Deploying Lean consultants to help your organization transform
Every business wants to improve operations for the better. The problem is that the bigger companies become, the more difficult it is for them to identify strategies for upward expansion and growth. This leads to corporations investing thousands of dollars into market research and hiring expensive consultants to guide their improvement. Many times, these consultants come up with solutions that aren't relevant to the businesses or otherwise don't work out.
The problem is that, ultimately, few people know a company as well as those who work for it. Yes, years of experience working in a particular sector or industry can provide consultants with sufficient experience for them to have an understanding of trends and best practices. But ultimately, businesses all have their own issues and practices, so these individuals won't always be able to provide the best solutions for individual companies.
As Money Control notes, sometimes the answer for improvement lies in asking the people at the front line for help. Few people know companies better than those on the bottom, and they can often provide valuable insight into operations and help companies grow. The problem is getting businesses to take these people into consideration as they plan for the future.
While traditional business consultants may provide mixed results, Kaizen consultants can help businesses understand the value of their employees. One of the core tenets of Kaizen is employee empowerment and engagement, which encourages companies to utilize front-line employees and develop stronger operational procedures.
“Front-line employees have an intimate knowledge of real-time problems and their solutions since they deal with your products, services, customers and vendors on a daily basis,” the news source added. “Their knowledge is not based on theory but on experience. By encouraging a free flow of ideas, you can bring about a profound transformation in your organization, one that could not only boost overall performance but also liberate the people who work in it.”
Lean consultants and engaging frontline employees
In a traditional business setting, managers and executives are the people who set all the rules and policies. However, many of these individuals are far removed from the traditional operational environment. As a result, they enact rules and processes because they make sense at a high level, regardless of whether they work at the ground level.
Sometimes, it takes a significant paradigm shift to see things another way. It's not that executives are intentionally ignoring front-line employees, they just happen to be set in their ways. Kaizen consultants can help business leaders break that mold and better understand the importance of their workers and the contributions staff members can bring to companies. This often starts by holding regular meetings with employees and can develop further from there.
“Many organizations have TQM or Kaizen forums, where employees are encouraged to suggest areas of continuous improvement on a monthly basis,” Money Control explains. “Before inviting suggestions, ensure that you have established a Standard Operating Procedure for the suggestion system. This should ideally educate the employee about the process, from obtaining suggestion forms, to implementation criteria, to reward and recognition schemes for implemented ideas. Next, a committee needs to be created (preferably cross-functional) to ensure timely review and feedback on each suggestion.”
Kaizen requires many businesses to rethink their approach to operations, which is why it's often helpful for them to have consultants on board as they begin their transformations.