A Kaizen Blitz is a very focused and intense short-term project to improve a process.  This approach has an impressive track record in many Shared Services operations.  Typically, a team of 4-12 members consisting of employees from the area of focus, supporting areas, and internal customers, carry out a detailed evaluation of the area or issues to discover where opportunities for improvement exist. By the end of each Kaizen Event, substantial improvements have usually been made and plans and responsibilities for longer-range improvements are created.

A recent Peeriosity Peercast^TM featured a global consumer products company that has carried out 125 Kaizen Blitz Events in Shared Services since 2007, with impressive results across multiple process areas.  Along with sharing several actual examples of Kaizen Blitz Events that they have carried out, they also provided the Peercast^TM participants with extensive details about the methodology that they utilize.  As an example, the following is the standard format that they use for this type of event: 

PLAN

• Agree to a charter
• Identify the scope of the process needing improvement
• Select a representative team
• Schedule 1-5 full days, depending on the scope of the project

EXECUTE

• Map the current process so that everyone understands it end-to-end
• Utilize the map and other problem-solving tools to identify issues/gaps/waste and potential solutions
• Present findings to stakeholders
• Implement/trial proposed solutions during the blitz
• Identify outstanding action items, longer-term projects, and communication/change management plans

FOLLOW-UP

• 6 weeks post-blitz, meet to resolve/evaluate process changes
• Obtain feedback from participants and stakeholders

This company has learned over the years that Kaizen Blitz Events can be an effective tool to address a large variety of challenging efforts commonly faced in a Shared Services environment, including kicking off a major project, process rationalization, cross-functional process development, and documenting difficult processes, to name just a few.

Additional information provided by the featured company included details around the different types of Kaizen Blitz Events they utilize, a sample charter, event metrics, and key learnings.

The first of two iPolling^TM questions related to this Peercast^TM looked at the extent to which Kaizen Blitz Events are currently utilized in Shared Services.  Overall, the results are nearly evenly split between those companies that do (52%) and do not (48%) utilize events such as these.  Of those that do, their usage is also almost equally divided among the response options, which range from extensive use for all/most processes to limited usage, with moderate use in all/most process areas being the most popular response.

The subsequent poll question addressed the issue of what the participating companies considered to be the biggest challenge to the overall success of their Kaizen Blitz Events.  Reviewing the results, there was no single dominant response, with challenges dealing with such issues as insufficient information, inadequate training, difficulty in implementing solutions, and timing for participants to attend all garnering significant response levels.

As the featured company clearly demonstrated well-documented success over a long span of time, Kaizen Blitz Events can be a powerful tool to assist in the overall process improvement efforts of most Shared Services operations.  For the 48% of companies that aren’t leveraging this powerful tool, the biggest challenge may be just making the effort to get started.  In the long run, this could be a great investment in the future success of the overall Shared Services operation.

Does your company utilize Kaizen Blitz Evens in its Shared Services operation?  If so, to what extent?  If not, what is the reason for not taking advantage of this powerful tool?

Who are your peers and how are you collaborating with them?

“Peercasts^TM” are private, professionally facilitated webcasts that feature leading member company experiences on specific topics as a catalyst for broader discussion.  Access is available exclusively to Peeriosity member company employees, with consultants or vendors prohibited from attending or accessing discussion content.  Members can see who is registered to attend in advance, with discussion recordings, supporting polls, and presentation materials online and available whenever convenient for the member.  Using Peeriosity’s integrated email system, Peer Mail^TM, attendees can easily communicate at any time with other attending peers by selecting them from the list of registered attendees. 

“iPolling^TM” is available exclusively to Peeriosity member company employees, with consultants or vendors prohibited from participating or accessing content. Members have full visibility of all respondents and their comments. Using Peeriosity’s integrated email system, Peer Mail^TM, members can easily communicate at any time with others who participated in iPolling.