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 Performance Measurements Continuous Improvement amp Benchmarking H15 QR Code
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Performance Measurements, Continuous Improvement & Benchmarking

Overview:

Introduction:

The use of performance measures is of paramount importance to all organizations wishing to improve business performance. Whilst Japanese organizations led the way in implementing effective performance measurement, many companies worldwide are now catching up as performance measurement is seen as key to effectively managing organizations.

Having implemented performance measurement systems in an organization, management naturally requires that processes are continually improved. Many organizations have adopted a continuous improvement approach to running their organizations in which they continually strive for better and better performance levels.

A key element to continuous improvement is Benchmarking. Without benchmarking it is we do not know how competitive we are or where we need to focus improvement efforts. Benchmarking helps organizations balance their internal problem solving and improvement activities with the realities of the external environment. This includes other industries that perform similar functions, similar businesses that are geographically separate, and non-profit or public institutions. Under the right conditions, benchmarking can be performed by direct competitors, resulting in improved performance benefiting all stakeholders. Benchmarking not only provides awareness of what and where "best" performance lie, but more importantly, it enables the paradigm shift that internally focused teams sometimes fail to achieve. It fosters creative adoption and adaptation of "best" practices to help organizations gain and maintain a competitive advantage.

One aspect that many organizations find difficult to manage is shared services. The first step in managing this and any other aspect of an organization is to measure it. Once it has been measured it can be benchmarked and improved.

Course Objectives:

At the end of this course the participants will be able to:

  • Identify the specific difficulties of controlling shared services.
  • Explain the importance and benefits of performance measurement, continuous improvement and benchmarking.
  • Explain the vital role that these activities play in helping organizations perform at superior levels.
  • Explain how performance measurement, continuous improvement and benchmarking relate to one another.
  • Explain methods of generating and implementing effective performance metrics.
  • Explain a proven 12 step process improvement methodology.
  • Provide an overview of the most common tools and techniques used for continuous process improvement.
  • Explain the benefits of benchmarking.
  • Explain the vital role that only Benchmarking plays as part of a continuous improvement program.
  • Explain in detail the benchmarking process and assist participants to manage and run their own benchmarking studies.
  • Give delegates the opportunity to explore the issues raised in the seminar by means of examples, discussion and workshops.

Targeted Audience:

  • Professionals & Leaders who will be responsible for authorizing and over-seeing shared services activities within the organization.
  • Strategic planning department
  • Human Resources
  • Quality management

Course Outlines:

Unit 1: Performance Measurement, The Starting Point for Improvement:

  • The Trilogy
  • The Need for Measurement
  • Data Use and Abuse: Using Data Constructively
  • Methods of Selecting Performance Measures
  • Developing a Framework for Measurement
  • Understanding Variation: The key to understanding performance
  • What histograms, run charts and control charts tell us about performance
  • The Rods Experiment

Unit 2: Continuous Improvement:

  • Understanding Variation: The Range and Standard Deviation
  • The Rods Experiment Part 2: Understanding the Results
  • Taking Appropriate Action on a Process: Improvement or Investigation?
  • An Introduction to Control Charts: The Key to Taking Appropriate Action
  • The Juran Trilogy©
  • How to Improve a Process: An Introduction to the 12 step Methodology
  • The Power of Teamwork
  • Problem and Mission Statements

Unit 3: The Tools of Continuous Improvement:

  • Understanding and Analyzing a Process: Flow Diagrams
  • Identifying causes of problems, and potential solutions: Brainstorming
  • Demonstrating the link between a cause and its effect: Cause-Effect diagrams
  • Understanding the Process: Quantitative Display Tools (line charts, bar charts and pie charts)
  • Selecting the key aspects to focus on: Pareto Analysis
  • Investigating Relationships between Variables: Scatter Diagrams and Correlation
  • Introduction to Regression

Unit 4: Introduction to Benchmarking:

  • What is benchmarking?
  • Why we need to benchmark?
  • The Benefits of benchmarking: Why organizations benchmark.
  • History of benchmarking.
  • Different Methods of benchmarking and how they relate to each other.
  • How to identify potential benchmarking projects.
  • An overview of the benchmarking process.
  • Advice on selecting your first project.

Unit 5: Running a Successful Benchmarking Project:

  • Normalizing.
  • Identifying and selecting benchmarking Metrics.
  • Identifying and selecting benchmarking partners.
  • Securing benchmarking project support.
  • Inviting organizations to join the benchmarking study.
  • The Invitation Pack: What it is, why we need it, and how it's used.
  • Participant meetings: Planning and running effective meetings to attain the aims of the study.
  • Data capture:
    • Generating clear data collection schemes.
    • The Help Desk.
    • Coping with problems.
    • Data validation.
  • Data analysis and reporting: the starting point for improvement.
  • The Improvement phase.
  • Running effective Best Practice Forums.
  • Benchmarking project management.
  • Management support activities.
  • Code of conduct.
  • Legal issues.
  • Independent facilitation and benchmarking clubs.

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