Continuous improvement is aptly named as it describes the outcome as well as the process. A popular Japanese word used is Kaizen which means change for the better or improvement. It is used frequently to describe gradual unending improvement by doing little things better and setting and achieving increasingly higher standards. When applied to the workplace, Kaizen means continuing improvement involving everyone – managers and workers alike.
Continuous Improvement then is the simple but highly effective process of breaking your business or role down into all of its component parts and then breaking those down further to the smallest individual elements and charting your efforts to improve each of these in small incremental steps.
If we were to take your Marketing as an example; typically in Marketing you will measure and record Leads, Lead Conversion Rate, Average £ value of transactions and Number of transactions per client. Raising each of these by just a few percentage points can have an incredible exponential effect on your bottom line.
At Hole18 we even break down the Continuous Improvement Process to these 7 vital steps:
Step 1. Achieving Business Owner Commitment
Step 2. Training the Trainer
Step 3. Making Continuous Improvement Visible
Step 4. Measuring the Change
Step 5. Building the Team
Step 6. Rewarding the Result
Step 7. How to Never Give Up
Online Training in Continuous Improvement