Kaizen that really works
Kaizen – Japanese for “improvement” – is a popular buzzword in
continuous improvement. But what does it actually mean – and
how can you make it really work?
Kaizen in action
Kaizen refers to the theory and practice of continually improving all the functions of a
business from procurement to customer services and beyond. It uses Lean Methodology
to eliminate waste by improving processes – not just to improve productivity but ideally
also to humanise the workplace by teaching employees to spot opportunities and develop
mental participation rather than just carrying out repetitive tasks.
Kaizen can involve everyone from the CEO down to front-line staff on a daily basis, as
well as customers and other stakeholders. It can be a small or larger group in a specific
department improving their own working environment and productivity or it can be
carried out across the company.
But kaizen has pitfalls
Kaizen has a number of drawbacks – it’s fine to check if things are wrong then go about
fixing them, but what about actively seeking ways to improve even if there doesn’t appear
to be a problem? And if employees are to suggest improvements, they need to know
what’s important to the company.
Then there are the bright sparks who see a means of quantum improvement, get ignored
because their suggestion doesn’t fit preconceived targets – so take their genius off to
start their own company.
And what about the famed ‘kaizen blitz’ – a week where staff down tools to focus on
one particular issue? Well, it’s a contradiction in terms because kaizen is all about
continual improvement.
Talk Endorsement
“ TalkFreely has allowed us to
evaluate and improve our user
engagement throughout the
life cycle of our Continuous
Improvement program.”
Paul Ewers
Visteon Engineering Services Ltd
Talk Benefits
• Gives end-to-end visibility of
the process of improvement
and innovation
• Broadens staff engagement
through involvement in the
sifting and shaping of ideas
• Crunches improvement lead times
by intelligent routing so the right
people make the right decisions
• Easily configured so it can match
your needs precisely
• On-demand web-based software
that’s smart, safe and requires no
installation
Kaizen
‘kai’ means ‘change’ or ‘the action
to correct’, ‘zen’ means ‘good’.
Kai
zen
Engage. Innovate. Improve.
The key to success –
how to make kaizen
sustainable
You should start by using ‘systems
thinking’ – a framework based on the belief
that the component parts of a system must
be understood in relation to each other, not
in isolation, and the only way to grasp why
a problem occurs and persists is to see
how it relates to the whole. The application
of kaizen as continuous improvement
within a business needs the discipline of
a well-managed process.
Step 1: Understand the challenges
facing your business
And seek opportunities as well as solutions
to problems. Do this by determining:
• The voice of the customer
• The voice of the employee
• Strategic goals
• Known problems
• Wouldn’t it be good if... Ask staff/
stakeholders to complete the sentence.
Use all this data to get the ‘bigger picture’
to feed into the process of improvement.
Step 2: Set challenges every week
or month
• So employees understand the aims of
the business – otherwise they’ll come
up with improvements to problems the
organisation doesn’t consider important
• So you get the improvements you want
– resources are limited so make sure
staff are focused on areas that deliver
greatest value
• Change the focus of your challenge –
too many changes in one area don’t
get done
Step 3: Engage the whole workforce in
the process of sifting and shaping
• Typically only a select few submit
improvements – but all staff have
experience/insights that can deliver value
• Engaging more people shares the ideas
and increases the chance of success
• But do this with intent, not as a sop or
employees will be disappointed – raising
expectations is counterproductive if you
don’t follow through
Step 4: Approve the right
improvements
• You need a robust selection process to
streamline decision making
• Continuous improvement implies a
quantity of improvements going through
the process – so you need to make
progress quickly
• Ensure the right people are presented
with the right ideas – easy if you set your
challenges correctly
• Let staff know what has been decided
Step 5: Monitor delivery
You will need to employ a rigorous
approach:
• Some improvements have a sell-by date
– don’t be too late
• Set implementation dates
• Identify bottlenecks
• Monitor and celebrate success
• Delivery may be tougher than coming
up with ideas – so recognise effort
TalkFreely – the key to
sustainable kaizen
All this may sound daunting but with the
right tools it doesn’t have to be.
Successful, intelligent kaizen is exactly
what TalkFreely delivers. TalkFreely
provides a robust framework to manage
the end-to-end process of continuous
improvement and innovation. And it
is customisable, so it meets the exact
requirements of your business.
Our simple system uses the familiar socialnetworking tools of email, web, SMS and
phone to get employees and customers
involved, identifying improvements and
new ways of working. As you do not want
an avalanche of ideas that just waste time
and money, TalkFreely sifts and shapes
them, eliminates duplication and fast
tracks those with the most value.
We have the tools to rigorously manage
feedback and innovation so they lead
to concrete, measurable improvement.
TalkFreely ensures the right people make
the right decisions so ideas are put into
action quickly. Accountability is the key to
continuous improvement that saves money
while providing better service: TalkFreely’s
software tells you who is generating ideas,
how many are enacted/rejected, how long
you are spending on them and what they
are really worth.
Our slick and efficient system drives
innovation through to delivery. We stop it
getting logjammed and the immediacy that
TalkFreely provides means you are always
ahead of the pack.
But we recognise that requirements differ
with each organisation, so we provide a
preconfigured, flexible framework that you
can adapt to your specific needs. It has all
the tools you need to manage the endto-end innovation/improvement process,
but it also allows you to build your own
applications. That way you can choose to
deal with separate stages of the process:
voice of the customer is just one of many
examples. Multiple applications of your
own design – addressing your priorities –
can run simultaneously and alongside our
own applications.
To ensure that any process works you
need to build in rigour. Organisations
turning a critical eye on their methodology
will find that their kaizen process could do
with some review – TalkFreely can help.
Call TalkFreely today on 0845 050 8444
or email us on [email protected].
We speak your language.
Contact us
Call
UK +44 (0)845 050 8444
US 1-877-TFREELY
Email [email protected]
Visit www.TalkFreely.com
Engage. Innovate. Improve.