APR ‘22
Achieving Sustained Change: Why most process improvement efforts fail Your project team analyses your business activities and
forms culture; forms mindset.
identifies an opportunity for a process improvement
When our people know the ‘why’ of Continuous
to increase performance and as a result, customer
Improvement, and the why of any given change, you
satisfaction. Your project manager utilises the 5S
are giving them a reason to subscribe to the change.
Framework to identify and remove waste, for a more
When they are aware of why the change is important to
organised, safer and efficient workplace environment.
them, to the organisation, and for the greater good, they
The new process policy and steps are written out in
are more likely to adopt an identity of someone who is
great detail and illustrated visually on posters around the
willing to go along with or advocate for the change. This
workplace, and you engage your team in an interactive
means that their values and beliefs may shift towards the
workshop to ensure they have the knowledge and skills
change, and this means your people are more likely to
required to perform the tasks.
look forward to learning the knowledge and capability of how to implement that change in their behaviours in the
Your company has undertaken a comprehensive effort
workplace, resulting in a greater likelihood of sustained
to see a continuous process improvement, addressing
change in the physical environment.
the physical environment, behaviours and your team’s knowledge and capability, BUT your efforts only result in
The lesson? We need to work on the invisible and the
short term performance increases, rather than sustained
intangible levels of change, to see a sustained change
change.
in our environment.
Where did you go wrong? You employed a systematic
If you are interested in understanding more about the
tool to sort, set in order, shine, standardise and sustain
importance of attending to the intangible levels of
significant changes to the environment, wrote new
change, watch the highlights video of the Innovative Talks
policies, and empowered your people to change their
Workshop that featured special guests from State Library
behaviours through training… but in only focussing on the
of Victoria.
areas of change you can measure, you forgot to take care of the intangible levels of change that are necessary to
In the discussions, the importance of attending to the
see sustained change.
intangible levels of change ‘below the line’ became very apparent, as it is through their team’s uncompromising
It is the hidden levels of change that provide motivation
attention to all levels of change that State Library were
and enable a mindset of change.
able to empower, motivate and successfully change the
You must take care of Values and Beliefs, Identity and
mindset of their organisation, to achieve significant and
Purpose (the ‘why’), because the combination of these
sustained improvements. Watch the video HERE
P 12