Assessing Your Company for Lean Six Sigma: Analyses & Exercises

Deciding to implement any sort of methodology is a big decision, and Lean Six Sigma is no different. Often, we get so pumped on the outcome of the implementation that we forget the part where we need to gauge if we're even ready for the change in the first place. When we look at the benefits of Lean Six Sigma specifically, it almost seems like a no-brainer. Its powerful methodology combining the principles of Lean manufacturing & Six Sigma quality management to optimize a company’s processes, reduce waste, & enhance operational efficiency overall... this all sounds great, right? Who DOESN’T want this?! Hold your horses, y’all.??

Before diving headfirst into a Lean Six Sigma implementation, it’s crucial to gauge organizational readiness. I know, I know - fun police over here. Assessing the readiness of your organization can make the difference between a successful implementation that drives significant improvements and one that encounters roadblocks and challenges. Lean Six Sigma isn’t simply a set & tools & methodologies that can be implemented overnight, my friends. It’s a cultural shift and a reprogramming of the organizational mindset where continuous improvement rules all. Diving in without assessing readiness can lead to further misalignment, huge resistance, and overall failure.?

Below, we’ve outlined two important assessments (extremely briefly) - Organizational & Cultural - to complete to gauge your organization’s readiness for Lean Six Sigma. Think of this as a back-of-the-envelope guide, and perhaps a gut check. By taking the time to evaluate your organization's readiness, you lay a solid foundation for a successful Lean Six Sigma implementation that delivers lasting results versus a crash & burn, flavor of the month disaster.

Organizational Analysis

Evaluate Current Performance and Challenges

Start by analyzing your organization's current performance metrics. Identify areas where processes are underperforming, leading to inefficiencies or poor quality. Question the metrics. Who set them? Where did they come from, and why? Do they match the direction and the strategy? Ensure the metrics actually make sense to understand whether or not the right elements are being measured. Ask what needs to be achieved in order to realize success, and how, ultimately, that is measured currently versus how it will be measured during & after the implementation.?

Map and Assess Processes

Map out your key processes to gain a clear understanding of how they function. Evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, and potential areas of improvement. This is where many organizations can get held up because they want to perfect every little detail of the process. At Path, we advise to shoot for the 80%. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good, as a colleague of mine once loved to quote (daily). Get it mostly there so that the implementation can work it’s magic and provide the feedback of continuous improvement. Processes will change - they don’t need to be 99.9% accurate for implementation, but they can’t be half-assed either. Shoot to capture 80%.?

Resource Availability

Assess the resources required for Lean Six Sigma implementation. Ensure you have the necessary budget, skilled personnel, and technology to support the initiative, and ensure that these resources’ capacities are mapped for the entire length of the implementation. Identify any champions of Lean Six Sigma that may already exist within your organization in order to leverage their expertise, buy-in, and much-needed assistance.?

Cultural Analysis?

Leadership Commitment

Evaluate the commitment of top leadership to Lean Six Sigma. Leadership support is essential for driving change and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. If leadership is not bought in, or will not hold themselves and others accountable, it will never work. Leaders have to sign on to be the example, and be willing to hear constructive criticism and be the receiver of continuous improvement just as much as anyone (potentially moreso) in the organization.?

Employee Engagement

Assess the attitude of your employees toward process improvement. Identify any resistance to change and develop strategies to address it. How is coaching provided now, and how is this received? How are improvements to process identified and implemented now, and how would that change and be received once Lean Six Sigma is implemented? How will buy-in be created? Ultimately, what’s in it for them??

Effective Communication

Evaluate your organization's communication practices. Transparency and clear communication about the goals and benefits of Lean Six Sigma are crucial for success. The implementation will require constant transparency & constructive ideas surrounding improvement solutions. What’s the “why” behind the change? What should they expect with the implementation of Lean Six Sigma??

Learning Culture

Determine if your organization values learning and development, and not just as a nice thought or idea. A culture that encourages acquiring new skills, speaking up, providing ideas, and ensures psychological safety while doing so will better align well with the continuous improvement focus of Lean Six Sigma.

5 Exercises to Verify Readiness

In addition to the two analyses above, these hands-on exercises will get your brain moving and thinking in the right direction.?

SWOT Analysis

Who doesn’t love a good SWOT? Conduct a SWOT analysis through the lens of the organization being a potential candidate to implement Lean Six Sigma. Identify & plot your organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats concerning Lean Six Sigma implementation. This exercise should be completed with a diverse collection of employees to ensure clear communication, consider different perspectives, and gather as much information as possible to ensure a more steady implementation. Additionally, the more individuals that are involved could lead to a better buy-in situation.?

Change Readiness Assessment?

Create & send out a change readiness survey to gauge how prepared employees are for the changes Lean Six Sigma will bring. Keep it short (10 questions or less), with mostly Likert scale statements and a few open-ended questions. Gauge their thoughts and ideas surrounding continuous improvement, feedback, and coaching of process, and what that really means for them.?

Stakeholder Engagement

Hold interviews or workshops with key stakeholders to understand their perceptions, assumptions, expectations, and concerns about Lean Six Sigma. Gauge the ability and willingness to be able to action Lean Six Sigma versus band-wagoning it as a flavor-of-the-month tool. Will stakeholders be able to walk the walk versus just talk the talk.?

Process Simulation

PILOT! Grab your champion and/or point person for the implementation and pilot within a department, or process, or collection of processes. Simulate Lean Six Sigma methodologies on a small-scale to observe the outcomes and challenges. This can provide insights into how well your organization will handle the methodology.

Cultural Assessment Tools

Use cultural assessment tools to measure your organization's current culture and its alignment with Lean Six Sigma principles. Ensure the cultural assessment tools in use are accurate and a true reflection of the organization’s culture. If the org’s culture is in the toilet bowl and no one feels safe in voicing their ideas, beliefs, thoughts re: the potential implementation, then that should be your answer right there. Lean Six Sigma will not “fix” the culture; “fixing” the culture would need to be addressed prior to this type of implementation(which I’m sure you’ve picked up on while reading this article).?

Implementing Lean Six Sigma is about so much more than implementing a methodology. It demands a strategic approach that accounts for the organization's current state, culture, and willingness / openness to change. Taking the time to assess organizational readiness allows you to address potential roadblocks, build a supportive culture, and set the stage for a successful Lean Six Sigma journey. By investing time in this assessment, you're investing in the future success and sustainability of the implementation. Remember, a well-prepared organization is a catalyst for transformative change.

Looking for a strategic partner in implementing Lean Six Sigma or gauging readiness? Check out what our clients say about us at?pathtosummit.com and book a?FREE 30 Minute Call? today.?

Kirsten Ebey, PMP MSIA?is the Owner and Principal Project Manager at?Path to Summit LLC, a virtual project management firm that focuses on everything and anything project management. For more information on how Path to Summit can provide you and your team with PM expertise, check out the?website. For tutorials, tips & tricks within project management, check ‘em out on?YouTube.?