In the working world, there are many methods and practices that are adopted by companies, and for years, more and more companies are taking on the Kaizen method. Below we are going to explore why and what benefits it has for firms.
Firstly, different methodologies exist because no matter how successful (or unsuccessful) a company is, there are always ways it can be improved. This isn’t just a life lesson that people tell you to make you feel better in your day-to-day life, this is Kaizen philosophy and it has been one of the most popular approaches to business in the 21st century.
Optimisation. Easily one of the most popular keywords when thinking about your business, it’s almost an obsession these days for a business to run at the highest-optimal condition, and luckily the Kaizen method pursues the purification of bad practices and inefficient processes that stabilises a company’s workflow. But how? By installing a set of quality standards and continuously measuring the achievements.
This method is based solely on strategy,and its goal is to reach an increasingly perfect organisation. To do this, it promotes a work environment that uses disciplines to ease, and hopefully eliminate unproductive time. The philosophy is based on the majestic sounding “Five S’s”, let’s unfold the scroll and take a look;
- Seiri: differentiate what is useful from what is useless.
- Seiton: order what is useful and decide what to do with what is useless.
- Seiso: fight so that order and cleanliness are constant.
- Seiketzu: maintain hygiene and personal hygiene care.
- Sheitzuke: feed discipline and self-control as the basis of optimal productivity.
What benefits can I see in my business with the Kaizen method?
As much as it can work in your personal life, it can also be applied to your business, and there are quite a few benefits to explore;
- Reduction of waste generated by workers, meaning waste items are reduced.
- Increase of satisfaction derived from team motivation and the control of achievements.
- Increased levels of employee commitment coinciding with the general goals of the team and the company.
- Higher staff retention because your employees are more satisfied.
- Higher levels of customer satisfaction, both when receiving the product/service, and when it comes to experience a more optimal service.
- Faster troubleshooting, as better improvements are sought after.
- Stronger teams, increased morale and more connected employees.
Sounds great! How do I get started?
So you’re on board with everything so far and you want to know how to begin implementing this magic methodology to your business. It can be easily achieved by following the next four steps;
- Simplify the workflow and all the tasks that make it happen. By simplifying them, you should also work on the distribution of the same tasks among the members of each team.
- Use the Pareto diagram. This diagram is often, and most-commonly used to organise vales, by establishing a hierarchy (i.e. ascending to descending). It’s used to find the best order of priorities possible, and can be applied to the process of Seiri (classification) and Seiton (organisation).
- Create a histogram. Once you have gathered the relevant values date, it’s best to then convert them into a histogram that graphically represents the variables that are going to influence the production process of your company. Observing this histogram will offer an insight into the realistic achievements that are being achieved.
- Use the Ishikawa diagram. This diagram specialises in analysing all the factors of a process to identify the causes of a problem. And once the problem has been found, you can work to eliminate it and optimise the process.
The possibilities of this method are endless and can easily be seen once you integrate it into your company. But having an online Human Resources Management software is essential to help you keep control of your business.
