People: Continuously Improving

The key to Lean is continuous improvement, a concept that is often applied to processes and rarely to people. Thomas Crosby, CEO of Pal’s Sudden Service, a fast-food chain in Tennessee, takes employee training very seriously. In an interview with Inc. Magazine (link: http://www.inc.com/audacious-companies/leigh-buchanan/pals-sudden-service.html), he shared his perspective on improvement:
“Every single day, everybody has to have a name and a subject they plan to work with them on.”

By applying this continuous improvement perspective organizations build employee loyalty, increase efficiency, reduce errors and therefore increase quality.

Crosby tracks their progress in a number of categories, working the shake machine, serving customers, cooking hamburgers, etc. By quantifying these skills and making improvement a priority, Crosby is sending the message that everyone’s performance matters.

Consider applying this technique in your organization. How would you quantify the skills involved in your business and in what ways can you support improvement? It is always risky to invest in personnel, however Ken Schiller, an admirer of Crosby’s training puts it succinctly, “People ask Thom, ‘What if you spend all this money training someone and then they leave?'” says Schilling. “His answer is: ‘Suppose we don’t, and then they stay?'”

With both processes and people examined for improvement opportunities no chance is wasted to improve the business as a whole.