7 Key Processes Implementation Consultants Still Utilize in 2018 to Drive Business Improvement by 20-30%

With so much business and leadership knowledge abounding worldwide (internet, books, online courses, webinars, universities, MBA programs), why is there still a need for business consultants in 2018? In two recent engagementss which I participated, CEOs asked for our assistance in identifying why productivity, efficiency, throughput performance, and organizational alignment were increasing costs. In each of these cases, increased costs hindered the organization’s ability to achieve strategic initiatives and gain a competitive advantage in their market. Many CEOs understand that in order to obtain the necessary results, sometimes outside assistance isn’t just needed, it’s required. Why is that? Are the challenges too great? Is the team missing the mark? Not usually. It’s namely because a fresh perspective can assist in achieving an honest view of the key issues and what’s driving them. Even when these key issues are identified internally, many organizations still lack the staff to drive the required changes. In addition, the staff of these organizations are overloaded with daily issues preventing their ability to focus upon the change initiative. Our experience has shown that managing by edict fails to sustain improvement because it’s not based upon the execution of a sound daily business plan.

So what kind of “special sauce” do consultants bring to their engagements that allow them to improve operations where current staff have struggled? Are they Svengali manipulating CEOs with some type of black magic and then transforming them into robots? It might appear that way to some, but no, it’s not really. It’s very much dogged research and process investigation. Business consultants, particularly implementation consultants, {exhibit and expertise} possess a strength in focusing upon gaining a sense of the operating conditions that exist and what will be required to affect a business environment change. Organizational paradigms are not allowed to cloud our perspective and we take an open view to the possibilities. The changes implemented will occur in two main areas of the operation: processes on the shop floor and the culture within that organization. Both are required to bring about the changes necessary when a business is experiencing performance challenges.

 To drive this change, consultants first attempt to build rapport with the organization and then dive into understanding the overall business process. Many businesses indicate their need for change, however, the readiness for that change may not be fully developed. The consultant's role becomes an integral one in assisting the company to focus on what is required to execute the improvement and then build the cultural dynamic to sustain it.

 I have observed within the numerous environments that I’ve worked, that this initial phase is critical. Not only does it generate momentum for change but it also ensures that data collection is accurate. It’s a given that consultants will perform many types of data analyses on areas including volumes, trends, outputs, and org structure. However, gaining a perspective about improvement is more than just data analysis. Digging into other performance areas is similar to what a doctor or pathologist would do in order to gather evidence to develop a diagnosis. This look “under the hood” is designed to get to the heart of what’s driving the business to accomplish its overall mission. Executing this review accurately in the initial phase can lead to a smooth and focused project that nets a savings greater than the 20-30% improvement that’s being proffered. If the review is performed incorrectly, then the change either does not occur or the agreed upon results are less than expected. The following seven elements are critical to getting a strong "beach head" established in gaining the maximum value for the business. These elements occur in two waves (1) diagnostics, which focus on identifying all the key background issues and process “gaps”; (2) resolutions which focus upon installing the actions, behaviors, and steps required to drive and sustain the required business changes.

Diagnostics: The First Phase of Discovery

In the diagnostic phase, the consultant teams are evaluating the business in order to identify the key elements in the flow and understand the gaps in performance that exist.

1. Analyze Process-

Customer journey mapping, progress flow, operating system tool diagnostic, are used as a means to understand how work enters an organization and reaches a value added pay point. We use these to identify where gaps occur and then quantify these gaps in terms of impact to the organization. In many cases, this is the first time employees have been involved in understanding the impact of their work upon their peers or customers. This can be a valuable learning session for both leaders and employees. In some cases, customer journey maps can show where customers are being left adrift in endless phone/email chains that do not resolve their issues quickly. In a recent organization engagement the CEO indicated that the customer journey map exercise was an incredibly eye opening experience and one that his team should grade and evaluate regularly. The insights gained in these mapping sessions allow the consulting team to begin the process of developing the required interventions needed for improvement. However, this is only one view of the organization.

2. Understanding Capacity-

Knowing how long a process takes and what that process’s capability is determines the capacity. If there’s a bottleneck in an operation, the team will identify it and try to understand what causes it and what operations around it are affected by it. In some cases the team will try to balance the flow of materials coming to the bottleneck or utilize an approach that allows the flow to be aligned with the bottleneck. In either case, throughput and cost will be major factors utilized to understand how capacity can be optimized to its fullest. Additionally, resource utilization will be aligned to capacity and volume in order to ensure consistent performance costing.

3. Cultural Surveys-

Surveys are used to gauge the readiness of the organization for change but also to understand the culture. Goal alignment, managerial behavior, and change readiness are all examples of effective surveys. The surveys assist the team with understanding people’s attitudes, perspectives and behaviors about the work they perform. Additionally, the surveys provide the team with strong data used to demonstrate to senior management a clear realistic understanding of where their organization stands and what will be required in order to impact and sustain the overall change. Many senior mangers are surprised by what they find in these surveys, however, it serves as a good starting point from which to build new skills and perspectives. These surveys are used by the team to design workshops, seminars and coaching sessions to align leaders with the changes that will be required in order to implement the interventions.

4. Day in the Life Observations-

Most managers do not spend significant time watching their employees perform work, yet many of these same managers are totally shocked when consultant teams identify employees spending only about 67% of their time performing value added work functions. Why does this occur? In most cases, employees are performing the job functions however, barriers and work-arounds have become common place so much so that employees accept them as part of the process. Poorly designed work stations, broken tools (computers included), multiple rework steps, and wait time, just to name a few, are all barriers that keep work performance from being optimum. Consultant teams spend time with employees to identify these issues. By spending a day with employees throughout the organization, consulting teams are able to see these issues, quantify them, and then identify the magnitude of these to the organization.

After completing the diagnostic phase of the process, the consulting team will present its findings to the senior managers of the organization. These meetings are designed to explore ways that the consulting firm can work with the organization to initiate interventions that resolve the issues and create the type of culture the organization wants. Although many managers find some of the revelations shocking, these same managers want some certainty that the consulting firm will bring about the required changes. Next, the project team develops an approach regarding how to resolve the issues.The team then designs a weekly timeline of how the improvements will be implemented and who will be expected to do what by when. Once mutually agreed upon between the organization and the project leadership, the project team and the organization align managers and staff; develop work streams; and establish performance charters in order to anchor commitments, timelines, and savings expectations over the course of the agreed project timeline.

Resolutions: Executing the Project Interventions.

If the project team has been successful at identifying and quantifying the gaps in terms of economic impact to the organization (employees, processes, throughput, customers), the resolutions are designed to implement and establish an infrastructure that focuses upon continually looking at how to keep barriers from reappearing. This process of continually looking at root cause elimination will form the backbone of the consulting teams coaching, training, and process improvement initiatives.

5. System Tool Development-

The core of the improvement initiatives is the development of a system for capturing, tracking, and managing work performance. The team will work with department managers, supervisors, and frontline employees to ensure that the critical key factors are identified, recorded and monitored to ensure gaps are being resolved. Supervisors will track data, perform follow up, set expectations and initiate action plans to ensure barriers are resolved. This process helps managers and supervisors view the business with a different set of eyes. In most cases, managers and supervisors are able to put together consistent data tracking that allows them to manage a process that before seemed out of control. As managers and supervisors track trends and view where gaps are occurring, they’re able to easily identify root causes and then initiate action plans to ensure that issues are resolved permanently. In one engagement, a front line supervisor indicated that she was learning so much about managing that she had never been exposed to before. The workshops and seminars are designed to teach business principles to mangers and supervisors and then coach them on the floor as to how they execute on them. For many, this is an incredible eye opening experience that allows them to grow and to take with them skills they’ll be able to use throughout the remainder of their career.

6. Accountability Meetings-

To ensure that the tools are being effective, managers and supervisors engage in weekly review sessions that allow the supervisors and managers to present results to higher management. These weekly meetings are designed to report results as well as to discuss gaps and what actions will be taken to resolve them within the next two weeks. In many organizations, accountability meetings were not previously held or if they were, issues were only discussed at a high level. In the balanced scorecard view, holding these meetings are a great way to see results that align with the swim lanes and perspectives. This also enlightens senior managers as to which managers and supervisors are developing, therefore enabling them to identify those ready for the next step in succession planning. During the course of the engagement, not all managers and supervisors take advantage of this learning process. From time to time, some will self select or be replaced. This can be unfortunate. However, engagements of this nature require a full commitment from everyone given the money being spent to initiate these changes and sometimes for whatever reason, some don’t feel up to the challenge.

7. Savings Evaluations-

As stated earlier, senior managers want to see a return on investment as outlined in the statement of work and project scope. These leaders want to be assured that the actions taken produced a result that they can use as a competitive advantage, report to their board, and to show to investors. The project team will use historical data to establish a baseline from which the engagement will be measured and an agreement on the method is established. The project team will work with the CFO and senior managers to ensure that the weekly tracking of savings (usually started about the 6th week of the project) is reviewed and agreed upon. The majority of the time a 30% improvement can be achieved just by implementing a performance system within the scope of the project work streams. However, through process improvement, barrier identification, and action plan execution, improvements greater than 50% can be achieved. The commitment of the team really dictates how effective continuous improvement can become.

In the end, implementation consulting is designed to help businesses establish a more organized way to manage; find a way to continually identify barriers and resolve them; and to coach managers and supervisors to do that on a daily basis. When these key elements come together, a new culture is established. A new culture that’s stronger than it was before and one that’s ready to work towards serving the needs of its customer is a greater, more focused manner. Consulting teams take great pride in seeing this occur in an organization and work to ensure managers feel the same about the results at the end of the engagement. As one CEO stated “I knew we could do this. It took a lot of hard work and sacrifice, but we just needed your help to get there. Thank you!”

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André Lugo is a consulting professional with over 20 years of assisting clients with process improvement and overall business cost management. Connect with André via email at [email protected]. As a project change agent in the consulting arena I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve.