A Thousand Ideas! Harnessing the creative genius of your team to enhance the customer experience.

Organizations know that there is a gold mine of untapped process improvement ideas within their workforce. Accessing these ideas can prove difficult when there is no structured approach to harnessing them. These process improvement ideas can be invaluable in driving organizational success, and they don’t have to be earth-shuttering concepts to have a meaningful and lasting impact on the company’s growth and bottom line. Making small changes and adjustments to a process can have a significant effect.

Calling All “Out of the Box Thinkers!”

It is a dream for organizations to have team members willing and eager to provide process improvement ideas that enhance the operations and member experience. Every organization has individuals who possess an innate ability to question the “why” of a process. These individuals are not intimidated by the phrase, “This is how we have always done it.” They constantly seek ways to make the process simpler and more efficient, even when the company is not ready for them, either because of a lack of project management framework or cultural and leadership support. Ideas from “Out of the Box Thinkers” may be overlooked, dismissed, or even belittled as too ambitious or unrealistic if the organization has not built a culture of innovation.

Fertil Ground for Innovation:

Developing an innovative organization that effectively channels and nurtures process improvement ideas requires a shift in the culture and consistent leadership support. To start, you need to establish the necessary framework. This involves providing training, drafting clear communication messages, and ensuring that you have strong management in place. Additionally, it is vital to bring in Project Management expertise to facilitate the capturing, validating, planning, implementing, and controlling of all process improvement ideas. This way, you can ensure that all ideas are effectively managed and implemented.

Although the work of establishing a culture of innovation may seem daunting, it is, in fact, a feasible undertaking that yields significant benefits in terms of return on investment. When viewed through the lens of ROI, the costs involved in creating an innovative culture are justifiable and worth considering.

Make Process Improvements Part of the Daily Focus!

When fostering a culture of innovation, process improvements must be considered an essential component of the job description at all levels of the organization and a consistent focus. With the proper structure, employees will be eager and willing to offer ideas, take risks, and question the status quo. This approach can create an exponential impact, leading to significant and potentially game-changing benefits for the company.

Question Everything All the Time!

It takes time and coaching to train your team on how to question processes in a structured manner. Often, employees and managers engage in venting sessions where they complain about specific processes being redundant or ineffective without realizing that they are engaging in the first step necessary for all process improvements. These informal “venting sessions” often go unnoticed and unrecorded as potential opportunities to fix a flawed process. Coaching your team to leverage these venting sessions to identify and rectify issues is essential. This can provide valuable insights that you need to enhance your operations. Remember, Just because you can't see it doesn't mean is not broken!

"Ouch, That Hurt!" Surveys are Bittersweet!

No company or Manager wants to receive negative customer feedback regarding their processes or customer service. Opening my inbox each morning to read surveys from customers was always an interesting endeavor, but one that I appreciated. I recognized that such feedback, much like bitter medicine, was essential in correcting deficiencies.

Managers and companies must approach customer feedback with a sense of openness and objectivity, recognizing that constructive criticism is an indispensable tool for growth and development. These comments are a gift and an opportunity to make the necessary adjustments to processes and service quality, even when they are hard to read. Fortunately, most of the feedback I received came from satisfied customers complimenting my team on a job well done!

Eliminating “Silos” to Foster a Culture of Innovation!

The famous quote “No man is an island” by John Donne also applies to innovation. To foster innovation, it’s essential to establish a culture that encourages and rewards people to share their ideas rather than holding them hostage for personal gain, credit, or fear of failure. Silos can cause confusion and animosity between peers and departments, creating redundancy. It is frustrating to work on a project only to realize that another department had already worked on something similar but did not share it with your team.

Staying Relevant Requires Innovation!

It is easy to spot a company that lacks innovation. A quick visit to their website or stores often reveals that they are falling behind their competitors because of a lack of innovation or imagination. But to remain relevant, it is not enough to just come up with new ideas or the latest gadget. It is equally important to pay attention to the feedback and needs of your customers. Even if you develop a highly innovative process, it would be a waste if your customers don't find it useful. Also, you need to keep up with industry trends by regularly monitoring your competitors. By staying informed about industry advancements, you can gain a deeper understanding of the business landscape and make informed decisions.

A Sad Reality!

When a company fails to establish a culture of innovation, valuable ideas are often lost or shared only with a few peers or managers and don’t receive the attention they deserve. It’s not that employees or managers don’t care about improving their operations, customer experience, or the organization, but because they lack proper channels, infrastructure, and support. Merely handing off process improvement ideas to a manager with a full plate of daily duties and tasks, without adequate company support or project management experience, can be overwhelming and is not the right way to encourage innovation.

“Build it, and Ideas will Come!”

A company that fosters innovation will consistently evolve and take risks without fear of failure or complacency. Encouraging every employee to be a willing and accountable participant in the evolution process should be an exciting and thrilling proposition. When a company allows its employees the time, space, and structure to share their process improvement ideas and then supports, validates, and implements them, it sets itself apart as a true industry leader.

Innovation should be fun! Go Innovate!

Ideas to start a "Process Improvement" conversation with your Team

1. Start by explaining the concept of Process Improvements

2. Provide your team with examples of successful process improvement ideas, including small, medium, and complex ideas that have been implemented.

3. If you are lucky enough to be employed by a company that values innovation, it is a good idea to invite your Director, Vice President, or Process Improvement Leaders to speak to your team about the significance of innovation. This will encourage your team to actively participate in the innovation process.

4. If no formal process exists for submitting process improvement ideas, create a document to provide your team with structure and guidelines for presenting their ideas. Plenty of resources available online will enable you to do this.

5. Assist your team throughout the process to avoid confusion or discouragement.

6. During team meetings, allow time for brainstorming and creativity. Work in teams by taking a simple process and seeing how it can be improved.

7. Encourage them to question all processes and welcome complaints!

Example:

a. Why do we need to photocopy this if it will be destroyed anyway?

b. Can we move the printer closer? I have to walk 2 minutes to get to it for documents, while customers wait.

c. Why do we call this department for authorization if the answer is always “yes”?

d. Can we help customers immediately instead of sending them to another area?

e. Customers find our enrollment process confusing. Is there a solution?

f. Customers always complain about this product. What are the specific reasons?

g. Our store's layout seems confusing to customers! Can we make directional signs?