When coming up with solutions for problems, usually - after you’ve spent a lot of time planning and digging to the ROOT of the problem - you say, “here’s what we need to do, now let’s go do it.” Then what happens? Sometimes nothing happens, but most of the time when we put a solution (or part of a solution) in place it eventually falls apart a week, month or year later.
Why is this? Well, the main reason is that you didn’t put as much planning into the solution as you did into getting to that point. You got so excited that you’ve developed a solution that you jumped right in and try to make it work. Moreover, you missed some key steps that would have played a huge role in sustaining your solutions.
Just like the project itself, solutions take a lot of planning. You have to take the time necessary to ensure the results you wanted are the same results you get initially and then continue to get until it’s time to revisit the process for more improvement, not because people just plain stopped doing it.
Here are a few things to consider when developing solutions that will help you with sustainment.
How will the new results be measured? If you don’t measure the new results, how will you know if you’re getting the results you wanted? Ensure a measurement system is in place and it is reviewed regularly. Post the metrics - also know as key performance indicators (KPI) - and huddle around them, set goals around them and track them for trends.
Have all the new steps been clarified? Does everyone know exactly how he or she fits into the new process? Before you start to implement a solution you have to make sure everyone knows what he or she are doing. Don’t rush to the solution; rushing can make some people feel intimidated and not stick up their hand to ask questions. The second part to this is to ensure everyone agrees on the steps; if you move forward with people disagreeing with the solution then
Who will own the process? If no one owns it, it won’t sustain. Think of it this way, if there was a garbage can in a room that needed to be emptied and no one was responsible to empty it then chances are it would get filled past a reasonable point and potentially be overflowing. However, if a process/system with standards was created to empty the garbage and there is someone (process owner) who made sure the process was being followed then chances are the garbage would be emptied. Process ownership does mean this person is the doer; they are the person who is already a stakeholder in the process who makes sure the standards are being sustained. If the standards were not being maintained they would bring this up with the stakeholders and do more problem solving. Ask why?
Are Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) placed where the work happens? When a new solution is implemented, chances are it will take some time for people to get used to it. To further explain this point I have a name writing simulation that I will post after this article that demonstrates the challenges of new processes; take yourself and/or team through it. An SOP needs to be visual (use pictures), have all the steps to the process laid out and be so easy to understand that you could grab someone off the street and they could follow the SOP and get the same result as one of your employees.
What is the training schedule? Training is usually treated as a singular event, where someone (who is rarely a trained trainer) shows another person how to do a new task once but then can’t understand why the trainee can’t do the trained task later. Training schedules need to be created; training needs to done daily in the beginning, and then slowly moved out as the new process becomes familiar. Even once everyone is fully trained in the new process, there should be annual refresher training at minimum.
Your solutions are great; they’re going to eliminate waste (in all its 8 forms), now go make them happen.
Be Continuous Improvement!
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