What are the most effective techniques for identifying the root cause of a problem in supervisory skills?

1 Ask the 5 Whys

The 5 Whys technique is a simple and popular way to identify the root cause of a problem. As an example, if your team is missing deadlines, you can start by asking why. Through a series of questions, you can uncover the hidden factors that contribute to the issue. For instance, if the team is missing deadlines due to having too much work to do, you can ask why they have too much work. You may find that they are understaffed because some team members left and were not replaced. By asking why they left, you may discover that they were unhappy with the work environment due to poor communication, lack of feedback, and low morale. The last answer reveals the root cause of the problem: the work environment. Therefore, by asking the 5 Whys, you can focus on solving this issue.

2 Use a Fishbone Diagram

A fishbone diagram is a useful technique for identifying the root cause of a problem. This visual tool helps you organize and analyze possible causes, with the problem as the head and the causes as the bones. To use a fishbone diagram, you must define the problem clearly and write it at the head of the fish. Then, identify the main categories of causes, such as people, processes, equipment, materials, environment, and so on. Next, brainstorm the specific causes within each category and write them as sub-branches of the fish. Finally, analyze the fishbone diagram to identify the most likely root cause or causes of the problem. For instance, if your problem is low customer satisfaction, you can use a fishbone diagram to explore possible causes in different categories such as staff training, product quality, delivery time, customer service, etc. By using this method you can visualize relationships between the problem and its causes while also prioritizing the most critical ones.

3 Apply the Pareto Principle

The Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, suggests that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. To apply this principle to identify the root cause of a problem, you should first collect data on the problem and its causes. Then, rank the causes according to their importance and plot them on a Pareto chart. This bar graph will show the relative contribution of each cause to the problem. Once you have identified the causes that account for 80% of the problem, you can focus on these and ignore the less significant ones. For example, if high employee turnover is your problem, collect data on why employees leave, such as salary, benefits, career opportunities, etc., and rank them by importance. By applying this principle, you can concentrate on the few causes that have the most impact on the problem.

4 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?