Is Six Sigma worth it?

[Anonymous]

I run a 90-person department and I know we don’t operate efficiently I just can’t figure out all the whys. I was hired to fix this team but there’s a lot of ingrained feelings and when I ask questions about why we do things the way we do or how long tasks take to complete, the answers are often like “I don’t know.”

I’ve made it clear I’m not looking to get rid of headcount. More like clean it up and make it efficient and build back capacity.

So before I go searching for companies here in DC that do this sort of thing, do you have good or bad experiences?

[Anonymous]

You're going to hire consultants who job is to save you money through process improvements (and the layoffs that result) and you say that you aren't looking to get rid of headcount? At least be honest with yourself

[Anonymous]

Identify your top performers and get them to help you understand stuff and make a plan.

Get rid of the resisters ASAP - they will endlessly delay and create bad morale. If you don’t cut out these people, they will undermine you. They’re betting they can outlast you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Identify your top performers and get them to help you understand stuff and make a plan.

Get rid of the resisters ASAP - they will endlessly delay and create bad morale. If you don’t cut out these people, they will undermine you. They’re betting they can outlast you.

I wrote the above. A good place to start is employee interviews and the last few performance reviews. You gotta find your good and bad apples.

[Anonymous]

Learning is good. Six Sigma is fine. It may be more expensive than seems fair. Don't become a rigid Black Belt. Apply the material to your org; don't force your org into in the material.

[Anonymous]

Six sigma only works well for very repetitive manufacturing processes where you want no variation (aka sigma). Don’t use it for organizational development.

[Anonymous]

If someone "doesn't know", unless they can show you that they are getting a lot done but don't know what the rest of the org is doing with their work, they are either stupid or lying out of fear or shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I run a 90-person department and I know we don’t operate efficiently I just can’t figure out all the whys. I was hired to fix this team but there’s a lot of ingrained feelings and when I ask questions about why we do things the way we do or how long tasks take to complete, the answers are often like “I don’t know.”

I’ve made it clear I’m not looking to get rid of headcount. More like clean it up and make it efficient and build back capacity.

So before I go searching for companies here in DC that do this sort of thing, do you have good or bad experiences?

You haven't told us anything about what this department does. Do you work on manufacturing widgets all day? Or are you working in a more people-oriented business?

[Anonymous]

You can take a Six Sigma class to learn the basics and implement different strategies. It would be more cost beneficial than hiring a consultant.

From my experience its worth it in certain settings, like manufacturing. 15-18 years ago after the company I worked for (Caterpillar) successfully implemented it in our manufacturing facilities, there was a short lived push to implement it in corporate departments. I was in legal. The strategies used to streamline the process in a corporate legal environment simply added new processes. Yes there are some bottle necks in something like contract review/negotiation/approvals, but a new process to manage them simply made things more complex instead of streamlining.

However, we all individually learned the concepts of Six Sigma, and were able to apply the concepts to our workload on our own.

[Anonymous]

Are the jobs you are applying for require or request 6 sigma? If no, no.

[Anonymous]

I have six sigma certification. Don’t do it. It’s terribly outdated philosophy. It leads to poor outcomes in the modern age.

If it’s project management you are looking at - agile / scrum is better.

If it’s people org, I use a mix of human-centered strategy, change management, and the usual mix of overpaid consultant philosophy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have six sigma certification. Don’t do it. It’s terribly outdated philosophy. It leads to poor outcomes in the modern age.

If it’s project management you are looking at - agile / scrum is better.

If it’s people org, I use a mix of human-centered strategy, change management, and the usual mix of overpaid consultant philosophy.

+1 same

No OP not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Almost nothing that involves high-priced consultants is worth the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're going to hire consultants who job is to save you money through process improvements (and the layoffs that result) and you say that you aren't looking to get rid of headcount? At least be honest with yourself

The intent to fix processes so folks can do the KTLO work while having capacity to do more.

We are in publishing.

[Anonymous]

Maybe some other process optimization that isn’t six sigma?