Creating a Six Sigma Culture in Your Workplace
Undoubtedly, the biggest advantage offered by Lean Six Sigma to any organization is that it impacts the work culture in an up beating way. It drives the company employees to transit from passive participants who just notice the problem to active ones who are headstrong to solve them.
Lean Six Sigma has the potential to literally transform employee behavior by inculcating a strong sense of responsibility. A quick difference can be noticed between the Six Sigma cultured employees (Lean Six Sigma green belt certified employees) and the traditional employees by their way of dealing with problem of any sorts.
A Six Sigma employee will:
- Not see the work in terms of departments and functions but will analyze the work in terms of process flow.
- Participate actively in identifying solutions and defining improvements rather than relying totally on the top management.
- Utilize suitable skills in order to develop and implement the solutions.
- Involve him completely and actively in continuous improvement efforts.
Why is Six Sigma Culture Important?
After the completion of the Six Sigma certification course, the Six Sigma culture gets automatically imbibed within the employees. But the organizations need a healthy company culture which helps in sustaining all the Six Sigma attributes in the employees and prevent them from reverting back to square one i.e. the traditional behavior and mindset.
Read Also: Lean Six Sigma: Top tips worth remembering
Peter Drucker has aptly quoted that, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Without a Six Sigma culture, the employees tend to surrender easily to the old mindset of problem-solving techniques. If the companies aim for a continuous improvement using six sigma methodologies and strategies but do not opt for a Six Sigma culture, this strategy often results in a failed attempt.
Change Management
Change management helps in developing a new workplace culture amongst individuals and within the organization. Here are four ways in which change management can be used to incorporate lean six sigma workflow optimization.
- Creating Awareness and Desire
This process kicks starts from the top management when the members of the executive management communicate the benefits of Lean Six Sigma down the line. With proper management guidance and Six Sigma culture, projects are better equipped on a budget as well as on time. It also ensures the proper and accurate allocation of resources. With management’s support for the Six Sigma projects, resistance is decreased from all levels such as employees and stakeholders.
2. Exposing Organisational Change
After the upper management has communicated regarding the change in Six Sigma culture, the methodology can be disbursed within the organization. One of the best ways for infusing Six Sigma culture in the organization is through certification, education and training. The more the employees are exposed to Lean Six Sigma through offline and online modes, the more they are entrenched towards the company culture.
3. Move Ahead, and Be Prepared for Surprises
It is very important to follow the change management plan and quality management trends 2018 as they are ideal for creating an ambiance where the Six Sigma culture can survive. The company executives should be ready to face the unexpected as it becomes very hard to change the strongly held traditions and to break the attachment for obsolete practices.
4. Reward Generously
It is really important to reward the employees or leaders when they display behavior that promotes the Six Sigma Culture. The organizations supporting Six Sigma culture witness a workforce that is constantly aiming for process improvement.
Winding Up
The primary objective of an organization must always be to get the employees involved in a quality culture with continuous improvement all the time. The reasons behind infusing six sigma cultures to the workplace include:
- To make the employees capable of applying theoretical knowledge to practical situations and have hands-on experience with the quality tools.
- Making the employees understand the impact of the processes and enable them to design better and improved processes.
- To enhance the quality of the daily chores and activities, further contributing to increased efficiency.
Last but not least, a Six Sigma culture will make the employees understand the importance of teamwork even amongst the cross-functional units.
