Six Sigma inspired process redesign will change the way a company thinks about how they do their work and deliver their services. So many
companies are focused on short-term financial goals. The show me the money attitudes of shareholders and the stock market shift focus
away from the customer. Six Sigma, on the other hand, is clearly focused on the customer. It accomplishes this because it centers its attention on
the end results and long-term cultural change.
Six Sigma is not just about number crunching and finances. All of the numbers are just data used to reach the real goal
of Six Sigma, which is helping increase quality and service for the customer. Companies need to figure out what their customers want and need. One
thing any customer of any business in any industry wants is a better experience. Quality and efficiency does not only help the financial bottom line, they
also help the customer experience.
Companies need to remember that their first and final allegiance should be to the customer. By embracing Six Sigma, a company can achieve
greater quality and efficiency in the flow of information and interaction between people, especially interaction with customers. Transforming the process
of these flows will yield quality results for the customer experience.
Six Sigma is just another fad. There have been so many quality improvement fads over the years. It is not surprising
that people are now a little jaded. The weakness of many of these fads is that they have the superficial appearance that something profound is happening, yet the
substance is not there. A whole bunch of numbers and graphs on spreadsheets are not enough to bring about substantial and lasting quality improvement in an
organization. The fads sell themselves as cheap and easy quick fixes. The reality is that there are no quick fixes to significant process
improvement. Six Sigma understands that.
Six Sigma is neither a fad nor a quick fix. The data and descriptive statistics that Six Sigma mines out of a project are
real data and meaningful data. You use data to create actionable goals, analyze and determine the root cause of defects, and then measure the results to
shows how those goals were achieved. The data determines the causes of the problems that need improvement and how to eliminate the gap between existing performance
and the desired level of performance. Tools are put in place to ensure that the key variables remain within the acceptable ranges over time so that process improvement
gains are maintained. The changes brought about through Six Sigma are real, significant, and long lasting.
Six Sigma is not a simple 1-2-3 and you have done process. It is a way of life. It is a multi-level, cyclical movement
toward continual process improvement. Six Sigma is a time consuming and high energy process. Companies develop a long term plan that outlines the move from current
performance levels to Six Sigma performance levels, with tangible, short term goals in between.
Successful Six Sigma programs are built on a solid organizational foundation. The organizational structure and system
needs to be clearly identified and communicated to the entire organization to successfully implement Six Sigma Quality. Becoming a Six Sigma organization doesn't
just happen. Planning and training goes into setting up a successful Six Sigma organization. Employee roles and responsibilities must be established and clearly
communicated to all.
Narach FINANCE
