4 Building Blocks of a Continuous Improvement Culture

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Process improvement is a proven method of redesigning and transforming sub-optimal workflows. Veterans of process reengineering attest to the value of beginning the journey by tackling universally frustrating processes that can be quickly fixed. Securing these early wins helps to generate buy-in and whet the appetite among stakeholders for even more improvements.

As interest and engagement in process improvement grows, it’s critical to transition from success with one-off projects—digitizing a procurement workflow here, standardizing an HR form there—to a more widespread culture of continuous improvement.

Once the proverbial low-hanging fruit has been picked, mission- or margin-critical processes will likely rise to the top of the process improvement docket. At this point, the work is likely to become more difficult.

The likelihood of success can be amplified by investing in and cultivating a continuous improvement culture, which begins with four building blocks:

• Process improvement czar
• Embedded process improvement experts
• Cross-campus executive support
• Spirit of celebration