Jugjeet Mehmi, Business Development Executive at BSI Group looks at how businesses can use lean six sigma to their advantage for organisations resilience…
Processes are like the arteries of an organisation. If information or product fails to flow in a continuous manner with the customer requirement in mind, then will the customer be 100% satisfied with the organisations outputs or how it operates? Absolutely, not!
Many organisations endeavour to embed methodologies to ensure continual improvement is in their DNA. Lean six sigma is a proven system that has time and time again produced some positive results from a people, product and process perspective. But, did you know that there are some unexpected benefits from a robust lean six sigma programme that can aid businesses through times of uncertainty?
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Improved customer loyalty (operational resilience)
Retaining customers is key at the moment. Retention is a significant factor in determining the success of a business. But, of course, customer loyalty and retention only ever come as a result of high levels of customer satisfaction (a primary goal of lean six sigma).
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Time management (operational resilience)
Employing the lean six sigma methodology can help employees manage their time effectively, resulting in a more efficient business and more productive employees. For example, preventing employees duplicating information or suffering from poor communication.
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Employee motivation (people)
Every business, with the intention to succeed, needs its employees to act in the right way, but for employees to do so there must be sufficient motivation. Lean six sigma allows employees to take control of their own processes and therefore help create a climate of ownership and personal development.
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Strategic planning (agile leadership)
Lean six sigma can play an integral part in any strategic vision. Once a business has created a mission statement, carried out a SWOT analysis and developed its strategic plan, then lean six sigma can help organisations to focus on areas for improvement.
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Supply chain management (supply chain resilience)
The aim of lean six sigma is to continually reduce defects (six sigma suggests a defect rate of less than 3.4 per million), and your suppliers have a major influence on whether this target is met. One way to reduce the risk of defects is to use lean six sigma techniques to select the best suppliers and to develop them alongside your own business capability. Fewer and better suppliers will lead to fewer defects.
The above gives some of the ways how lean six sigma links into BSI’s organisational resilience. Can you think of any others?
Jugjeet Mehmi
Business Development Executive
BSI Group
