Six Sigma is a type of business methodology that is aimed at improving the capability of the processes that a business uses. It is geared towards improving performance and decreasing processes that are redundant all to improve profit margins, the morale of employees, and the overall product quality or services. It was first introduced by an American engineer Bill Smith while he was working for Motorola back in 1986. The Six Sigma process is aimed at improving the quality of products and services by means of identifying and then removing any causes of defects.
Six Sigma is popular for a number of key benefits to a business such as:
- Improving customer loyalty
- Better time management
- Increased employee morale
- Decreased cycle time
- Strategic Vision
- Management of supply chain
1. Customer Loyalty
A benchmark in business success is how well the business retains its customers. However, customer loyalty only ever happens due to increased levels of customer satisfaction. One cited reason why customers don’t continue to patronize a business is dissatisfaction with employee attitude and experience.
Companies are often unaware that their customers are dissatisfied because they simply take their business somewhere else. Six Sigma can help reduce dissatisfied customers once training is completed. It helps if a business runs a survey in order to determine which product and service features are important to customer satisfaction.
2. Time Management
Six Sigma can help improve how employees manage their time effectively which results in a more efficient business process. Employees become reacquainted with SMART goals and then taught how to apply the principles of Six Sigma to achieve those goals. This is achieved by studying three fundamental areas of performance, learning, and fulfillment.
3. Decreased Cycle Time
Many projects fail to meet deadlines and go beyond their original timeframe due to changing scope and goals of the project. This becomes wasted resources and time for the business. Using Six Sigma, businesses can be taught how to better build a team of experienced and motivated employees from across all levels in the organization who are then tasked to identify various factors that could delay the implementation of a project. They will be then tasked to find solutions for these problems.
4. Employee Morale
A successful business will usually have employees with high levels of morale who can be expected to act in the right way. But in order to do so, employees must first have enough motivation. Businesses must be willing to engage with their employees if they want to improve productivity. Six Sigma can share different problem-solving techniques that can help with employee development and help create an environment where employee motivation is encouraged and supported.
5. Strategic Vision
Once the business creates a mission statement and carries out a SWOT analysis, Six Sigma can be used in order to focus on important areas that could be improved. If the business’s strategic plan is to become more cost-effective and be price-competitive, then Six Sigma can help improve internet processes, eliminate redundant operations and unnecessary complexity, and establish a low-cost supplier relationship.
6. Supply Chain Management
Supplies have a big influence when it comes to meeting the target risk of defect rate of a business. One way to reduce defect risk is with the help of Six Sigma to help drive down supplier numbers that a business depends on to reduce the risk of defects.
Six Sigma can be a valuable tool for any business, just as much as any Meeting app. It is different from other quality-improvement initiatives in that it has a clear focus on achieving quantifiable and measurable returns. It also pays attention when it comes to increasing the focus on strong yet passionate management support and leadership.