The Continuous Improvement Principle
Author: Eric Thompson
Eric Thompson discusses the advantages that stem from use of the continuous improvement principle as a method of delivering business process improvement.
I guess few people would disagree that organisations have to face up to change at some time or another. After all, there can’t be many organisations of any size which have not had to completely overhaul their administrative processes in the last generation or so to take advantage of the power of modern computer systems. Not to have done so would have left that organisation unable to compete with those organisations that had reaped the benefit of the change. More worryingly, in this case, they would probably have been just simply unable to function in the modern world. As the American scientist W Edwards Demming put it; “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”
Options for managing change
So if change is necessary, how should it be managed? If you are managing a group of people in an organisation then you probably have two options. The first approach is to wait until change is absolutely essential and take the “big bang” approach. This may result in the initiation of a major business process improvement project, producing many new processes and perhaps new systems to support those processes, all at one time. This approach is certainly high profile and probably also carries a high risk to the organisation. If you have left it until the change is essential and the project is not successful, what will be the impact on the organisation? If the change does not result in substantially improved performance, the organisation may, at best, loose substantial reputation with its customers. This approach also requires significant dedicated resource to make it happen within a reasonable timescale, and that may lead the organisation to hire external resource that can focus on the project. This can on occasion lead to a lack of ownership of the new systems within the organisation. There are perhaps times when you will find it hard to avoid this approach, particularly if existing systems can no longer support the required processes, so the challenge will be for you to make your project successful.
"A well managed continuous improvement project leads to gtreater empowerment of your staff".
The second option is to adopt an incremental approach that leads to continuous improvement. In this case it is likely that some of the staff in the organisation will be focussing on achieving improvement all of the time. This approach is less demanding of resource, which usually means that staff members can identify the problems, propose and implement solutions and do it in a way that results in continuous improvement both in the internal cost base and in customer satisfaction. Each improvement is of a smaller scale and can be trialled before it is implemented fully, so the risk to the organisation of getting it totally wrong is much less than with a major business process improvement project.
Since the continuous improvement principle lends itself to greater staff involvement it also leads to them making a greater contribution and having greater ownership of the outcomes. A well managed continuous improvement project leads to greater empowerment of your staff.
Explaining continuous improvement
The continuous improvement principle can be implemented with a simple four stage model (Plan, Do, Check, Act). At the “plan” stage the task is to find out what is going wrong and to propose solutions. In the “do” stage the selected solution is implemented on a small scale. In other words the solution is tested before the organisation commits to implementing it across the board. The “check” stage involves measurement to show that the desired outcome is being achieved. The final step “act” results in a full scale implementation, if there are positive indications from the previous stage. Following implementation of one improvement, then of course the whole process can begin again focussed on a different problem. So we have continuous improvement.
The basic continuous improvement model can be adapted to suit individual circumstances. An (Assess, Plan, Do, Review) model has been used in some circumstances, and other writers have suggested more complex seven or eight stage models. It is up to you as an individual to build on the basic continuous improvement cycle and to develop a model which will work for you.
Focussing continuous improvement on the customer
In an ideal world the continuous improvement process should be focussed on the customers of your organisation’s products or services. By getting the customer in focus, and listening to feedback from them, there is a much greater chance that the quality of the service will improve (as perceived by the customer) as well as reducing the internal cost of delivering the service. Only by listening to the customer can you focus on the right problems. Working hard to achieve effective delivery of something that the customer doesn’t want is of dubious value to the organisation!
"You don't just need to sit and wait for things to go wrong before you can make improvements."
The continuous improvement principle can work well for you in dealing with existing problems. A customer complaint or perhaps a cluster of them may signify a problem that needs to be addressed. However, the process works equally well to deal with improvements that stem from external sources. Benchmarking, for example, may show that another organisation, similar to your own, may be able to achieve a superior performance, or an individual may suggest an idea that can significantly alter the approach to delivery. The problem in this case is that someone else is doing it better, and your team need to address how they can adapt your systems so that you can at least equal or perhaps outperform those other organisations. You don’t just need to sit and wait for things to go wrong before you can develop organisational effectiveness.
Embracing the continuous improvement principle has one other very strong positive impact on your organisation, aside from producing a better quality service which keeps customers happy and making the internal delivery more cost effective to keep your bosses happy. The continuous improvement principle requires active engagement of teams of your employees in the task of improving the way that the organisation works. It is they that have the detailed knowledge required to improve the way that the service is delivered to its customers, and by involving them in the selection of problems to be addressed and in the teams that seek better solutions, you are increasing their influence on their own organisation. Increased employee motivation may result in even more effective working that you had envisaged.