System improvement is a project-based twofold technique that includes both problem resolution and solution implementation. To cater to these activities, technical as well as people-centered competencies are needed. However, such practices characteristically engage matter-of-fact and quantitative methods for reaching from a difficult situation to a calm productive one. Lean Six Sigma is one of the tools that is used for this purpose.
If changes are being made to a work situation for the sake of improvement or problem solving, feelings are also involved and the issues encountered are technical as well as emotional. Even though the existing process may be erroneous and complicated, stakeholders find a way to make it work.
A sense of comfort and stability has been provided by the routines that have been built. When threatened with interruption the effect can be fear and defensive behavior because majority of the workforce has learned to function under existing conditions. While introducing improvements or incorporating changes, the real issue is not the technical aspects of modification, but the human relation issues that came up.
The unwillingness of coworkers and stakeholders confronted often perplexes change agents and problem-solvers during the process of problem solving. Workers seldom defy technical change, but social change – those amendments that can affect social structure and wellbeing are often debatable.
It is not the change that people resist; it is the pain and threats that come from it. Fine ideas, which are meant to be implemented, most of the times are put into practice simply. Problem solving techniques seldom take the resulting human consequences into consideration. Human relations skills and technical competency are two sides of the same coin. To anchor change and sustain improvement both are equally required.
The following actions can help anchor and sustain a project based program: 1. Empower people to take action: Empower stakeholders and affected workgroups with the authority to make changes and accept responsibility for decisions related to their actions.
2. Manage resistance: Look for and manage resistance to improvement. In case of a sizeable push-back, it might be taken as a sign of something being missed or concerns were not effectively handled.
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