You Can be Great If You Really Want To

In nearly every organization, there are opportunities for business process-related improvements. In many cases, the problems that plague companies are simple. The factors that influence the efficiency of a given process are few. In these type of situations, a full Six Sigma deployment may be unnecessary for designing a solution. These are circumstances in which Kaizen can offer tremendous value.

The methodology’s focus is dedicated to generating continual improvement. If an activity is constantly improved upon, inefficiencies will eventually disappear. The concept is simple and can be applied to any activity in any environment.

Even though it originally gained popularity within the manufacturing sector (similar to Six Sigma), Kaizen can also be applied to the service industry. In fact, it is perfectly suited for it. This article will discuss the reasons the methodology works well in a service environment. You’ll note that there are strong undercurrents that are very similar to Six Sigma.

Reduces Customer Irritation

In a manufacturing environment, variances are costly. They can bring production flows to a grinding halt. This is the reason Six Sigma is used by many large manufacturers; once process-related inefficiencies are eliminated, production proceeds with few changes.

In a service environment, variance is natural and often the result of customer irritations. For example, consider a restaurant. The kitchen must prepare dishes efficiently or they risk falling behind. If a customer becomes dissatisfied with the wait time, he may complain. His complaint may need to be addressed by the server, which takes her away from other customers. In this case, Kaizen can be used to identify ways to reduce the wait time. Doing so reduces the number of customer irritations, thereby saving time and improving the level of satisfaction among all customers.

Near-Instant Impact

Because Kaizen is focused upon producing small improvements over time, the effects can be observed quickly. Rather than conducting a large-scale project that seeks to realize substantial process-related improvements, Kaizen attempts to resolve a wide range of small problems. As a result, the effects of implementing the methodology are nearly instant, especially within a service environment.

Let’s use our restaurant as an example. During the course of serving a customer, the server will greet him, bring drinks, take his order, and deliver his meal once the kitchen has prepared it. Rather than examining the entire process, Kaizen focuses on improving each piece. In other words, what can be done to greet the diner more quickly? Can the wait time between the greeting and the server bringing drinks be shortened? Can the day’s specials be communicated in a way that reduces the need for questions?

By focusing upon small problems, Kaizen can yield instant improvements that impact the bottom line and improve customer satisfaction.

Boost In Employee Productivity

Much of the variance and customer irritation in the service industry can be attributed to human error. That is, employees make mistakes which often cause problems that require time and effort to resolve. Contrast that to a manufacturing environment where information and material flows are largely static. The goal is to identify inefficiencies and waste within the production process.

If Kaizen is used in a service environment to produce incremental, continuous improvements, employee productivity rises. As productivity rises, the time required to perform a given task declines. This has an immediate impact upon the customer’s experience. In a restaurant, it might translate into shorter wait times for meals. In a hospital, it might mean seeing a doctor more quickly. In a bank, it can help reduce the line of people waiting for a teller. Each circumstance improves the level of customer satisfaction while lowering costs.

Kaizen plays an important role within the service sector. Organizations that implement the methodology will likely see an immediate impact on their efficiency, employee morale, and profitability.

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Introduction

6 Sigma is all about quality improvement and was first pioneered by Motorola in the 1980s. Over the last few years, this methodology has received much recognition and several companies have adopted it in order to meet their targets. Six Sigma’s clientele include a long list of well-established manufacturers like General Motors, Ford Motor Co., GE, Honeywell and many more. However, there are still many non-manufacturing companies that have come to the conclusion that 6 Sigma will not work for them. This is because Six Sigma was originally developed for helping the manufacturing industry. Organizations such as health care systems, financial service providers and educational systems all doubt the usefulness of 6 Sigma.

Why The Service Sector Feels That Six Sigma Is Not For Them

The most obvious reason why service companies keep away from 6 Sigma is because they perceive it as a manufacturing tool. Service organizations feel that because their companies have a large amount of human work force, there are no measurable defects to be corrected. However, experts say this is not true. A recent survey has shown that service companies that have invested in Six Sigma are all saving millions of dollars for every project. Human resources makes up a large part of all service organizations. To conquer this problem, leaders of the industry can be trained in 6 Sigma to balance their employment expertise with statistics-based analytical tools.

The fear of metrics is another obstacle that stands in the way of the service sector and Six Sigma. Most people feel that 6 Sigma sounds too technical. The importance of metrics is to give an insight into the business working processes. Service based companies need to focus all their attention on developing Six Sigma projects that specialize in their business needs like customer and cash generation. Convincing the service sector about the merits of taking up 6 Sigma has proven to be a big challenge. Most service companies still believe that Six Sigma can only benefit the manufacturing industry.

How 6 Sigma Can Benefit The Service Industry
Six Sigma goes in to the details of improving customer service, generating business expansion and gaining knowledge about the service sectors business processes. Most service industries revolve around areas of finance, human resources and sales and marketing. Hence, 6 Sigma delves deeply into the subject of soft skills. Six Sigma can be applied to a company that provides housekeeping services. Firstly, the companies working processes would need to be understood. Using the DMIAC method or the define-measure-improve-analyze-control method, 6 Sigma can definitely implement quality in any industry. As the main aim of this methodology is to reduce defects, the first step would be detecting the particular defect. Secondly, data will be collected to observe how, why and how often these defects occur. Next, the Six Sigma team implements an outstanding employees method of working as the normal method for all employees. Finally, new employees are taught the correct techniques.

6 Sigma is useful in the field of sales and marketing as well. According to Six Sigma data, during sales, too much face time with a customer can prove to be counter-productive. Changing this process can result in an increase in the percentage of sales per product. Other industries that 6 Sigma has assisted in the past are the financial service sector, insurance companies, management companies, educational institutions, high-tech companies, state agencies and many more.