The ability to anticipate, plan for, implement, and manage change is crucial to success in any business initiative, including Lean Six Sigma. A good change management strategy in Lean Six Sigma will ensure long-term support for the project and the Lean Six Sigma program.

Why? Because most Lean Six Sigma specialists will have focused too much on processes and techniques in Lean Six Sigma syllabus while spending insufficient time handling the “people side” of change. Projects can be doomed for long-term failure when Lean Six Sigma practitioners lack change management expertise and the capacity to lead people, not simply processes.

All essential organizational stakeholders must be aware of change for effective organizational change management to occur. The organization’s response to requests and unforeseen circumstances from internal and external factors should be quick, and actions and ideas should be transferable between all organizational levels to enable integration.

Here are four excellent strategies for fostering efficient change management inside your organization and within your Lean Six Sigma teams:

Create Awareness and Desire to Change

Building awareness and a desire for change management capability inside the Six Sigma team is the first step in the process. The idea of investing more time in training is not always comforting for many Black Belts who have already put in a tremendous amount of work to become certified. Top leadership teams must explain why proficiency in change management is essential for success. Inclusion of discussion points:

• More valued resources will be distributed more quickly, and managers will support the project from start to finish.
• Employee and other stakeholder resistance will lessen.
• The modification will have less of an influence on worker productivity.

Develop and Use Effective Change Management Techniques.

It is now time for the change agent to understand the procedure after awareness and a desire for change management competency have been developed. Although there are many ways to gain this education, certification training is among the quickest and most efficient ways to acquire the necessary abilities. There are certification courses available both offline and online.

In Intact Prolink, we have integrated the basic Change Management module into Six Sigma Black Belt‘s module

Apply the Change Management Techniques

Practice with the methods and tools of change management is the only practical path to mastering their effective application. Application of knowledge, particularly when it comes to handling the “people side” of change, is better than knowledge alone. No change agent should ever believe they have “mastered” the management process since over the course of every Lean Six Sigma project, a variety of factors including culture, history, or executive backing have the potential to throw the train off its rails.

Reward and Recognition

Agents should reward and promote change leadership behavioral qualities within the team, celebrate victories, and acknowledge the significant contributions of team members to ensure change is sustainable.

Any Lean Six Sigma specialist ultimate objective is to deploy projects successfully. Adopt change management as the most crucial companion discipline and encourage Black Belts to concentrate on the “people side” of change to achieve this goal. By doing this, you can assure that your investment in Six Sigma generates excellent returns.

Check out our Six Sigma courses to learn the perfect skillset to become a successful professional in Lean Six Sigma courses. Improve your team’s efficiency with the right skillset!