Improving systems & creating a continuous improvement culture for high performance teams
Dr. Tim Baker
Leadership Development and Change Management Specialist with 27+ years of experience in leadership, change, and performance management.
Where should you start improving your team’s systems? Start with the everyday routine processes of the team. Often when leaders are challenged to be innovative, to improve, to renovate systems, they freeze: Where to start? Start on the conventional and mundane tasks. What mandatory team activities chew up a lot of time, with little result? What systems can be changed? What might make a difference? Ask the team—involve them in the discussion.
Here’s another suggestion: Ask people to audit their time for three days. On analyzing their time usage, it’ll give a clear and accurate indication on where to start. Start with the activity that involve most, or all the team. If everyone is expected to follow a system or process, such as writing reports, then this may be a good place to start. Why? A small improvement in an approach that’s used a lot can reap a big difference in efficiency or effectiveness.
Every individual, team, organization, and industry will prosper from streamlining their systems and processes. So, it’s worth making this a priority. These systems don’t improve without three deliberate actions:
- creating the time and space to exam systems
- initiating a conversation about how they can be bettered and
- involving those affected by the system.
Systems improvement conversation
A systems improvement conversation can be done either with the whole team or one-on-one. Its purpose is to explore ideas to develop the efficiency and effectiveness of the way the team conducts its business. Improving systems is essentially about refining the way business is done.
Key improvement questions to consider are:
- How can this process be done quicker?
- How can this process be done more accurately?
- How can this activity be done in a timelier manner?
- How can this procedure be carried out more cost effectively?
- How can this task be done with greater productivity?
Apart from building upon what’s already in place, the improving systems conversations can also consider replacing an old system with a new system. Or, it could even include abandoning a system entirely. This examination includes systems used between the team and external sources too. The bottom-line is this: Everything that’s done within a team should be examined, with the purpose of improvement.
The difference between innovation & continuous improvement
Improving systems shouldn’t discount the possibility of coming up with an entirely new way of doing something (innovation). Continuous improvement is about how to build upon what we already have— whereas innovation asks: Is there a new and better way? Briefly, continuous improvement is improving the current state and innovation is transforming the current state. Improving systems covers both possibilities.
Here’s an illustration of improving systems from one of my previous books, The End of the Performance Review, that’s based on innovation. Several years ago, a local government authority was aware of the growing number of complaints it received from the public. Specifically, these complaints were about the length of time taken to get tombstone inscriptions completed in time for a funeral. The current process was cumbersome.
A relative of the deceased would draft the details to appear on the tombstone and send them off to the relevant council department. The department would subsequently complete a draft and send it back to the relative for approval. Once the member of the public had signed off on the wording and design, the council officer would then have the tombstone inscribed. This process took two weeks to complete.
Relatives of the deceased became understandably upset and distressed at the length of time this procedure took, particularly when they wanted to complete the burial. This method was unwieldy, requiring several checks back and forward between members of the public and council staff. It became apparent that an entirely new system was needed.
The challenge was to find a better way to speed up this approval process while being 100 per cent accurate with the tombstone transcription. An online solution was devised. In a newly created section of the council’s website, the relative of the deceased would complete the wording they wanted on the tombstone plaque. The officer could immediately do a draft copy and send it back to the relative electronically for checking. Once the relative was happy with the draft, the officer commenced the engraving. This reduced the process from two weeks to one week. This new method is now common practice.
Dimensions of systems improvement
Here are eight dimensions to consider for systems improvement:
- improving quality;
- increasing customer responsiveness;
- reducing costs;
- maximizing output;
- reducing safety incidents;
- meeting deadlines;
- enhancing cooperation with stakeholders; or
- streamlining systems and processes.
Once an idea has been floated based on one or more of these dimensions, assessing its viability is the next important step.
Where do you start improving your systems?
Join me on Friday 30th of October for 30-minutes on a special broadcast (free-of-charge):Improving systems and creating a continuous improvement culture for high performance teams
Often, we’re too busy to improve our team systems. Yet, better systems and processes are key to better performance. Join me to learn how you can create a culture of continuous improvement in teams easily and effectively.
Dr Tim Baker is a thought leader in leadership development and performance management, best selling author, and international consultant. having consulted across 21 industries over 18 years, Tim has discovered what makes people tick. To find out more, go to WINNERS-at-WORK Pty Ltd. How do the teams you leader measure up against these eight characteristics?mmon: speed. Speed is an enabler for agile performance.