When Using Six Sigma Sometimes It Helps To Bring In A New Point Of View

By Craig Calvin

In an ideal world, when your business introduces the Six Sigma methodology to improve the existing processes within the organization, the Six Sigma project would be staffed with internal employees. When you train your employees in the Six Sigma methodology it not only helps these employees feel like they are important to the future plans of the business, but it will also help the Six Sigma project since you will have individuals on the project who know both Six Sigma and your business. After gaining the necessary training and experience you will eventually have employees who complete the Six Sigma Black Belt certification, and can run their own Six Sigma projects.

Ideally, you would like to use as many internal employees as possible on a Six Sigma project, as long as they have the necessary experience and training. If you hire external Six Sigma efforts to lead your Six Sigma projects there is a perception that these individuals will not be as effective as internal employees with Six Sigma training. Even though these people may have Six Sigma training, the assumption is that you would still have to provide training so they could get up to speed with the way you operate, which would take time and money.

Employees that already work with the company are already trained and familiar with the culture and objectives. However, this knowledge and previous training can inhibit their critical problem solving abilities because they will be limited in their resources. The solution is? Hire outside resources as team leaders for Six Sigma Projects and you can gain more insight and get a different perspective on how to resolve the problem from someone with an unbiased opinion.

If you bring in an outside Six Sigma Black Belt to run your Six Sigma efforts it does provide a greater opportunity for objectivity in your Six Sigma project. An outside Six Sigma Black Belt, who is brought in as a project manager for your Six Sigma effort, will be more open to new ideas, will provide new ideas of their own, and will help guide the project team to consider as many options as possible when determining the ideal solution.

Another benefit to hiring outside sources to complete Six Sigma Projects is that there will be no inherent tendency for a person to think within a certain limit to protect their territory. When people are afraid of change, it is often because they fear losing their place. Therefore, the solution to the problem will be more focused on how to improve things while protecting one's place within the organization. Bringing in outside resources with the right Six Sigma training can be beneficial to any company. Not only will it allow for objectivity, but it will also help foster growth and learning between the Six Sigma team and the members or employees of the organization. - 32179

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