Awareness is a key step in transformation. We kickstart this phase by providing training to the teams on soft topics related to change management. In our experience, efforts taken to prepare the organization for transformation using such topics will go a long way to make the journey smooth and fruitful. It provides a strong foundation for the follow-on sessions related to hard topics related to Lean Six Sigma and the relevant digital technologies.
With the foundation focus on the soft skills, the employees will be able to better relate to the ‘Why’ behind the ‘What’ emphasized in the hard skills and this helps drive a shared need .
Unlike traditional classroom training, this phase will involve the following activities:
Activity 1: Classroom training:
This will be a classroom training that will cover 3 modules. The first one focuses on preparing the teams for transformation and will include topics related to Change management. The second one is to create awareness of the Lean Six Sigma methodologies and basic concepts. The third module will orient the teams to the evolving digital landscape and expose them to new digital possibilities.
Activity 2: Preparation for Value Stream mapping:
A Value stream is a set of all activities(Value-added and wasteful) that are performed by the organization to fulfil a desired need by the customer. The customer here could be either an internal function or an external client. In this activity, we will identify a suitable value stream along with scoping to be used as a pilot study. We will also include the identification of the cross-functional team members that will support this study.
Activity 3: Value Stream mapping of the current state:
Hands-on, first-hand experience to the team walking the ‘Gemba’ (actual workplace in Japanese). This will help the employees see theory in action where they would identify wastes in their end-to-end value stream that has been chosen for the pilot study. The expected outcome from this activity is to draw the current state VSM with wastes clearly identified.
Activity 4: Value Stream mapping of the Future state:
A brief orientation to the team on how the future state is to be envisioned followed by an actual visual mapping of the future state. This activity will also emphasize on the identification of key focus areas of improvement within the value stream that will form the basis for the Value Stream Improvement plan. Such areas will not only include waste elimination possibilities but will also orient the team to the revealing the ‘digital potential’ in the value stream to digitalize certain activities using relevant technologies to augment the business value.
This structured set of activities will help accelerate the employees’ learning of the Lean fundamentals/Digitalization possibilities in a manner that will help them critically examine their operations which will motivate them to improve in a purposeful manner.
Estimated time duration for this phase:
5 days depending on the resource commitment from the company’s leadership.
Pre-requisites:
Completed questionnaire that will be sent upon the award of the business. Preferably to be submitted atleast 2 weeks before the start of this phase. This will help us to understand (a) details of the business, (b) unique challenges and (c) the current exposure/maturity of Lean understanding within the organization. Note: We can sign a NDA before you send us the completed questionnaire.