Scenario
A government division had grown rapidly in last five years. But some of its processes started to lag behind the growth. This caused disruption, frustration and errors in the daily work that staff members were doing. The challenge was for the front-end and back-end processes to keep pace with the changes and growth.
Approach Adopted
After examining a range of techniques, a Six Sigma tool called DMAIC was selected as the catalyst. DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. This division did not adopt Six Sigma, but it did implement some of its best practices.
Teams of 20 people attended a two-level workshop over four months. During the first-level workshop, participants were introduced to DMAIC through theory and also a business simulation. Then the team spent time identifying opportunities for improving it and worked the recommendations to identify what needed to be done. The second-level workshop focused on the skills and knowledge required for them to be catalysts in the organization.
When participants returned to their offices, they were immediately tasked with working in cross-functional teams (from their team members on the workshop) and preparing a presentation on what needed to be done to implement their recommendations. They used the DMAIC model to accomplish this. Three weeks after completing the first workshop, they presented their recommendations to their peers. To assist each team in gathering data, clearing road blocks and ensuring they could follow through, a mentor was assigned to work with them. After the team presented, the head of the department for which the improvements were targeted took responsibility for their implementation.
To further support the implementation, the organization created a reinforcement program to encourage the right behaviors and held regular reviews.
Because of this initiative, staff members were able to eradicate problems that had frustrated them in their work. As a result, they experienced fewer disruptions and errors and staff satisfaction improved.
