Executive Management’s Role in Process Improvement

by Lindiwe Francis, Project Manager

Process improvement is a vital component of a successful organization. Executive management’s leadership is the most important factor in implementing a successful process improvement program. To ensure the success of a process improvement initiative, Executives must:

• Become personally invested in and responsible for the initiative’s success or failure. Embrace and lead the organization through the transition. A successful process improvement initiative requires organizational and cultural changes.
  
  
• Establish and communicate clear objectives for the initiative. Clearly state the business reasons that are driving the process improvement program.
  
  
• Treat process improvement like a project. Assign roles and responsibilities for managing the process improvement effort, ensure funding and resources are provided, assist in and expect planning, require periodic status, and measure results.
  
  
• Manage and prioritize change. Decide how much the organization can take on and prioritize the rollout of process improvements to avoid overwhelming the organization.
  
  
• Build consensus among middle management and hold middle managers accountable for achieving process improvement objectives. Strong supporters and adopters of process improvement objectives should replace slow adopters and non-performers.
  
  
• Ensure incentives are aligned with process improvement goals—not assessment results. Remember the whole team not just managers are responsible for successes. Promote those who are strong role models of your organizational process improvement objectives.
  
  
• Empower Quality Assurance (QA) groups to be the eyes and ears of the process improvement initiative. These personnel support and guide compliance of new practices and are mentors to your middle managers and process improvement leaders. Once audits are performed, review resulting reports and address non-compliances immediately.
  
  
• Involve all stakeholders in order to gain support for the process improvements. Developers provide great value to your process improvement initiative. Unless they understand their role in process improvement objectives, changes may be perceived as intrusive and unnecessary. Customer feedback is another key indicator for measuring the progress of process improvement.
  
• Stay the course—even when pressured with busy schedules, tight budgets, and limited resources. Show leadership and commitment to process improvement during stressful times and the organization learns to support the value of process improvement.

All process improvement models have documents, books, or other guidance that can be used to help establish a process improvement initiative. However, as an executive, your goal is to address and improve the organization’s problem areas, not to satisfy a model’s objectives.

ActioNet works with executives to identify and analyze an organization’s problem areas so that executives can align their process improvement goals to address these issues. Contact ActioNet, Inc. at 703-204-0090 for additional information on how to get started with your organization’s process improvement initiative today!