Today, improving our organization is not an option, it is a necessity. Staying still today means going back competitively.
The slogan is "every day we must improve our organization a little". And don't stop. We call this Continuous Improvement.
Living things adapt to the environment, or die. Only those who have known how to adapt survive. And the company IS A LIVING BEING. It is born, grows, reproduces and dies.
Okay but where do I start?
Start by understanding that an improvement is a change. Therefore, you must make your organization responsive to change. The objective to be achieved would be that the only permanent thing in the company is the change itself.
In order for your organization to assimilate change, you must intensively train and inform all staff. We must minimize the insecurity that changes provide.
Once you have incorporated the culture of change in your company, follow these steps:
- Select the process or topic to improve. To select the topic to be discussed we can base ourselves on economic, job security, ergonomic or social climate improvement arguments. Create a team and assign responsibilities and resources. Collect all the necessary information related to the selected topic. Measure the current process. Identify the key indicators for later comparison. Analyze the alternatives and design a new method. Implement the new method. Check the results. Compare them with the initial ones. Create systems that guarantee the maintenance of the new method.
The fact of incorporating continuous improvement in the management of our organization, in addition to the direct benefits, brings us a greater benefit if possible. This is the promotion of participatory management. Workers need recognition for their work and involving them in process improvements gives them a very important motivation.
On the other hand, don't forget to set up some rewards system. They do not necessarily have to be cheap. Examples of rewards: A ham and a few bottles of wine for the team that has generated the best idea, an economic amount equivalent to a certain percentage of the savings made to buy items for the job itself, etc. The best idea of the year can win a weekend somewhere charming.
Post the improvements. Make your employees proud to improve the company where they work. They will feel it as their own.
Keep in mind that the greatest value contributed by your workers is their gray matter.
Do not wait more! Start improving your organization today!
