So how do we get people to embrace
change?
People accept change that they are a part of creating. It requires a shift in
the paradigm from "I've always done it that way," to creating a new process that will allow them to be more successful. They need to
implement solutions that they believe will work better and make it easier for them to do their jobs.
New experiences are required to have new (better) outcomes. Here is a simple model
to describe the change process. Change requires new Experiences, which leads to new Beliefs about how the work should be performed. The
new Beliefs will lead to new Behaviors. The new Behaviors will create new Outcomes. This will allow the people doing the work to be more
successful. Work becomes easier, simpler, with less stress, and greater job satisfaction.
During a Kaizen Event, we have the people who do the work observe their peers, collect
data and draw spaghetti diagrams to see first-hand the inefficiency and waste in their present work processes. This begins the task of getting
people to think there may be an easier, better way. During the week, the team develops new ways of thinking about the work and creates new
processes. These new processes are then tested and data is collected to provide the new Experiences and Beliefs that the changes will make jobs
easier, rather than harder. The participants begin to share their new Lean learning with their co-workers (new Behaviors) as they are now
more open to change. At the end of the week, they return to work with some new Behaviors which will lead to improved Outcomes.
Ups and Downs
However, change is not always easy and it does not come without hard work and a team
effort. During the week, there is often a roller coaster ride of emotions as the team goes through the development steps of: Forming, Storming,
Norming and finally Performing. The week starts with everyone dubious about the value of the Kaizen Event. It can get more emotional from
there as they wrestle with how these new concepts and tools will work in their areas. As the week goes on, new Lean ideas are generated and
become the TEAM'S ideas. The new processes are proven by trialing the changes, observing the new way of doing things, and quantifying the
savings. This is the basis for the new Experiences required for change. Shifting the team members' paradigms and replacing them with new
ways of working takes time. People think differently about their job and begin to have new Outcomes at the end of the five days.
Building Lean Capability
Kaizen Events are one of the many new experiences that are needed to begin and sustain a
Lean Transformation. The length of the events must be adequate to make real change and allow the participants time to absorb the new ways of
thinking about and doing work. These are some of the key reasons why Kaizen Events are 5 days in length. Over time, as the new Lean
knowledge and experience takes hold, they can be applied to smaller scope problems in 2, 3 or 4-day events. The important thing to remember is
that Kaizen Events are as much about building Lean Capability in your organizations as they about getting improved
outcomes.
