Continuous
improvement program is crucial for an organization as it offers comprehensive
solutions that are quite apart from the project based initiatives. A single-use
solution doesn’t enhance the capability of an organization to effectively deal
with the potential future risk factors due to its very nature of lack in
continuity. Continuous improvement or CI allows an organization to evolve into
its optimal form, instead of attempting to identify, plan and address each and everything
to be optimal right from the start.
An
integrative, continuous improvement program requires engagement at all levels within
an organization and evaluate where exactly a particular process area is on its
journey. Though continuous improvement has a broad range of elements under its
gambit, here we will discuss about the nine key elements that are very essence
of any CI initiative.
Clear objectives: You need to be clear on your objectives. For instance, do you want
to innovate for risk-reduction in onsite projects or looking to reduce costs
within a particular function, or just striving to fulfill the management’s
mandate to integrate a recent acquisition by your company?
Layered audits: There should be a
weekly, monthly or quarterly audit of the projects. The auditor should also be
audited on regular basis.
Layered metrics: There should be layered metrics of the key value drivers at the senior leadership level that need to be fed into the metrics at each subsequent level to measure the progress of the key value drivers.'
Knowledge sharing: Knowledge should be held by those who are required to take well-informed decisions. Knowledge sharing ensures that key performance indicators are communicated to the appropriate levels at the right time in an organization. The stakeholders should be allowed to take risks as a well-placed mechanism will allow them to learn from their mistakes.
Change management: Potential changes that may have an effect on the expectations of outcome by the people and processes need to be identified. This can be achieved by recognizing a potential change and forecasting its possible outcomes in good time. A retroactive feedback loop will provide the business managers ability to identify and prepare for the effect of a change that will not result in measurable improvement and enhance a business’s ROI.
Risk identification: The potential risks in business processes should be purposely identified to achieve operational efficiency and discipline.
Risk control: Spontaneous approach envisions that all risks shouldn’t be mapped and addressed in one go. There should be continuous assessment of the effectiveness of risk control actions so that the business managers can learn from the minor incidents and take steps to prevent their future recurrence.
Periodic review: Periodic review of an organization’s management system should be done to assess its effectiveness and adequacy in achieving the operational excellence of the business processes.
Employee accountability: It can be achieved by conducting the assessment and audit of process compliance and effectiveness in an organization’s business environment.
Layered metrics: There should be layered metrics of the key value drivers at the senior leadership level that need to be fed into the metrics at each subsequent level to measure the progress of the key value drivers.'
Knowledge sharing: Knowledge should be held by those who are required to take well-informed decisions. Knowledge sharing ensures that key performance indicators are communicated to the appropriate levels at the right time in an organization. The stakeholders should be allowed to take risks as a well-placed mechanism will allow them to learn from their mistakes.
Change management: Potential changes that may have an effect on the expectations of outcome by the people and processes need to be identified. This can be achieved by recognizing a potential change and forecasting its possible outcomes in good time. A retroactive feedback loop will provide the business managers ability to identify and prepare for the effect of a change that will not result in measurable improvement and enhance a business’s ROI.
Risk identification: The potential risks in business processes should be purposely identified to achieve operational efficiency and discipline.
Risk control: Spontaneous approach envisions that all risks shouldn’t be mapped and addressed in one go. There should be continuous assessment of the effectiveness of risk control actions so that the business managers can learn from the minor incidents and take steps to prevent their future recurrence.
Periodic review: Periodic review of an organization’s management system should be done to assess its effectiveness and adequacy in achieving the operational excellence of the business processes.
Employee accountability: It can be achieved by conducting the assessment and audit of process compliance and effectiveness in an organization’s business environment.
If you need to implement a
continuous improvement initiative in your company, you can approach the experts
of Group50 business consultancy. Their continuous improvement program
specialists will help you uncover the areas and opportunities within your
business environment and build up on your existing capabilities for best outcomes
for your organization. Visit Group50.com to contact them.
