers as the driver for identifying the areas of effective improvement and the ultimate measure of realized success.
9) Make the entire process challenging and contagious for all team members as their motivated involvement is an ultimate and lasting benefit in and of itself.
We can address the essential elements of Quality… so take the initial steps and discuss the challenges that you may face. First you must identify the fundamental challenge you wish to resolve and secondly you must understand if you already have in place the team necessary to move forward with a new commitment to real Quality Excellence.
The Performance Detective
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