SUMMARY
A Six Sigma organization is a “learning organization.” It is constantly gaining new information and insights from its customers, external environment, and processes. The knowledge it acquires is in turn used to respond to new ideas, products, services, and improvements, and then measure the results and learn some more.
Training plays an important role in a “learning organization,” so you can expect a lot of training in a Six Sigma organization. In fact, continuous training in every phase is a key ingredient in achieving success.
Your company’s Six Sigma training should focus therefore on the skills and methods your people need most to fulfill their role(s) throughout the whole project. Your training module should have the following essentials:
a. describe in common terms the key principles and ideas
b.put tools into a context (e.g. DMAIC or Six Sigma Roadmap) to make their relevance clear.
| Training Component | Key Content | Audiences | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orientation to the Six Sigma Concepts | Basic Six Sigma principles; review of business need for Six Sigma; brief practice and/or simulation; overview of roles and expectations | All | 1-2 Days |
| Leading and Sponsoring Six Sigma Efforts | Role requirements and skills for Leadership Council and Sponsors; Project Selection; Reviewing team projects | Business Leaders; Implementation Leaders | 1-2 Days |
| Six Sigma Processes and Tools for Leaders | Condensed and adapted instruction in Six Sigma measurement and analysis processes/tools | Business Leaders; Implementation Leaders | 3-5 Days |
| Leading Change | Concepts and practices for setting direction, promoting and guiding organizational change | Business Leaders; Implementation Leaders; Coach/Master Black Belts; Team Leaders/Black Belts | 2-5 Days |
| Six Sigma Improvement Basic Skills Training |
Process Improvement, Design/Redesign, and core measurement and improvement tools | Team Leaders Black Belts; Managers/Green Belts; Team Members; Project Sponsors | 6-10 Days |
| Collaboration and Team Leadership Skills | Skills and methods for developing consensus, leading discussions, conducting meetings, managing disagreement | Business Leaders; Coaches/Master Black Belts; Team Leaders/Black Belts; Managers/Green Belts; Team Members | 2-5 Days |
| Intermediate Six Sigma measurement and analytical tools | Technical skills for more complex project challenges: sampling and data collection; Statistical Process Control; Tests of Statistical Significance; Correlation and Regression; basic design of experiments; etc. | Coaches/Master Black Belts; Team Leaders/Black Belts | 2-6 Days |
| Advanced Six Sigma tools | Modules in specialized skills and tools; Quality Function Deployment; Advanced Statistical Analysis; Advanced DOE; Taguchi Methods; etc. | Coaches/Master Black Belts; Internal Consultants | Varies by Topic |
| Process Management Principles and Skills | Defining a core or support process; identifying critical Outputs, Requirements, and Measures; Monitoring and Response plans | Process Owners; Business Leaders; Functional Managers | 2-5 Days |
COMMENTARY
So much has been said about the effect of training on achieving Six Sigma success. This is the only way to go, actually. It may have been presented in such an easy manner, but training means big budget. That is why it always poses as a major obstacle. Many managers just don’t want to spend that much on training for two main reasons.
First, they think it is unnecessary. In fact, in any cost reduction measure, training always comes in as the first casualty.
Second, they are not sure if their people will stay with the organization long enough to make a difference. Their belief is that the more you train your people, the more they become “saleable” to other companies.
With such attitude, any Six Sigma effort will go down the drain. They should be confronted with the question: “If you think training is expensive, think of the cost of ignorance.”
