I remember being part of a site wide initiative where everyone was given a plain white T-Shirt and a set of fabric pens. We were then asked to add our own design to represent continuous improvement (CI). Continuous Improvement (CI)I is not a one-off box ticking exercise - it is a never-ending journey that needs to be embedded within an organisation's culture. A CI strategy should be an integral part of any Business Transformation programme and incorporate a three stage process - Input, Throughput and Output. I have summarised the key points to consider at each stage on a Continuous Improvement slide. Please use the following link to check out my full article on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/continuous-improvement-been-made-t-shirt-jon-stephenson

1. Input
• Define clear success measures for the CI strategy
• Establish robust feedback mechanisms
• Ensure that everyone understands their role
• Recruit people who will embrace a CI culture
• Create the environment for intrinsic motivation
• Increase cross-functional networking, knowledge
transfers, and benchmarking between teams
• Remind everyone CI is a collective responsibility
• Remove the fear of failure and empower people
to explore ideas outside their comfort zones
Throughput
• Make it easy for people to submit their suggestions
• Encourage lateral thinking and left-field proposals
• Challenge them to consider the end-to-end process
• Ensure groups review the ideas, not just individuals
• Take some calculated risks – don’t stifle creativity
• Provide originators with feedback on rejections
• Involve people throughout the implementation of
their accepted ideas so they become your advocates
Output
• Ensure all change initiatives are fully embedded
• Reward your people for the quality of their ideas
rather than the quantity they have submitted
• Celebrate the successes, share best practice, and
publish case studies to stimulate further ideation
• Encourage people to build on their achievements
• Help them learn from their mistakes and failures
Jon Stephenson
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/stephensonjon
Continuous Improvement – implementing a clear strategy