Executive Summary Operational excellence enables an organization to do more with the same staff through better employee engagement and streamlined processes. It is not about cutting resources, but rather about figuring out together how we can better apply our resources,” says Sergei Brovkin, Principal of organizational performance consulting firm Collectiver Inc Table of Abbreviations and Acronyms Abbreviation/AcronymsExplanationKCSHRMHRGESSSix SigmaLSSLean Six Sigma Contents Introduction (~100 words)• Purpose of the Report• What is Covered in the ReportThe purpose of this report is to identify types of operational performance gaps in the workplace and to examine their conceptual differences and explore various approaches and practices for operational excellence. The report intendents to flag and cover Areas of operational improvements, two immediate and specific operational issues, suggested approaches/solutions and key recommendations for design and implementation of the suggested approaches for KCS executive team to consider. The first step towards organizational improvement is to build efficient process for all staff to follow. Inspired by Peter Peterka, CEO of training company Global Six Sigma and Chairman of the International Society of Six Sigma Professionals “The key is a good framework, sometimes referred to as the operational excellence house. This framework includes things like Six Sigma, Lean, Kaizen, and other key methods that you use together to complete the structure. You can’t have a completed house without each piece,” Peterka says. Let us unfold the philosophies, approaches and practices that KCS could benefit from. Area of Operational Improvements Kirinari is a not-for-profit company and employs over 1000 staff across regional NSW and Victoria. Kirinari has experienced significant growth and change in recent years. Organisational review has been commissioned to ensure that Kirinari’s processes, internal controls and operations have evolved to sustain the increased volume in transactions and activity. Though there are many operations enhancement required as part of growing organisation in this report KCS are recommended to focus on two primary areas of improvement for operations team: – Improvement 1 To integrate recruitment (from HR team) to Operation’s needs process – People are Kirinari’s biggest asset, and if HR team fail to recruit the right employees with right skills and attributes, it will not only incur the cost of training and development for KCS. It will also result in decreased productivity which can promote bad culture and high attrition rate. Example – If operations team are looking for staff with nursing background to support customers with medical needs, then not point HR team advertising and recruiting staff with Behaviour Management experience. Solution proposed to KCS is to apply best practice framework to recruitment and selection process by using the Agile approach to ensure that the best possible framework is implemented(Look for Assessment 2 Best Practice Guide) Improvement 2 To identify the process flow from operations service delivery to Finance (Billing and claiming) – How to profitably deliver services to customers has become a defining challenge for most businesses today as per McKinsey media’s report (January 2017). It is a requirement of NDIS registered provider to bill customers based on the supports provided any unclaimed funds remains with NDIS and does not get rolled over into next years plan. KCS needs to analyse and improve on billing and claiming processes in a timely and efficient manner. Example – If a customer is funded $10,0000.00 from NDIS for 12months plan and the face-to-face rostered services delivered were worth only $80,000.00 towards the end of the plan then finance can only claim $80,000 as per supports provided. Finance is not able to claim full 10,0000.00 as there are no evidence of services provided for training, administration, plan development, funding submission etc. Solution proposed to KCS is to rewrite this process (CST to Operations to finance) focus on end-to-end customer journey, which can deliver and generate the most value. Lean Six Sigma approach can recognize how internal department processes may impact other stakeholders throughout and outside of an organization. For example, inefficiencies in processing invoices could make it more difficult for other departments to work with external vendors as stated by Prude University (Lean Six Sigma) July 2020. Research conducted on proposed Approaches 1600 words Research analysis has been conducted to identify the contributing factors for above operational gaps. Let’s unfold approach 1. Agile approach Rakuna (2020) states the idea of “agility” in business started with the Agile Manifesto, which was developed in 2001 for the technology development fields. This manifesto’s creators emphasized the philosophy of agility, which recruiters can understand as creating better, more collaborative, and more dynamic approaches to getting things done at high quality with continuous improvements. The Agile Manifesto and principles received huge support from not only technology developers but also business leaders all around the world. And thus, after nearly 20 years, the agile methodologies have been spreading across industries and adopting into many functions of businesses, including marketing, manufacturing, human resources (Harvard Business Review). On a broader perspective, agility in business or the agility of an organization can mean: Adapt quickly to market changes – internally and externally Respond rapidly and flexibly to customer demands Adapt to and lead changes in a productive and cost-effective way without compromising quality. Getting more referrals. Continuously be at a competitive advantage. In a survey by Deloitte, 79% of global executives rated agile performance management as a high organizational priority. Many respondents said that more of their employees undertake the agile way of working (McKinsey’s survey.) Mckinsey & Company’s Case study report conducted by Wouter Aghina et al. 2018 says Agile organisations are now seeing a paradigm shift in the ways that organizations balance stability and dynamism. First, the old paradigm. In 1910, the Ford Motor Company was one of many small automobile manufacturers. A decade later, Ford had 60 percent market share of the new automobile market worldwide. Ford reduced assembly time per vehicle from 12 hours to 90 minutes, and the price from $850 to $300, while also paying employees competitive rates. Ford’s ideas, and those of his contemporary, Frederick Taylor, issued from scientific management, a breakthrough insight that optimized labour productivity using the scientific method; it opened an era of unprecedented effectiveness and efficiency. Taylor’s ideas prefigured modern quality control, total-quality management, and—through Taylor’s student Henry Gantt—project management. Gareth Morgan describes Taylorist organizations such as Ford as hierarchical and specialized—depicting them as machines.For decades, organizations that embraced this machine model and the principles of scientific management dominated their markets, outperformed other organizations, and drew the best talent. From Taylor on, 1911 to 2011 was “the management century.” Agile approach aims to maximize efficiency and output by reducing waste and continuous improvement creating a better talent acquisition process to a better outcome. Agile recruitment practices are working for large organisation such as Deloitte, GE. For any industry type in todays fast paced labour market Agile approach can sustainably meet hiring needs. KCS will need to consider below recruiting model for talent acquisition strategy as per Steve Lowisz Forbes Councils Member (2019) Build a strong talent pipeline: Every company hustle to build their talent pipeline when they have lists of open requisitions. However, a lot of businesses will neglect the pipeline when hiring is slow. Unfortunately, this can make it hard to keep up with demand when hiring needs spike. Keep track of past candidates and try to stay in contact with candidates even when you don’t have open positions to suit their line of work. For example, try to spark up conversations that you’re always looking for great professionals and build a genuine relationship by asking about their career goals. Finish by asking if they want to stay in touch — in which case, you know who to reach out to when a position opens. Bolster your employer brand: Piggybacking off the last point, a strong employer brand is crucial for a strong talent pipeline. Companies should always be working on the brand with promotional materials and content on social media. Furthermore, keep a close eye on reviews on Google and Glassdoor and make sure you’re responding to negative reviews and reporting any that are obviously fake. Lastly, don’t be afraid to sell your geographic location. Here in Detroit, we put a lot of effort into showcasing all that our city and state have to offer. Candidates from other regions sometimes put the Midwest in a box, but this happens with every region. Get the drop on negative perceptions with marketing materials that impress candidates. Shorten and simplify the process for candidates: One of the biggest frustrations as a candidate is submitting your resume and then being asked to fill out a form detailing your work experience. Unfortunately, tons of companies still subject candidates to this miserable process. Likewise, many companies still make candidates go through three rounds of interviews or complete several tests. If companies want to be able to recruit top talent on a tight time frame, they need to make it short and sweet for candidates to apply and interview. Approach 2 – Name in Heading Lean Six Sigma Approach M J Liberatore from Villanova School of Business have reviewed that researcher have attempted to assess Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma (SS/LSS) implementation in healthcare. Feng and Manuel (2008), for example, surveyed healthcare organizations using online mailing list servers hosted by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and the Society for Health Systems. They found that 15 from 56 responding organizations practiced Six Sigma. In their healthcare organizations survey, Martin and McLennan (2005) found that Six Sigma was the most common approach among 18.5 percent of the respondents, followed closely by Lean processes (13.3 percent). Antony et al. (2007) includes an outcomes and financial savings summary from ten healthcare organizations having Six Sigma programs. Broad ranging CtQs and process metrics were improved. Of the ten firms, staff in six were able to estimate cost savings and/or revenue increases. Revere et al. (2004) summarise Six Sigma applications, while Gras and Philippe (2007) review clinical laboratory applications. DelliFraine et al. (2010) review Six Sigma and Lean Management in healthcare. The literature review identified 88 hospitals and healthcare providers that implemented SS/LSS (list available upon request). A total of 14 (16 percent) were located in The Netherlands, UK, South Korea, Italy, India, Finland, Taiwan and Thailand. A recent study on Six Sigma in Financial services industry states (Diana Heckl et al. 2010). Six Sigma was introduced by Motorola in 1986 and was initially adopted by organizations in the manufacturing sector including prominent examples such as the Six Sigma roll-out at General Electric in the mid-1990s. Since then, it spread tremendously towards the end of the twentieth century and is used heavily in the area of manufacturing (Goh, 2002). Although originally designed for this sector, many authors advocate the implementation of the Six Sigma methodology in the service sector (George, 2003; Ehrlich, 2002; Deming, 1986). The use of Six Sigma recently spread to service industries such as health care (Burge, 2008; Barry et al., 2002; Buck, 2001), education (Bandyopadhyay and Lichtman, 2007), call centers (Hensley and Dobie, 2005), and the financial services industry (Antony, 2006). An analysis of relevant publications, citations, and references by Chakrabarty and Tan (2007) reveals that Six Sigma is finding structured and beneficial application in service industries. Snee and Hoerl (2005) show two examples from the financial services industry. They describe Motorola Finance’s successful implementation among their audit staff. The second example is the Bank of America’s experience with Six Sigma and their deployment strategy The procedure of any Six Sigma process improvement project is based on the define, measure, analyze, improve, and control (DMAIC) cycle. This five-stage lifecycle model consists of the phases DMAIC (Antony, 2004b). Success of Six Sigma initiatives and projects One quarter of the financial services providers have identified the Six Sigma methodology as being suited for their continuous process improvement efforts. Eight out of ten financial services providers opted for Six Sigma because with its DMAIC cycles, this methodology offers strict procedures for process analysis and optimization (81.3 percent). Very Brief Background – not a History of the approach• Evolution of the Approach over the last (at most 10) years• Cite Case studies on how this Approach has been used to improve OperationalPerformance – in particular your industry is best Discussion / Implications of Agile & Lean Six Sigma in operational improvement practices (~600 words)• Apply Approach 1 to Solution 1… and• Apply Approach 2 to Solution 2• Discuss how the Approaches assist in the implementation of their respectivesolutions• Compare and Contrast the two approaches• Strengths and limitations• How one Approach suits its solution better than the other• Contrast / compatibility / complementary• Cite your Analysis Agile approach encourages Best practice Framework in recruitment and Selection – The four key stages to best practice recruitment and selection are outlined below as per Victorian education Best Practice guide Recruitment and Selection. Below stages could be incorporated into KCS’s HR Recruitment solution to assist and attract the right candidates -: Stage 1: Analyse Employment decisions should aim to support the achievement of the Department’s vision and objectives. Job analysis is a systematic examination of the purpose, responsibilities and scope of a position in supporting business objectives. It can help you to assess whether a position is required and what you wish to achieve in filling it. The hiring manager prepares for the recruitment process by considering current and future staffing needs, undertaking a job analysis and developing a position description. Stage 2: Attract In attracting applicants to a role, it is important to promote the Department as a great place to work which stands out from the competition. Our objective is to attract applicants who want to work in the public sector and who understand the Department’s values. Consider leveraging social media and the Department’s online presence to attract job seekers and show that the Department offers competitive benefits, a great work culture and room for professional growth. Attraction includes the following steps: determine application requirements in advertisements, advertise to attract diverse applicants, engage and attract prospective applicants and plan the selection process. Stage 3: Assess and select When determining assessment and selection methods, it is important to know your audience. Make sure you have a robust approach that will enable you to effectively differentiate between prospective applicants and assess their suitability for a role with the Department. At the same time, any biases should be eliminated. When selecting an applicant, negotiation is a critical part of the recruitment process. This section of the Guide includes practical tips on negotiating with preferred applicants. Stage 4: On-board and evaluate Once the offer of employment has been formally accepted, it is time to on-board the new employee. On-boarding refers to the procedures and actions to effectively integrate a new employee into an organisation. It is important to start the engagement positively – effective on-boarding has a significant impact on employee productivity, retention and safety. A smooth on-boarding process gives a good first impression of the Department and helps the employee adapt more quickly to their new job. Strengths and Limitation of Agile Approach StrengthsLimitationsRecruitment process includes forecast or staff planning with Department Head eg: Operations, Finance etc.Meeting Department heads can be challenging at times.Effective and efficient process experience by candidates having a recruitment strategyAgile recruitment is not about taking shortcuts.Improved quality of hireDefined process is required for everyone to followLower cost and reduced timeFragmented outputEnhance team performance and collaborationLimited documentations Lean Six Sigma Approach Appendix 1 – KCS Recruitment Process Flowchart Recommendations* (~150 words)• List Format / Bullet Points• Next Steps• Priority Areas• Consider People / processes / systems / change management• High level strategies / activitiesConclusion* (~150 words)• Draw out Key Findings Conclusion Agile Recruiting methodology is not perfect and not an ex-Machina that works in every recruiting situation. Recruiters also need to understand that agile recruitment is not about taking shortcuts, despite how it can be so by the book. Agile recruitment is not an excuse to skip building quality relationships with candidates. On the contrary, it’s a way to approach the mission differently by splitting the overall big goals into approachable tickets and tackling them efficiently, with plenty of space for setbacks, iterations, collaboration and improvements along the way. If you want to research more about Agile development, check out this informative article by TCGen Reference (To come before Appendices) Smartsheet. 2021. Key Principles of Operational Excellence | Smartsheet. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.smartsheet.com/content/operational-excellence. [Accessed 15 June 2021]. Education and Training. 2021. Department of Education and Training Victoria . [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.education.vic.gov.au. [Accessed 15 June 2021]. www.mckinsey.com. 2021. No page title. 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