what are the things that can done to increase staff engagement in six sigma and process rengineering activities apart from cash rewards

Hi Vikas,

Here are some ways that I have tried when I was Quality Manager and they have worked.

• Increase awareness. Make it fun. Create and publish (circulate / display) crossword puzzles, quizzes, etc.. with Six Sigma terminology. Attach small prizes, if possible for the winners, announce their names (this is important).....These will have many takers
  
• Share success stories of Six Sigma from within & outside the organization. One effective way also is to get an important stakeholder (like a senior manager in the organization) talk/write about their experience with Six Sigma & how important it is for them. You could use audio visuals (like LCD displays in common areas) if you have the facility.
  
• Get a group of staff who show interest in Six Sigma (not necessary that they all should be knowledgeable about it), encourage them to discuss about it in coffee table meetings / chats, etc.. this will raise their interest and awareness which will spread. This also is a good way to generate ideas for improvement / re-engineering !
  
• You could also create a small Six Sigma library where people could refer material to increasing. The above activities would encourage them to refer and apply the methodology.
  
• Create a dashboard with key messages of Six Sigma, status of projects in the organization, etc.. The dashboard should be attractive with simple yet catchy messages and key information on the projects. Make it big.....choose a strategic location where it gets maximum attention.
  

The main idea is to Demystify Six Sigma and help them to start thinking the Six Sigma way ! You can try any of these and more based on the level of engagement your staff / organization are at currently. Hope this helps....

What are the Six Sigma projects a bank can go for their improvement? By what procedure the projects can be prioritised? How the cost of the project can be determined and its Return On Investment? In what way the duration of the project can be determined?  

Hi Firoz

Helping you with your first question - "What are the Six Sigma projects a bank can go for their improvement?", I request you to click on the link below for Examples of Six Sigma implementation in Finance and Banking -

http://forum.benchmarksixsigma.com/topic/888-examples-of-six-sigma-implementation-in-finance-and-banking/

Regards

Shradha

That's a useful list of projects indicated in Shardha's note. Many of the projects would be related to reducing TAT's (turnaround times) / Cycle Times, Reducing reworks, etc.. The focus would be to remove the NVA (Non Value Adds). Many of these can also be run as Lean, Kaizen / Continuous Improvement projects also. Look at the Critical Business Processes for improvement. You can do a VOC analysis and find out what your customers are looking for.  The selection of projects can be done using a Project Selection Matrix which quantifies the benefits of projects and enables selection. If the projects have soft benefits such as time saved then the time is converted into Dollar savings.The duration of projects would be subjective. However a simple project would take about 4-6 months. Complex projects take longer. It is important to maintain a discipline in terms of toll-gate reviews at each stage to ensure timely completion of projects.

Thanks a lot Shradha and Sunitha for your kind information. It will help me about the projects involving a banking industry.

Further inputs are being welcomed to enrich the knowledge on this subject.