Using Six Sigma for Employee Promotion

I have written quite a number of posts about the use of Six Sigma in human resource. Some of the posts touched on fast-tracking recruitment process, others on providing training for employees. Not one touched on promotion.

If Six Sigma can improve recruitment and training processes, I believe it can also be used for evaluating employees for leveling up.

Cummins is actually doing it. An article on Information Week narrates how the company will be using Six Sigma to determine of IT employees can be managers.

CIO Gail Farnsley shares how she will apply process improvement method, particularly Six Sigma, to identify and develop the manufacturer’s IT management talent. Right now, she’s looking into the following:

• starting with the VOC survey, asking business-unit heads about the strengths and weaknesses of the IT division
• ranking and prioritizing the qualities of a future IT leader
• looking into IT management candidates’ experience in non-IT roles
• tracking how many of them actually make it to leadership positions

Read more…Source:
InformationWeek.com, a Six Sigma Zone featured link

*Photo from MorgueFile

Filed under: Human Resource, Software/Technology, Deployment, CIO, IT

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How GE Uses Six Sigma to Drive Security ROI

That’s the title of the article on CIO. Francis X. Taylor, General Electric’s (GE) chief security officer, explains how to apply process imrovement methods to manage security risks.

Taylor was speaking before an audience of security executives at the CSO Perspectives in March.  Here are excerpts of insights from him.

A methodology like Six Sigma requires a change in how you think about your organization and how it works. It requires shifting loyalties from how your organization operates to how those operations affect customers—the people and organizations who determine the value of what you produce. Performing well in this task adds value to your organization, can help security executives anticipate risks and identify resources to mitigate them, and it enables your leadership to pursue new opportunities for growth.

Taylor then presented process gains in policy violations at , background checks, and security alarms. He improved these processes These are real-life experiences when he was still working at the State Department.

The processes are improved through analysis and knowing what each process involves. The lesson learned is that one only needs to know the processes, gather relevant data, and work toward making the processes work more efficiently. Read more…

Source:
CIO, a Six Sigma Zone featured link
 

Filed under: Benefits and Savings, Deployment, Public Sector, CIO, GE, Data Analysis, Six Sigma Zone

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Lean Six Sigma Round-up

Today, we’ll make the rounds of sites and learn about what’s the latest in Lean or Lean Six Sigma.

Let’s start with Lean Six Sigma Academy. Ron Pereira is talking about the concept of waste in the light of motion or movements. His post is interesting because he tackles waste in the practical way. It’s true that we do certain things, and to achieve them, we have to go through several yet unnecessary processes.

Over at 63 Buckets, Rob Thompson has an interesting post on The Lean Office. Taking from the house cleaning Japanese strategy, the 5S, N. Dean Meyer talks about how a lean office can be a good start to any system improvement. If I walk into an office, and see it’s not very well put in place, I’d have the impression that this office is not working on a system. I could be wrong of course, but so far, I’ve not been wrong. You have to start from a clutter-free workplace. The argument is that if you cannot even clean your own desk, how can you expect to clean clean up the whole organization.

At CIO.com, its latest article on Leadership Beneath the Buzz is about Lean + Six Sigma. The article is a good guide for quality practitioners. It tackles what Lean or Six Sigma can do and cannot do separately and together. Yes, it’s true that together or singly, Lean + Six Sigma may or may not be the answer to all your process improvement initiatives.

Check out the three sites and learn as much as you can.

Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Deployment, Six Sigma References, CIO

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