I work on a regular basis with a client and their team. It took them a while to grasp the concept of continuous improvement but we got there…
The leaders of the business thought that they would look weak if they discussed improvements with their team. They thought that they should have all the answers.
Plus, isn’t having ‘a nice chat’ with the team a waste of time? Shouldn’t they be getting on with their work?
The evolution
I remember the meeting that took place that changed their perspective. A senior member of the team was leaving the business and they wanted a meeting to discuss improvements that would make everyone’s lives easier after they had departed.
This person was leaving on good terms and the meeting was held in good faith.
It was a wet morning, just after 7am, one December morning. The discussion lasted about an hour and five improvements were agreed to in the meeting.
I stayed back with the directors after the staff member and they were reflecting on what they had agreed to in principle.
A couple of things came out from that discussion.
- They were now wondering how they would deliver what they had agreed to.
- They realised that talking to their team about ways to make the business better could be a good thing.
A strategy was born
From this we developed the approach that is still in use today, many years on. Every fortnight they have a continuous improvement meeting. The office staff are all invited (they do something else for the operational teams) and we have a very simple agenda:
- Review of actions linked to prioritised objectives.
- Review of actions listed on their action log.
- Round the room opportunity to raise issues / offer updates / ask questions.
That’s it.
Results, results, results
The rate of progress in the last couple of years has been astounding.
They have overhauled existing systems, automated administrative tasks and deployed technologies that are saving notable time and money.
So, how did they address their concern about fitting in the work, around their existing workloads?
Simple. They engaged with their teams about making things better, split up the projects into small tasks that can be fitted around their existing jobs and spread the load.
It really isn’t rocket science and this could be a strategy if you find it hard to get improvement going in your organisation.
Effortless?
The title of this article might have raised an eyebrow.
Effortless might be the wrong word, but it isn’t hard work.
The improvements that get agreed are things that the business needs and the team want. One barrier down.
The tasks are broken up, so they don’t raise any alarms in the brain. Another barrier down.
The regular meetings allow the team members to get support and ideas. Another barrier down.
The meeting itself has a standard agenda and takes less than half an hour to run through.
I can think of harder ways to carry out continuous improvement!
Focus on what you want
The last part of the equation is the same as the one I share in my book What Does Good Look Like?
Our meeting focuses primarily on what we want to experience. We raise concerns when they arise but we don’t dwell too much on who messed up. We focus on what we want to experience instead.
We define what would be a great experience and plan around that. This lifts the mood of the team and helps make the process, well, effortless.
If you are struggling with your continuous improvement projects, try this approach for yourself.
Enjoy.
