Are you familiar with Kaizen? Kaizen is a Japanese management strategy for competitive success that when translated, means “improvement.” For business purposes, the term represents frequent small, incremental enhancements to a process, instead of implementing one large costly change.
In the U.S., business improvements are traditionally made by updating technology or implementing a new management approach, which are typically costly efforts. Conversely, Kaizen requires just a small monetary investment, but involves a great deal of cooperation, training and effort from the entire organization. In fact, the process is only successful if it is adopted by every team member and incorporated into their daily routine.
The philosophy operates on a process-oriented approach, with the first phase commonly referred to as the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle. This is known as the “improving cycle,” where initial enhancements are set. This is followed up by the second “standardizing cycle,” called standardize-do-check-act (SDCA). During this second cycle, any hiccups in the work process are dealt with and repaired, prior to starting another improving cycle. PDCA and SDCA are mainstays in Kaizen organization, as a way to promote continuous improvement.
Kaizen and Employee Performance Levels
When everyone works together to make small changes to their daily routine, the company can realize massive results. Kaizen concentrates on identifying problems at their source, finding a solution and creating new standards to ensure the issue is permanently corrected. This results in heightened quality, productivity, faster delivery, better safety standards, increased levels of customer satisfaction and lower costs.
Kaizen has an overwhelmingly positive impact on employees, as they find their jobs to be much easier and more enjoyable. Consequently, organizations that abide by this philosophy tend to have higher levels of employee morale and job satisfaction, which results in very little turnover.
Additionally, this philosophy also allows companies to identify waste and effectively reduce it, which can lead to positive changes in a number of areas, such as quality, cost and product distribution. Kaizen produces immediate results in nearly every area of the organization that can help business achieve a major competitive advantage.
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