Simply put, kaizen is continuous improvement. A loose translation from the original Japanese paints a more nuanced picture:

kai = making change

zen = a way or path; good

Kaizen focuses on workers making small, daily changes that result in major changes over time.

There are two sides to kaizen: the philosophy and the plan.

The following image shows the relationship between incremental and transformational change. In this example, SDCA = Standardize-Do-Check-Adjust and PDCA = Plan-Do-Check-Adjust.

Start with training

Hiring outside trainers to introduce kaizen to your workforce can take the pressure off management; plus, gaining an objective view of your organization’s needs and opportunities for improvement is crucial.

Think small

Begin your process by assessing something small: the way your team organizes their tools, for example, or the order in which they take their breaks.

Question current practices

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is not an acceptable operating philosophy. Even if a process has been working for years, ask your team why it works, and if it could work better.

Keep ideas coming

Make interdepartmental collaboration a regular habit. Establish employee feedback as a part of every process. Keep a record of all employee input and implement their ideas.

The 5S methodology is best summarized by the philosophy, “a place for everything and everything in its place.”

⬇️ Download: Free Lean Tools ⬇️

Organizations employ an approach called Six Sigma to enhance their operations and reduce faults or flaws. The approach results in a very desirable level of quality (99.9997% accuracy).

In HRM, six sigma helps identify gaps in application and hiring, recommends the most competent candidates, and suggests optimal budget sizes for training and recruitment.

How to Apply:

1. Determine the exact HR procedure that needs to be improved, such as hiring, performance management, or onboarding new employees.

2. Gather information pertinent to the process's present condition, such as metrics, performance indicators, and stakeholder comments.

3. Analyze the data and find areas for improvement, bottlenecks, and root causes of issues.

4. Determine precise improvement objectives for the process, such as lowering cycle time, increasing accuracy, or raising staff happiness, based on the data analysis.

5. Use Six Sigma approaches to develop and implement solutions to the problems that have been identified.