When “I” is replaced with “WE,” even illness becomes wellness” – Malcolm X
Win the three as one alone is not enough Operational Excellence makes you win your employees' and workers’ Body, Mind and Heart for a better result.
What is People Engagement?
As Experts define People Engagement: it refers to creating a workplace condition where employees are willing to give their best every day, are committed to achieving company goals, are motivated to do whatever it takes to maintain its success and overcome any business challenges. In simple words, gaining their body, mind, and heart.
What to expect when your people are not Engaged
1. Working in Silos: you find employees in many companies and organizations working in silos, lacking the vision of the big picture. They may be aware of their department target but not the whole organization. They don’t feel that they can express their views or improve how they work. They show up every day with their bodies but minds and hearts are not in the same place.
2. Blame Culture: As long as you don’t have the employees' and workers’ minds and hearts, they will mechanically run their work and run home at the end of the day. Quality of work and efficiency are usually absent. Moreover, when something goes wrong everyone will only try to throw the ball of the blame on another one. Whenever you are in this situation, you will spend hours investigating the root cause and the person responsible and you will waste valuable time with no added value.
3. Lack of Respect and Animosity/ Conflicts between team members. When employees are not engaged, the “Me, I” and selfishness prevail.
4. Lack of Innovative Ideas: If there is no sense of belonging why produce ideas that make things better?
What Can Operational Excellence and Lean Offer You?
We are Consultants working on Lean and Operational excellence. In the field, we always talk about Lean Culture: which considers “People” as the cornerstone of any organizational success. It helps you win your team's body, mind, and heart.
How?
1. Communication: Channels of communication are open from the early stages of implementing Lean, 6 Sigma, or any other operational excellence projects. Kick-off meetings don’t only involve the management but usually all the employees and workers.
Vision is communicated: Employees should not only know their department objectives but also the company goals and strategic objectives.
2. Use of Visuals: KPIs are posted in every business unit, monthly results are communicated, milestones and quick wins, as well as the best idea providers, are celebrated. Winning people’s hearts motivates them to work efficiently.
3. Respect & “We” prevails and culture of blame disappears. When “I” is replaced with “we,” even illness becomes wellness” – Malcolm X
Moreover, when you win people’s hearts they feel like one team and respect each other. Lean also appreciates the role of each employee, no matter how small this role is.
So, in a nutshell, Operational Excellence makes you win your employees' and workers’ Body, Mind, and hearts for a better result, healthy working environment, and sustainable growth. Never give up on implementing the best Lean and Operational Excellence practices. You may have some setbacks during the journey but the results will be long.
