Page 31 - Six Sigma Demystified

12 Six SigMa DemystifieD

the information that require changes to data- acquisition methods.
Business- evel Six Sigma projects provide a sound approach to under-
l
standing these issues.
• Define business- level metrics for customer, employee, and shareholder require-
ments. Establish baselines and dashboards (measurement standards) for
easy synthesis of data needed to gauge the success of the program and
highlight hot opportunities. (Metrics are discussed further in the “Mea-
surement and Feedback” section later in this chapter.)
• Establish project selection, assignment, and approval criteria. Project selec-
tion criteria should be aligned with the business strategy. (This is discussed
further in the “Project Selection” section of Chapter 3.) Define key players
for assigning and approving projects.
• Market the program to the organization. Construct, conduct, and analyze
organizational assessment to identify obstacles to deployment within or-
ganizational levels. These perceptions are important to understand so that
strengths can be built on and weaknesses addressed. Larger organizations
always need this internal buy- in. Many times, smaller organizations do as
well. Use an employee- focused dashboard to track progress.
• Select and train the deployment team. Personnel moves send strong signals.
By selecting the best and brightest (the A team) for key black belt, cham-
pion, and green belt positions in the first wave of deployment, manage-
ment sends a clear signal: This effort is not just important—it is the most
important thing we’re doing. Training people to do it right sends the mes-
sage that failure is not an option.
• Develop a human resource strategy to retain black belts and motivate middle

management to support and contribute to the program. By giving employees
incentives and ensuring that leadership maintains its priority, management
says that there is no going back.

Resource Allocation

Organizations need to plan effectively for the human resource needs of their
Six Sigma projects. Access to other resources, such as operational processes, also
will require difficult prioritization decisions.
Resource allocation is a critical challenge for any organization. You often
hear, “Our people already feel overworked.” In many smaller organizations,
resource allocation is further complicated because employees “wear several