CAN WE KEEP GETTING BETTER?

Presented

by

Dr Reg Allen

CEO Tasmanian Qualifications Authority

ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED

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• What is ‘continuous improvement’?

• Why is continuous improvement a good idea for organisations and individuals?

• How to promote a culture of continuous improvement in your organisation.

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• to keep up with the competition• to respond to the changing environment• to meet higher customer expectations• to improve efficiency

Why does an organisation need to keep improving?

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Continuous Improvement

“A planned and ongoing process that involves an

organisation in systematically reviewing and

improving its policies, procedures and products to

generate better outcomes for clients and to meet

changing needs”. (AQTF 2007)

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Key Elements

• Planned• Getting better

- higher quality

- more quantity

- faster

- cheaper

• Changing with changing times

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What does this mean for an organisation?

Always look for the edge that makes you better than the competition

Take charge of making changes – don’t wait to be reactive to criticisms

Always keep customer satisfaction as the bottom line

Whole of organisation examples might be: improvements to work site

upgrades of software

Continuous improvement can be at both an organisation and a function level

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Improvements to specific functions might be such things as:

amending training schedules

reviewing assessment instruments

• We probably can but circumstances change

• We often have to do our best and then see how it works

• It may not be worth the effort to put so much time into a task to try to get it absolutely right

Why can’t we get it right the first time?

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• Rewarding to do better• Liberating in that you are not locked in to current practice • Encourages people to push themselves• Gives everyone a voice• Positive reinforcement from satisfied customers

What’s in it for the individual?

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Just fixing things treats every instance as an isolated case.

Systematic continuous improvement fixes things but also considers the implications for the function and/or the organisation.

What is the difference between quick fixes and systematic improvements?

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• as a mind set it is a way of approaching work so that a culture of innovation and quality is encouraged

• as a range of techniques it involves processes and tools to make sure it happens

Continuous improvement is both a mind-set and a range of techniques

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New tools alone doesn’t do it:• can have new processes, forms, registers, databases etc without real impact

Convince staff of the value and empower them to identify and make improvements:• they will find, get hold of, make the tools they need

Where should I put my effort: tools or culture?

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• “We need to know what our clients think about…”

• “We need to fix…”

• “We need to record complaints we receive by phone or in person.”

• “How do we know that … change is an improvement?”

The right kind of culture sounds like this:

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• “I want to improve my skills in…”

• “We need a way of tracking dealing with complaints.”

• “Can we have action sheets following our meetings?”

• “Does someone report to management about the outcomes of the client surveys etc?”

They will also say such things as:

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What would an organisation that didn’t

have a culture and practices of continuous improvement look like?

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• a comfort and possibly even a pride in doing things as they have always been done

• a belief that this current product/service will always be valued and wanted

• dismissal of any outside complaints or suggestions

• staff who are indifferent to faults, failures

Any of these features:

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• a strong discomfort with taking risks

• a culture that values stability over change

• practices of fixing things quietly rather than drawing them to the attention of management

• decision-making based on reactions to situations

Any of these features cont’d:

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How do we create a culture of continuous improvement in our organisation?

In your groups identify as many actions as you can.

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• encourages employees to suggest improvements

• supports employees to take risks and be tolerant of mistakes

• learns from mistakes

• acknowledges staff contributions

A culture of continuous improvement is one that:

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• follows through on suggestions

• puts in mechanisms to help generate ideas (e.g. staff meetings, ‘brainstorming’, open-ended discussions)

• reports back on improvements

A culture of continuous improvement is one that:

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Continuous Improvement Cycle

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Incidental - those that just come up: eg client suggestions and complaints

Predictable - those that we plan: internal audits

scheduled reviews

Establish the need for action

Opportunities for improvement:

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In your groups around the table identify as many sources of improvement suggestions that you can.

Where do the ideas for improvements come from?

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Where do the ideas for improvements come from?

Your suggestions…

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• As a problem that needs to be

avoided?

• As a threat?

• As an opportunity for improvement?

How do we regard negative comments and complaints?

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Improvement actions

Improvements can come from:

great leaps forward

or

from numerous small changes

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• highly creative

• technical developments

• highly competitive

Great leaps forward are usually more appropriate in leading edge organisations that can take risks:

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• can’t take big risks

• need consistency of products and

services

Small incremental improvements are appropriate for organisations that must be highly accountable:

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• can happen at all stages of all processes

• staff involvement at all levels

• because small, no great cost in effort

• achieve impact by sheer weight of accumulation

Importance of small step

improvements:

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Significant small improvements over time can be transforming!

If we take, for example,

company image/branding

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• Adopt a logo for website and stationery

• Promote customer service when dealing with new clients

• Develop an online newsletter

• Choose areas of specialisation for which you want to become known

• Participate at local conference with a display booth

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• Decide what needs to be done?

• Assign people to the task/s?

• Carry out the tasks?

• Check that it works?

How do we action suggestions for improvements?

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Why do lots of good improvements not get enacted?

• inertia – it takes effort to make changes

• day-to-day actions take precedence

• lack of a ‘can do’ attitude

• we are often better at big changes

• management not sure how to drive change

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• CEO to lead, inspire, and monitor the system

• Managers to build and implement processes

• Each and every staff member to identify opportunities for improvement and undertake follow-up actions

Who should be responsible for continuous improvement?

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• An internal audit shows that your telephones are not being answered promptly.

• A learner complains that they thought they were going to get a diploma rather than a certificate.

• 40% of staff spoken to were not aware of the relevant form for ….

Select one and identify the steps needed to implement the improvement.

What are possible improvements that could deal with the following situations?

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• Have structured ways of getting feedback from clients and staff

• Schedule regular reviews of processes

• Have tools and processes for making changes

• Make reasonably senior people responsible

• Have ways of measuring the effectiveness of changes made

How do you make continuous improvements systematic?

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Some of the kit-bag of resources people use to assist them

• a feedback/comment form

• a suggestion box

• incident reporting process

• client survey

• staff/industry review of courses

• an action plan

• internal audit schedule and reports

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Recognising Continuous Improvements

It is often hard to show others what improvements our organisation has

made.

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• Do a follow-up survey.

• Look at the function again in an internal audit.

• Ask staff about the effect of the changes.

How do you know the changes you make are in fact improvements?

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SUMMARY

&

QUESTIONS