FACILITATE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT CANDIDATE RESOURCE WITH SIMULATED ONLINE BUSINESS ASSESSMENT BSBMGT516A

Transcription

1 FACILITATE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT CANDIDATE RESOURCE WITH SIMULATED ONLINE BUSINESS ASSESSMENT BSBMGT516A

2 Precision Group (Australia) Pty Ltd 9 Koppen Tce, Cairns, QLD, info@precisiongroup.com.au Website: BSBMGT516A Facilitate Continuous Improvement ISBN: Copyright Notice No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information retrieval system without written permission from Precision Group (Australia) Pty Ltd. Legal action may be taken against any person who infringes their copyright through unauthorised copying. These terms are subject to the conditions prescribed under the Australian Copyright Act Copying for Educational Purposes The Australian Copyright Act 1968 allows 10% of this book to be copied by any educational institute for educational purposes, provided that the institute (or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. For more information, info@copyright. com.au or visit for other contact details. Disclaimer Precision Group has made a great effort to ensure that this material is free from error or omissions. However, you should conduct your own enquiries and seek professional advice before relying on any fact, statement or matter contained in this book. Precision Group (Australia) Pty Ltd is not responsible for any injury, loss or damage as a result of material included or omitted from this material. Information in this course material is current at the time of publication.

3 Table of Contents 2 Legend 3 Qualification Pathways 4 Qualification Rules 5 Introduction 7 BSBMGT516A/01 Lead Continuous Improvement Systems and Processes Key Points Develop strategies to ensure that team members are actively encouraged and supported to participate in decision making processes, and to assume responsibility and exercise initiative as appropriate Establish systems to ensure that the organisation s continuous improvement processes are communicated to all stakeholders Develop effective mentoring and coaching processes to ensure that individuals and teams are able to implement and support the organisation s continuous improvement processes 27 True or False Quiz 29 BSBMGT516A/02 Monitor and Adjust Performance Strategies Key Points Develop strategies to ensure that systems and processes are used to monitor operational progress and to identify ways in which planning and operations could be improved Adjust and communicate strategies to all stakeholders according to organisational procedures 43 True or False Quiz 45 BSBMGT516A/03 Manage Opportunities for Further Improvement Key Points Establish processes to ensure that team members are informed of outcomes of continuous improvement efforts Ensure processes include documentation of work team performance to aid the identification of further opportunities for improvement Consider areas identified for further improvement when undertaking future planning 51 True or False Quiz 52 Summary 53 Bibliography 55 Assessment Pack 1

4 Use considered risk taking in your grey area...and others will follow you! Legend This symbol indicates the beginning of new content. The bold title matches the content of the competency and they will help you to find the section to reference for your assessment activities. Activity: Whenever you see this symbol, there is an activity to carry out which has been designed to help reinforce the learning about the topic and take some action. This symbol is used at the end of a section to indicate the summary key points of the previous section. This symbol is used to indicate an answer to the Candidate s questions or notes to assist the Facilitator. 2

5 Qualification Pathways There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it s easy. Source Unknown This unit of competency is provided to meet the requirements of BSB07 Business Services Training Package although it can be used in a range of different qualifications. The BSB07 Business Services Training Package does not state how a qualification is to be achieved. Rather, Registered Training Organisations are required to use the qualification rules to ensure the needs of the learner and business customer are met. This is to be achieved through the development of effective learning programs delivered in an order that meets the stated needs of nominated Candidates and business customers. 3

6 Qualification Rules You re either part of the solution or part of the problem. Eldridge Cleaver Qualification requirements include core and elective units. The unit mix is determined by specific unit of competency requirements which are stated in the qualification description. Registered Training Organisations then work with learners and business customers to select elective units relevant to the work outcome, local industry requirements and the qualification level. All vocational education qualifications must lead to a work outcome. BSB07 Business Services Training Package qualifications allow for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to vary programs to meet: Specific needs of a business or group of businesses. Skill needs of a locality or a particular industry application of business skills. Maximum employability of a group of students or an individual. When packaging a qualification elective units are to be selected from an equivalent level qualification unless otherwise stated. 4

7 Introduction Whether as an individual, or as part of a group, real progress depends on entering whole-heartedly into the process and being motivated to make you a more deeply satisfied human being. Source Unknown This unit of competency is all about being able to facilitate continuous improvement in your workplace. It will help you with the skills you need to demonstrate competency for the unit BSBMGT516A Facilitate Continuous Improvement. This is one of the units that make up the Certificates in Business. This manual is broken up into three distinct sections. They are: 1. Lead Continuous Improvement Systems and Processes: First we will examine the process of leading a team to undertake quality improvement in the workplace. 2. Monitor and Adjust Performance Strategies: Then we will examine how you go about monitoring performance using the performance gap method and attempt to find ways of resolving any issues that arise. 3. Manage Opportunities for Further Improvement: In the final section we will examine how you can monitor the performance of your team and continually look for ways of improving the team s performance and the processes in your workplace. At the conclusion of this training you will be asked to complete an Assessment Pack for this unit of competency. The information contained in this resource will assist you to complete this task. On conclusion of this unit of competency you will have demonstrated your skills and knowledge required to lead and manage continuous improvement systems and processes. 5

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9 PART 1: Lead Continuous Improvement Systems and Processes Key Points Section 1 In order to lead a team to undertake continuous improvement in a workplace it is important to have strategies that ensure that all team members are actively encouraged to participate in the decision making processes, assume responsibility and exercise initiative. Mentoring and coaching allow you to ensure that individuals and teams in the workplace are able to implement and support your organisation s continuous improvement processes. Workplace systems should be in place to ensure that your organisation s continuous improvement processes are communicated to all concerned. 7

10 Ensuring Participation in Quality Quality management is a process in business that requires participation from everyone, from senior management to those on the shop floor. Quality management can only be effective if everyone participates and contributes ideas for the overall improvement of a business. Without active participation by everyone, you are not getting everything you could get from the process. You need to involve everyone; you need to ensure that you listen to everyone s ideas. After all, often it is not just management who know how to make improvements. Those on the shop floor deal with problems on a daily basis, and this puts them in the best position to find ways of making improvements. In this section we will look at ways of working with your team to ensure that you are getting the active participation of all team members. Quality Tools There are a range of tools that can be used to ensure that your team is encouraged to participate in the continuous improvement process. Each of these tools has its own use, and the tool you use will depend on the nature of the problem. Some of the most common types of tools are: 1. Brainstorming: Brainstorming is the free, uninhibited generation of ideas, usually in a group setting. It allows each participant to state their opinions in a non-threatening environment. You should use brainstorming to unite a group with diverse ideas and needs. Brainstorming begins with selecting a recorder and group facilitator. Then you begin to generate ideas. Finally these ideas are recorded, and discussed. 1. Begin by selecting someone to lead the session and someone to record all ideas as they are generated. 2. Discuss with the group the idea or problem and be sure that this is clear in everybody s minds. Without clarity here, the brainstorming will go off track very quickly. 3. Ensure that you have rules in place to keep the session on track. This may include: Ensuring everyone is comfortable with expressing ideas (state that no one can put forward a wrong or stupid idea) Ensuring that everyone has a turn Ensuring that everyone is clear that insults are unacceptable Ensuring the leader controls the session Set a time limit that everyone knows 8

11 4. Begin brainstorming. The leader of the group should work to ensure that everyone is able to express their ideas and that no one is left out. The recorder has the role of recording every response that is given. No ideas should be left out at this stage. This is not the time to evaluate the ideas that are put forward. That should be left to later in the process. 5. After the initial brainstorming is complete, step back and look at the results that you have so far. Then spend some time evaluating the responses and delete any ideas which are off track from the central topic or repeated ideas, and group similar ideas together. By doing this, you will have an initial set of ideas to work from. Typical Brainstorming Diagram Structure Assets Product Placement Stores Weaknesses Wholesalers Strengths High? (Market penetration) Marketing Plan Direct Sales Tradeshows Low? (Market penetration) Price Promotion Personal Selling Advertising 2. Check Sheets: The second quality tool we will examine is the check sheet. A check sheet is a tool used to both gather data and analyse the data that you have gathered. You attempt to gather data using this form of chart that outlines how often something might be happening and about the types of problems that you are experiencing. The process of creating a check sheet includes: a. Identify how you will make your measurements. This may include looking at the problem you are trying to resolve, who will need to use the information and who will be tasked with actually collecting the data. b. Using appropriate technology, spend some time attempting to build your form. This form will allow you to make your measurements, so it needs to be in a format where along one side you have one factor and then you will use another measure such as time or place and your columns. 9

12 c. Using the table or form that you have created, go out and gather the data. This will involve looking at each event and recording it into the chart so that you have an accurate measure of how often an event is occurring. d. Total up each row and each column as well as the total amount of events that occurred during the specified time period. a. Below we have an example of a check sheet. In this case we are attempting to determine whether specific quality issues occur more frequently on given days of the week. This was done by measuring all defects that occurred during manufacturing on a given day of the week. Defects / Mistakes Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Total Incomplete paint II I II I III 9 Dents III IIII I I I 10 Missing parts I III II 6 Quality poor I I 2 Total

13 Activity One What conclusions can you draw from the Check Sheet provided on the previous page? 11

14 3. Mind Mapping: A mind map is a concept used to organise ideas in a way that is easy to track and understand. It is particularly useful when conducting problem-solving exercises such as quality improvement. The mind map is designed around a central issue and then from this you provide linkages to facts, data and other relevant information. By doing this, you build up, on the mind map, an overall picture of the problem at hand. A mind map is considered simple to comprehend because of the way that it displays each of the major linkages between issues and problems. The mind map takes a very different approach to the list of ideas that come from a brainstorming session. The mind map will actually allow you to see the way a problem is organised and the importance of various factors in relation to the issue at hand. You will often find that a good mind map is able to express much more information that a list in a much smaller and easier to understand space. 4. Cause and Effect Diagram: These are also known as Fishbone Diagrams. The diagram looks somewhat like a fishbone, with the problem or defect (the effect) defined as the head. On the bones growing out of the spine the team should list possible causes of production problems, in order of possible occurrence. The chart can help point out how various separate problem causes may interact. It also shows how the various possible problem causes occur with respect to one another, over time, helping to start the problem solving process. An example of a Cause and Effect diagram is provided below. Cause and Effect diagrams are useful in group situations as they allow everyone to get together and attempt to resolve any problems that have developed. Cause and Effect Diagram Timeframes Lack of training Poor procedures Incomplete Paint Missing Parts DEFECTS Dents Poor Quality Machinery Rough Handling Poor training 12

15 5. Nominal Group Technique: The nominal group technique is a quality improvement technique that is used to allow a group of individuals to come together, discuss an issue and quickly reach a valid conclusion. This conclusion may be the solution to a known problem. The technique will find solutions and using discussion, rank these according to the priorities for solution. This method of problem solving is particularly effective in that it allows the entire team to come together in finding an appropriate solution and then the team will feel more committed to that solution making its implementation much easier to achieve. Like brainstorming, this method works best when team members know that they can give their ideas and opinions freely without any chance of ridicule from other team members. One other important aspect of this method is that even shyer team members feel committeed and willing to share their ideas, something which you often find not possible with brainstorming where dominant people can lead the discussion. Nominal group technique follows a number of key stages. These are: Using techniques outlined previously, create a list of ideas or solutions. These are what you will be working with to establish your consensus on the decision. Ensure that everyone has a copy of all these topics. Delete anything that is repeated or off topic. Spend time clarifying statements that you feel need it. Provide a final list of solutions or statements, with each of these numbered so that they can be easily identified. Have each team member rank these in their personal order of preference. For example, you may use the number 5 as the least important and the number 1 as the most important. Let s go back to our run sheet and try to generate some ideas on why these defects may be occurring. You may end up with the following 5 solutions: A Poor Training B Poor Materials C No processes in place D Staff numbers too low E Lack of managerial oversight. You would then ask all team members to rank these according to how they feel they impact on the defects that are occurring within the department. You would then gather up each team member s rankings and combine them as we have done over the page. 13

16 Combine the rankings of all team members. Example: Jane Bob Jack June Mack TOTAL A B C D E No documented Process, B, would be the highest priority. The team would work on this first and then move through the rest of the list as needed. 6. Consensus: Consensus means finding an option that all team members will support. Consensus does NOT mean that everyone is totally happy with the decision. To reach consensus you need to consider the ideas, feelings, and situations of all team members, not just of a few or even just of the majority. Reaching consensus usually takes a lot of discussion time and requires skills in resolving differences of opinion. The investment in time is usually worth it, however. Consensus decisions can often be implemented smoothly since they are supported by the entire team. Use consensus for complex or important decisions that require the co-ordination and understanding of all team members. 7. Voting: Each team member gets one vote. The choice with the most votes wins. Voting is easy and familiar. It is okay to take a vote for relatively unimportant decisions, but remember it can leave the losers feeling left out. While taking a vote is a faster way to make the decision, pushing for consensus often makes implementation much faster! Explore important issues by polling. Go around once and ask each member to state how they vote. Then do a round where people briefly give one or two reasons for their vote. 8. Story Boarding: Story Boarding is a technique used to organise and visually display information. Story Boarding works best with a small group of usually 5 to 8 people. It can be used with large groups that are divided into smaller groups. It requires a quiet, comfortable room without outside distractions. The room must have clear walls so papers and cards of all sizes and shapes can be taped to them. It takes a lot of wall space! Also key to the Story Boarding process is a skilled facilitator that the group recognises as being fair and unbiased. 14

17 Inequality of Contribution It is often the case that contributions by team members are not equal. That is, one member of a team is more likely to be involved in a meeting than other team members. In these cases, it is important to ensure that you allow for all team members to contribute. Actively seek the opinions of those who are not active, and encourage a supportive team atmosphere. Foundering Foundering is essentially the sinking of a meeting or team problem solving exercise. It takes its name from the definition sinking of a ship. A meeting can be likened in many ways to a ship. If a correct course is not steered, the ship can run aground and be sunk. So, foundering is where the meeting has gone so wrong that nothing is achieved. The most effective means of overcoming this obstacle is to ensure you stay on course. Staying on course means staying focused on objectives. You will have already taken the step of determining the objectives for the meeting at an early stage, which is, determining what you hope to achieve during the meeting. These objectives must be planned in advance, so that you are aware of what needs to be achieved and you can keep control of the discussion during the meeting. It is vitally important that you do not move off the key topics for the meetings and move into discussing other problems, or just general chit-chat. It is likely that most meetings will last only an hour or two in length. Therefore you need to ensure that the meeting is as productive as possible. Meeting participants are unlikely to want to stay in the meeting beyond its set time frame; therefore you need to ensure that you stay focused on the problem at hand. Again the approach outlined above is vitally important in achieving this aim. It keeps you focused on certain topics, and provides guidelines for what you should be discussing and what you shouldn t be discussing. As a team member it is your job to keep the meeting on track. Gently guide the discussion, without ever exerting too much pressure on the participants (you want to encourage, not discourage participation). Whenever a team gets together there is potential for foundering to occur, solid management of meetings however, can prevent this from becoming a significant problem. Six Hat Thinking An interesting method that can be adopted for encouraging participating and making people think outside the square is Six Hat Thinking. This problem solving technique forces team members to go outside their comfort zone and think in ways that they traditionally do not do. You are made to think of things in a different way. It is especially helpful in team meetings, where you can get each individual to put on a hat that is different to the way that they would normally think of things. 15

18 Teams often end up in what is known as group think where the team is not comfortable thinking of things in a new or different way, rather sticking within their comfort zone. This leads them to being unwilling to come up with new ideas. This is where those six different coloured hats come into play. Each of the six coloured thinking hats represents a different way of looking at a problem. Each Thinking Hat is a different style of thinking. These are explained below: White Hat White is all about logic and looking at the data. You are focussing on what data is already there and are trying to find ways to learn from this. You might look for where gaps in the data exist, where there are errors in the data or even try to forecast the future based on the data. Red Hat Red is the colour of love and like love, the red hat is about gut instinct. You look at the problem focussing on your gut and emotion. What does your heart say? How will people react to the decisions made? Black Hat The black hat is a little like being the devil s advocate. The black hat thinker is involved in looking at the bad things in life. If a solution is given, a black hat will think what will cause this not to work? What could go wrong? What is weak about the plan? Black hat thinking is aimed at spotting little flaws in the plan that over time may make the whole thing come apart. People often get in the mind set that you should never think negatively about something, only positive thought is acceptable. However with black hat thinking you can actually make solutions stronger and more appropriate to the decisions being made. Yellow Hat The yellow hat is the exact opposite of the black hat. Someone wearing the yellow hat has to think positively. He or she must always look at every solution with as must positivity and enthusiasm as possible. If we implement a given solution what are the benefits, why will it succeed? Even if there is nothing going for a solution, the yellow hat will find something good about it. Green Hat The green hat takes the role of the creative thinker. Nothing is too crazy for green hat thinking. You will just generate all sorts of crazy ideas, some of which will work, others which won t. But generating as many ideas as possible will assist you in finding that one idea that works. Blue Hat Finally, the blue hat thinker has to think about control and processes. Generally this will be the person running the meeting and will be in charge of ensuring that everyone is keeping on track with what needs to be done. 16

19 Activity Two Think of a problem you are facing at work, and put on the six hats what conclusions do you reach using each? White Hat: Red Hat: Black Hat: Yellow Hat: Green Hat: Blue Hat:

20 Resistance to Change Resistance to change is an important obstacle to participation of team members. If a team member is reluctant to change, they are unlikely to be willing to participate in any activity that is going to force their work to change. Therefore it is important that as a team player you assist team members to overcome this resistance. The first step is attempting to determine the cause for reluctance to change, and then steps to overcome this reluctance need to be developed. Some of the most common reasons for reluctance to change include: Common Reasons for Resistance Uncertainty about the causes and effects of change Unwillingness to give up existing benefits or self-interest Awareness of weaknesses in the changes proposed Lack of trust and understanding Peer pressure Conservatism Low tolerance for change Different assessments Complexity So how can this resistance be overcome? There are a range of different solutions, but some of the most common include: Overcoming Resistance The creation of a positive environment Facilitation and support Participation and involvement Education and communication Creation of credibility Negotiation and agreement Creating dissatisfaction with the current state Different assessments Complexity 18

21 As we mentioned earlier, foundering can be overcome by ensuring the objectives of the team are well set in the minds of the team members. Ensure that as the team leader, you are attempting to monitor progress every step of the way. This should be conducted on a regular basis, and progress reviewed against the team s action plans and guidelines to ensure that the team members are always heading in the right direction. Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable. William Pollard 19

22 Communicating Strategies In order to be successful, it is important that quality initiatives and the general concept of quality management is promoted throughout an organisation. Quality management requires solid commitment on the part of management and all staff members in order to be regarded as successful, and promotion is an extremely useful means of showing, and developing, this commitment. We will examine promotion of quality through a cyclic approach. In a sense, this approach can be likened to the idea of quality management, as it involves continuous improvement of ideas. Identifying which initiatives should be promoted It is unlikely that quality management will grow out of a single initiative. There are likely to be multiple processes and procedures developed in order to achieve your quality goals. Therefore it is important to attempt to determine which of these quality initiatives should be promoted, and which ones should not. There are a wide range of sources of information on quality initiatives; we will examine those resulting from approved improvement opportunities and from management requirements arising from internal and external audits, internal and external customers, internal and external suppliers, and legislative and regulatory requirements. As mentioned previously, initiatives may come about through approved improvement opportunities, such as audits, or they may come about through the requirements of management. In either case, it is important that you attempt to evaluate the information sources, and try to identify what the specific initiatives are. Initiatives are those processes and procedures that are put in place to assist your organisation in reaching their quality goals or objectives. They are specific actions or plans that you will put into place in order to reach these goals. Let s examine some of the possible sources of information that you could use to determine what the quality initiatives are: Internal and External Audits: Audits are an integral component of the quality management process. They allow the firm to take stock of the position it is currently in, and allows them to determine where improvements can be made. It is likely that the results of the audit will recommend initiatives that will be put into place. Therefore, this can be a particularly useful source of information on initiatives. You will find that the audit will recommend initiatives, and possibly even prioritise them. Internal audits are likely to show the requirements of management strongly, and this is useful in determining what management is looking to improve. External audits come from the perspective of an outsider, and thus the information provided will come from a different viewpoint, and you may find it recommends changes not found by internal audits. Internal and External Customers and Suppliers: Suppliers and customers are also an important source of information. They deal with you on a day-to-day basis, and so develop a sense of what is working within the organisation, and what is not. In particular they are in a position to tell you how well your organisation is meeting their needs. This information can tell you which initiatives are most important to implement, as you must meet the needs of your customers to be successful. 20

23 Legislative and Regulatory Requirements: Finally there may be legislative or regulatory requirements that need to be met. In particular this may apply to health and safety, or the requirements of meeting particular standards such as ISO9000. When examining these requirements, you may find that there are certain procedures or policies that need to be implemented, if you are to meet them. Prioritising Having identified the quality initiatives that your organisation wishes to pursue, you need to create a list that prioritises them in terms of how important it is that they are promoted through the organisation. You are likely to be faced with limited resources. You cannot promote everything at the same level of promotion. Therefore, like most aspects of management, you need to prioritise. The most effective means of prioritising is to use concrete criteria in order to rank the initiatives. Those at the top of the list are those you should promote most. As you move down the list, fewer resources should be allocated to them, or perhaps you will not promote them at all. We will examine four possible criteria against which you could examine your initiatives in this section. Quality Strategic Plan and Vision: The first criteria involves examining your vision and plan for the organisation. Quality management is a philosophy, and that philosophy is based on the information in your vision statement and quality plan. A quality vision should look to the future, but it also must be able to be related to by current customers. It is from this vision for the future, that the quality plan will be developed. The plan will outline what needs to be done, and how you will do it. The vision and plan should enable you to gain a feel for exactly what it is your organisation hopes to achieve. By examining this list, you can begin to gain an understanding of which initiatives will have the most impact on the organisation achieving its goals. Benchmarking: This process involves you in a process of attempting to measure how well you are working against a specfic set of standards. You may benchmark yourself against quality standards, industry standards or your competition. The process is a continual one, in that in involves you in continuously attempting to measure your performance and find ways of resolving any areas where you are not as strong as you feel you should be. The process of benchmarking involves measuring current performance on a continual basis. You then take this and compare it to the standards that either you or another organisation have set, and then you have an idea where gaps exist between current and desired performance levels. Any areas where you are not meeting the standards and you have significant gaps, you need to prioritise and spend time ensuring that these issues are resolved. The end result is a list of areas where you know attention is needed quickly. Available Resources: Your available resources (in terms of budget and expertise) may also play a significant role in determining priorities. If your budget is small, there may only be the ability to meet smaller projects, rather than attempting to promote those which will be complex or require a lot of promotion. For example, less popular initiatives will require more promotion than those that are considered popular, therefore you need to examine whether you have the resources to meet the needs of these projects, or whether you should prioritise smaller projects. Is it better to promote one large project or a number of smaller ones? This will depend on the nature of each initiative. 21

24 Time Constraints: Time is a factor in every facet of business. The more time you need to spend, the more money and resources it will take up. Is the benefit of promoting a particular initiative worth the expense it will cost in terms of time and resources? Now that we have identified the quality initiatives that will be promoted, we need to begin the process of selecting appropriate promotional strategies that will allow us to effectively bring our message to those who require it. This is the process of selecting. Selecting There are a range of promotional strategies that can be adopted by an organisation to communicate and promote quality initiatives. We will examine the four major means of promoting initiatives in this section, and then examine how to construct success criteria and finally select the most appropriate strategy for a given criteria. Promotion of quality initiatives can be likened to education. It is about ensuring that staff and managers are aware of the initiatives being put in place, and are willing to support and adopt these initiatives. Quality management does not work without training of managers and staff, and commitment from them towards the initiatives. Participation is crucial to the success of any quality initiative. Therefore when selecting what promotional strategies to adopt, it is vital that you take these goals into account. The four major means of communicating and promoting quality initiatives within an organisation are: 1. Newsletters A newsletter is a powerful means of communication. Well written and presented, it can deliver a vast range of information to staff and management. Newsletters can be used to literally deliver the news to your staff. You can use them to provide written information about new initiatives, report on successful initiatives that have been adopted in the past, and look towards the future. As was mentioned in a previous section, quality management is an overall philosophy, a newsletter can be used to take a vision, and communicate it to staff. It can be used to sell ideas, show how past ideas have worked, and what is in store for the future. The newsletter is perhaps less threatening than some of the other promotional tools. It can be used to remind staff of particular points, without singling out anyone individually. One of the major problems with the newsletter is that often it may be dismissed as unimportant by staff, they may not read it, and simply throw it away. To overcome such a problem, you may attempt to include other information on social events within the organisation, along with important quality news and initiatives. Newsletters are most useful in giving overall progress in the quality management process. Use them in conjunction with other methods, and put out the newsletters on a regular basis to report progress. Newsletters are particularly useful for updating staff involved in a long, complicated quality management process. This includes cases where multiple initiatives are being adopted, and progress on each varies. Newsletters can assist in building satisfaction due to the fact that they keep all staff members informed of progress, and they can be used to highlight excellence, making staff and management feel acknowledged. 22

25 2. Workshops Workshops are formal training events that can be used to deliver information in an interactive environment. You can use a workshop to deliver information, and allow staff to try activities and the like based on the information that you have given. These workshops can often be lengthy to prepare, particularly when developing a range of activities. However if you allow staff to try out new initiatives before they are formally introduced into the workplace, they are more likely to be receptive to the idea. Workshops also allow feedback on new processes and procedures to be given to management, and trainers, while at the same time allowing trainers to encourage those staff members who are reluctant. This type of promotion is particularly useful for any initiative that is practical in nature, and that may require practice before introduction. Workshops are useful for practical initiatives. For example if your initiative involves redocumenting all policy and procedures to comply with ISO standards, you may hold a workshop which gives staff hands-on training in how this is to be accomplished. Workshops generally are not useful for promoting overall vision, rather practical components used to reach that vision. Workshops encourage participation by involving staff in practical examples. Satisfaction is increased, because the staff members can see how the initiative will actually assist the organisation. 3. Forum Groups Forum groups are perhaps the most interactive form of promotion that can be provided. In a forum group, members are encouraged to discuss ideas among themselves and with management. A forum allows everybody s ideas to be heard, and listened to. It is important that the initiatives remain the most important component of the forum discussions; therefore a chairperson is required to ensure control is maintained. Forum groups are useful for promoting initiatives that may not be entirely popular. This is due to the fact that they allow for discussion, so those opposing an idea can have their feelings heard, and this can be discussed in an open and positive environment. Forums are useful either prior to the introduction or after a process has been in place for some time. They can promote new ideas and continuous improvement by ensuring that staff have their views heard, and listened to. They offer a good opportunity for discussion of initiatives that may be unpopular, and they can be used as a springboard to constructive discussions. This leads to participation through discussion. Satisfaction is increased because staff are having their views heard, and feel they are making a difference to the process. 4. Presentations Presentations, using videos or slides and PowerPoint, are a non-interactive means of training. In this sense they are like newsletters, but with a human presenter. This means that some questions may be asked, and answered, however discussion is usually not involved in a presentation. Use this method of promotion in cases where the initiative is simple, and can be briefly presented. Presentations are useful for presenting overall vision, rather than specific initiatives. They allow the presenter to give a broad overview of the initiatives, and perhaps discuss simpler initiatives (which do not require specific training). 23

26 Coaching and Mentoring Strategy We now move on to the processes associated with coaching and mentoring. Many industries have very high worker turnover and recruiting staff and more importantly retaining them can be quite difficult to achieve. Having a coach or mentor in place can help relieve much of the stress that new staff feel when they begin a new job. New staff may lack experience or some of the core skills required to undertake a specific job and by having a coach or mentor there to provide assistance, you can assist in reducing the stress felt by new staff undertaking a new job. The process of having a coach or mentor assigned to your new staff is not a new idea, but one which can provide significant advances in improving overall quality in the workplace. They also enhance the individual employees performance. There are a number of different methods that can be used when creating a coaching or mentoring scheme in your workplace. These include: Personal coaching programs employing external or internal coaches Traditional or peer-to-peer mentoring schemes Buddy schemes, a form of two-way peer-to-peer mentoring The method that you decide to utilise when working towards improving quality in your work place will be entirely dependant on what you are trying to fix and the type of skills that are already present in your workplace. You may also need to consider the organisation and its culture. Some organisations simply do not have the kind of culture that allows for one individual to assist another easily without the staff feeling uncomfortable. It is therefore extremely important to consider the effects of the company s culture on any systems that you may decide to implement into the workplace. Competition, for example, among employees for reaching sales targets or earning commission may mean that there is a lack of willingness to act as an effective mentor or coach. Once you have decided how to implement a coaching strategy into your workplace, the next step is to attempt to build a relationship between everyone concerned, so that the team members really feel like they are making a positive contribution to the overall effectiveness and quality of the team. For quality purposes, it is important that coaching and mentoring be put into a process which allows for continuous improvement and development over time. Such a process will involve: Ensuring that the processes and procedures used will support the objectives you wish to get from the program Finding ways to get time for coaches and mentors to act in these roles. Often times this can be difficult simply because they already have all their own work to get through. Assessing potential coaches and mentors to make sure they actually have the skills and knowledge required to ensure that the team members learn what they need to learn. Ensuring that the coaches and mentors are aware of what is required of them in their position and ensure that they act within this role with integrity and have the individuals learning goals in their mind. 24

27 Ensuring that there are processes and procedures in place that limit and outline exactly what is required of a coach in their position. This ensures that everyone is aware of what is required of them and that no one steps outside the bounds of the positions. Having a process in place for evaluating the performance of coaches and mentors, so that all staff can find ways of improving their performance and the processes behind them. Coaching and mentoring are generally used to provide on-job training, however it can be a lot wider than this. Coaches in the workplace can become an integral strategy in improving quality by developing staff on a continuous rather than one off basis. 25

28 Activity Three How does your company use coaching and mentoring for quality purposes? 26

29 Section 1 - True or False Quiz Please tick True False Quality management only requires input from managers. Brainstorming is the free, uninhibited generation of ideas. Stupid ideas should be immediately rejected in brainstorming. The Check Sheet is a data-gathering and interpretation tool. Cause and Effect diagrams are also known as histograms. It is often the case that contributions by team members are not equal. Team members should be encouraged to participate. With the White Hat on you are playing devils advocate. Resistance to change is an important obstacle to participation of team members. Audits are an integral component of the quality management process. 27