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Welcome to PMI's GEMBAfication, the podcast where we explore the real stories behind performance improvement, bringing improvements to where the work is done, and of course the highs and lows of making improvements, which we all go through.
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I'm your host, Susannah Clarke, managing partner at PMI, and I'm joined today by Anca Palade, complaints coordinator at St.
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Andrew's Healthcare.
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We're going to talk about one of the problems that they had, how um she got mobilised, what worked, what didn't, and most importantly, what Anca learned.
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Thank you for joining me today, Anca.
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How are you?
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All right.
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Thank you for having me in your podcast, Suze.
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Well, you're very, very welcome.
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I wonder if you could start off by just giving us an introduction to yourself and a little bit about St.
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Andrew's Healthcare.
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Sure.
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Um, I currently work in the PALS and Complaints team at St.
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Andrew's Healthcare.
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We are a charity providing specialist care in specialist care and inspiring hope for people with complex mental health needs.
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I previously work in the continuous quality improvement team when the organization was building its improvement capability.
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Um my background is quite mixed.
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I spent around 10 years in manufacturing and nearly four now in healthcare, mostly in operational roles.
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Um I am also a few months away from completing my improvement specialist apprenticeship.
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Um and one thing I would say up front is that my improvement journey hasn't been linear at all, and I've come to realise that is actually okay.
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Absolutely.
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And I think actually that's true for many people.
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It's very rare, even in any career, but certainly an improvement.
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It's often not a linear journey.
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So can you tell us a bit about the process improvement that you think has made a real difference?
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Um in my view, all improvements make a difference, provided that they follow a structured approach and involve those closest to the problem.
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Um I would like to talk about an improvement project that began during my time in the CQI team and continue following my redeployment to the PALS and complaints team, but also about incremental improvements, if that's okay.
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Of course, yes.
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Um I will start with the project.
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Um the team were asked to review the process for checking medical emergency bags.
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Um these are the bags used in medical emergencies, and there had been ongoing issues with compliant bags being taken uh taken to emergencies.
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They were also working to a deadline to deliver something meaningful.
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So the problem was that these bags were not consistently in a ready-to-use state.
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There have been some previous interventions to fix this, but audits were still failing.
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So it was clearly not a one-off issue.
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It was more of a problem in the system.
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Okay, interesting.
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And and what did you think that the yeah, with the work that you did to research, what did you find the problem was really?
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So what became interesting um is that initially the focus weren't the focus was on checking better, reminding staff, reinforcing compliance, um, redoing paperwork.
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But when we stepped back, we realized that the issue wasn't the awarness.
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Um, it was how the process actually worked in practice.
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Um so there were there there wasn't clear accountability, bags moving between the words, um, expectation placed at a time of high pressure, um, right after an emergency.
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So the system, as it was designed, um made it hard for people to do the right think assistant lane.
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I can imagine that that's also was very stressful for people because as you say, it's a very high-pressured environment, and when you need the bag, you need to bag.
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So it's got to be right and it's got to be in the right place.
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So um, what did you do?
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So, what did I do?
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Um I worked um with a multidisciplinary team and we used some simple improvement tools.
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Uh, one tool that made um a big difference um in this project was a cyPook mapping session, and I chose the the cyPOC intentionally.
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Um, I needed a quick high-level tool because there was deadline pressure and also a complex group of stakeholders.
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Um, that allowed us to create a shared understanding quickly without overwhelming people.
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Um, the tool helped us map the process end-to-end.
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Um and something interesting happened.
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Um, people stopped jumping to solutions, um, as we would normally do, and started understanding the problem.
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Um, I often like to say you cannot solve what you cannot describe.
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Yes, indeed.
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And I love that you started with the CyPop because sometimes people forget that step.
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And actually, it's a really powerful intervention, and it gives people that opportunity to start seeing some clarity in the process.
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Exactly.
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So tell us a bit about how you worked with the people.
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You say it was a multidisciplinary team.
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So, how did you bring all of those people together?
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Yes, what what I found that helped the most was keeping things simple because we have to understand that not everybody is aware or knows how to use continuous improvement.
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So, for example, pre-pop pre-populating templates for workshops so that people didn't start from scratch, um, clear follow-ups and next steps, um, in general, just making it easy for people to contribute.
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Um, also doing a stakeholder analysis early on that helped a lot with engagement.
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Um, because engagement wasn't easy.
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Um, people were under pressure and they had competing priorities due to organ organizational change.
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Sure, I can understand that.
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So, what did you see was the shift from the work that you were doing with these people?
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The biggest shift came from redefining ownership.
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So, before the responsibility sat with the board that had used the bag during an emergency, which as you can imagine, again, is probably a bad time to expect someone to restock equipment immediately after an emergency.
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Um, now this was one of the several change ideas or theories that we explored as a group, but it made the biggest difference.
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So basically, we proposed that responsibility sit with should sit with the awning board, um, regardless of where the bag was used.
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Um, and that changed everything because suddenly the process became predictable, clear, and manageable rather than reactive.
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And for me, that was the key learning that compliance wasn't a problem.
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The process was, or even more simply, we were expecting people to do the right thing at the wrong time.
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And some that, yeah.
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And so what are the results that you've seen from this project?
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So the proposal was approved by the group.
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From a governance perspective, it was added to the risk register, um, and that helped bring wider visibility and support and ensured that the issue was recognized at the right level.
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During the project, bags became available in all of the world.
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Um also a sample audit showed that small changes in the process resulted in a pass rate increase from just 2% to an impressive 83%.
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Wow.
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And while compliance didn't magically fix overnight, um the key improvement was making the process visible, not just compliant on paper, and that amazing improvement.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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Absolutely, that's an incredible result.
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So if you were to do it again, what would you have done differently?
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Um if I were to do it all again, um I would involve stakeholders and secure sp stronger sponsorship even earlier because structures and support matter a lot.
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Yeah, yeah, indeed.
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So in terms of this project, you've had a fantastic set of results.
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You've m learned you the things you do differently would be to involve you know stakeholders more and and get some stronger sponsorship.
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It was there anything that didn't go as you planned as you went through this.
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Of course.
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Um but uh for me um it isn't a one single thing that didn't go as planned or a one single failure.
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Um, it's more the reality of doing improvement in a changing environment, because I mentioned earlier, um, organizational change.
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Um, like I mentioned at the beginning, my improvement journey wasn't linear.
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For example, I was part of a CQI function that was later dissolved.
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So I went from being in an improvement role to doing improvement alongside a full-time operational role, and that changes things.
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Um because you don't have the same influence, if that's the if that's the right word, or the same support and time.
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Um, and a lot of the improvement work becomes incremental and sometimes quite lonely.
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But there is still something beautiful in it for those who are passionate about simplifying complex processes.
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And to be fair, my eye twitches a little um every time I come across a process that has become far more complicated than used to be.
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I think once you can see it, you can't not see it.
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You can't.
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And and once and once you are exposed to continuous improvement, it's impossible for you to look at things through a different lens.
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So can you give me a couple of examples of what didn't work?
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Yes.
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So um at times engagement didn't land, um priorities shifted, um, leadership changed, um, and continuous improvement was not always seen as essential, um, often because it's misunderstood and seen as something that comes later rather than something that helps achieve our goals in the first place.
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Um and I think there's a reality in many organizations, um, in many organizations, the opportunity here is bringing improvement closer to how we solve problems, not often.
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Yes, indeed.
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And I think what you described there about priority shifting, leadership changing, that that's such a familiar story.
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Many people struggle with that and then struggle to you know keep that enthusiasm going.
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Um so from all of this, what do you think you've learned?
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So the biggest learning for me is that improvement is about context, leadership, and timing too, not just tools.
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Um and that protected time is essential, which is often seen as extra time, but in reality it's what saves you time in the long run.
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Um it links to what we call we we often call the cost of quality and continuous improvement.
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So you either invest time in doing things right or you spend more time in fixing them later.
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And not just time, but resources too.
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Um and I've also learned um that you can do good improvement work and still face resistance, and again, it's okay.
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Yes, yes, and it's having that resilience, isn't it?
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That the resilience, yeah.
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Correct.
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And also like if you have the skills and the tools, um then you will be able to work around that resistance.
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And I think the most important thing is never take it personally.
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Yes, very true.
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Um you mentioned at the beginning that you'd like to talk a bit about incremental improvement, and I think that's probably part of your current role.
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Yes, yeah.
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Um here is where I wanted to talk about incremental improvement.
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So in my current role, the improvements are much smaller, but still impactful.
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Um, for example, um I created a complaints tracker that improved visibility of active complaints.
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Um, it was initially developed for the team only and is now used more widely across the organization.
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I introduced a structured response template to support investigators, um, which improved the consistency and quality of complaint responses and management approval.
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Um, I simplified parts of the process by introducing email templates and document links, making complaint handling faster and easier.
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They are not big projects, but um they reduce pressure, improve consistency, and improve outcomes over time.
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I see them as 1% improvements that compound over time.
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Um, and I think that's where organizations need to get to, where people naturally look at the system and think about how to make it better and why, rather than seeing improvement as something that only happens through big projects.
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Absolutely.
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And it's that the piece that some people are missing is that small incremental improvements.
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Because if everybody is making a 1% improvement, you know, on a regular basis, that leads to an awful lot of improvement in the organization over that time.
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Exactly.
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In the course of a year.
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So yeah, I completely agree with you.
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Um, any thoughts on um leadership, any reflections from that work that you've been doing, both in projects and in incremental improvement?
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Yes.
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Um I think what's been interesting for me is seeing how much leadership shapes improvement.
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Um there were times where improvement felt like a tick-box action, or that was seen as a long-term plan rated under basics.
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And again, that is because improvement is misunderstood and is sequenced later.
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Um, with the current leadership, it feels like it's been being understood differently, and that gives me hope.
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Hope that improvement will become a culture and everyone will speak eventually the same language.
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Definitely.
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That was that's that's the the the goal, isn't it?
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That's what we're all aspiring to do.
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And what would you say that is the biggest lesson that you've learned?
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The biggest lesson.
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Um the biggest lesson for me is that not all problems are the same.
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So they shouldn't be solved in the same way.
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And again, there are plenty of tools that we can look into it um from a continuous improvement perspective.
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Um, so some problems may need compliance, some structure, but mainly need understanding and improvement.
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I also think, and this is very interesting, um, because I've been I've been thinking um about this.
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Um we've traditionally designed jobs around people learning a process and following it.
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And that's important because standards matter, of course.
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But I think organizations gain a lot more when people are also equipped with some improvement capability, so that when something isn't working, they naturally become curious about why, rather than spending all their energy firefighting symptoms.
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So for me, continuous improvement, it should be part of how people think about their everyday work.
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Definitely.
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And so you said in the beginning you're you're studying your level five um improvement specialist at the moment.
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Um now that you've obviously done a few projects yourself, what advice would you give to somebody, whether they've recently trained as a as a as a yellow belt or green belt, or whether they've started an apprenticeship themselves?
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What would you say to someone who's starting their first project?
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Uh many.
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But I I'll I'll use three if that's okay.
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Of course.
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Um so the first um advice that I would give them is take a step back to move forward.
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And this is my mantra now.
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Um I mean to move forward, not before moving forward.
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Because if you don't understand the problem, you might move, but possibly not in the right direction.
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The second advice would be go to Gemba.
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Go and see what's happening in practice, not what you think is happening or what's written in the policy.
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Um because the reality is always where the learning is.
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And the third advice would be identify and engage stakeholders early, and it's what I found to save you a lot of headaches.
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Um and and and I'd probably give the same advice to leaders as well.
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Um, and finally, I'd like them to remember that improvement happens with people, not to them.
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Yes, indeed.
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Anca, thank you so much for your time today.
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Wonderful stories and also some fabulous advice.
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Um, and it's just great hearing from somebody who's really practicing this work and and the fact that you are looking as well in a in a role currently which isn't improvement focused, but you are looking for everyday improvements, I think is fantastic.
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So thank you very much for joining me.
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To our audience, if you've enjoyed this episode and listening to Anca, then please don't forget to subscribe and share the podcast with any of your colleagues or friends.
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Leave us a review.
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The more we grow, the better everybody's work becomes.
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If you want any more insights, you can come to pmi.co.uk and please do follow us on LinkedIn.
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Anca, once again, thank you so much for your time today.
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Thank you very much, Suse.
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It was really great.
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:14.960
Welcome to PMI's GEMBAfication, the podcast where we explore the real stories behind performance improvement, bringing improvements to where the work is done, and of course the highs and lows of making improvements, which we all go through.
00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:23.920
I'm your host, Susannah Clarke, managing partner at PMI, and I'm joined today by Anca Palade, complaints coordinator at St.
00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:25.519
Andrew's Healthcare.
00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:35.840
We're going to talk about one of the problems that they had, how um she got mobilised, what worked, what didn't, and most importantly, what Anca learned.
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Thank you for joining me today, Anca.
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How are you?
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All right.
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Thank you for having me in your podcast, Suze.
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Well, you're very, very welcome.
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I wonder if you could start off by just giving us an introduction to yourself and a little bit about St.
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Andrew's Healthcare.
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Sure.
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Um, I currently work in the PALS and Complaints team at St.
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Andrew's Healthcare.
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We are a charity providing specialist care in specialist care and inspiring hope for people with complex mental health needs.
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I previously work in the continuous quality improvement team when the organization was building its improvement capability.
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Um my background is quite mixed.
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I spent around 10 years in manufacturing and nearly four now in healthcare, mostly in operational roles.
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Um I am also a few months away from completing my improvement specialist apprenticeship.
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Um and one thing I would say up front is that my improvement journey hasn't been linear at all, and I've come to realise that is actually okay.
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Absolutely.
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And I think actually that's true for many people.
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It's very rare, even in any career, but certainly an improvement.
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It's often not a linear journey.
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So can you tell us a bit about the process improvement that you think has made a real difference?
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Um in my view, all improvements make a difference, provided that they follow a structured approach and involve those closest to the problem.
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Um I would like to talk about an improvement project that began during my time in the CQI team and continue following my redeployment to the PALS and complaints team, but also about incremental improvements, if that's okay.
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Of course, yes.
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Um I will start with the project.
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Um the team were asked to review the process for checking medical emergency bags.
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Um these are the bags used in medical emergencies, and there had been ongoing issues with compliant bags being taken uh taken to emergencies.
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They were also working to a deadline to deliver something meaningful.
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So the problem was that these bags were not consistently in a ready-to-use state.
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There have been some previous interventions to fix this, but audits were still failing.
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So it was clearly not a one-off issue.
00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:01.759
It was more of a problem in the system.
00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:03.680
Okay, interesting.
00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:11.039
And and what did you think that the yeah, with the work that you did to research, what did you find the problem was really?
00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:24.479
So what became interesting um is that initially the focus weren't the focus was on checking better, reminding staff, reinforcing compliance, um, redoing paperwork.
00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:28.719
But when we stepped back, we realized that the issue wasn't the awarness.
00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:33.039
Um, it was how the process actually worked in practice.
00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:44.479
Um so there were there there wasn't clear accountability, bags moving between the words, um, expectation placed at a time of high pressure, um, right after an emergency.
00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:50.240
So the system, as it was designed, um made it hard for people to do the right think assistant lane.
00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:59.520
I can imagine that that's also was very stressful for people because as you say, it's a very high-pressured environment, and when you need the bag, you need to bag.
00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:02.879
So it's got to be right and it's got to be in the right place.
00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:05.599
So um, what did you do?
00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:07.599
So, what did I do?
00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:14.000
Um I worked um with a multidisciplinary team and we used some simple improvement tools.
00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:24.560
Uh, one tool that made um a big difference um in this project was a cyPook mapping session, and I chose the the cyPOC intentionally.
00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:32.319
Um, I needed a quick high-level tool because there was deadline pressure and also a complex group of stakeholders.
00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:38.480
Um, that allowed us to create a shared understanding quickly without overwhelming people.
00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:42.160
Um, the tool helped us map the process end-to-end.
00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:46.000
Um and something interesting happened.
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Um, people stopped jumping to solutions, um, as we would normally do, and started understanding the problem.
00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:56.959
Um, I often like to say you cannot solve what you cannot describe.
00:04:57.360 --> 00:04:58.399
Yes, indeed.
00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:03.519
And I love that you started with the CyPop because sometimes people forget that step.
00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:12.720
And actually, it's a really powerful intervention, and it gives people that opportunity to start seeing some clarity in the process.
00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:14.160
Exactly.
00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:17.360
So tell us a bit about how you worked with the people.
00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:19.600
You say it was a multidisciplinary team.
00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:22.000
So, how did you bring all of those people together?
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Yes, what what I found that helped the most was keeping things simple because we have to understand that not everybody is aware or knows how to use continuous improvement.
00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:46.160
So, for example, pre-pop pre-populating templates for workshops so that people didn't start from scratch, um, clear follow-ups and next steps, um, in general, just making it easy for people to contribute.
00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:51.920
Um, also doing a stakeholder analysis early on that helped a lot with engagement.
00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:54.560
Um, because engagement wasn't easy.
00:05:54.560 --> 00:06:01.040
Um, people were under pressure and they had competing priorities due to organ organizational change.
00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:03.279
Sure, I can understand that.
00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:08.639
So, what did you see was the shift from the work that you were doing with these people?
00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:13.920
The biggest shift came from redefining ownership.
00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:28.879
So, before the responsibility sat with the board that had used the bag during an emergency, which as you can imagine, again, is probably a bad time to expect someone to restock equipment immediately after an emergency.
00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:36.800
Um, now this was one of the several change ideas or theories that we explored as a group, but it made the biggest difference.
00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:46.480
So basically, we proposed that responsibility sit with should sit with the awning board, um, regardless of where the bag was used.
00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:54.639
Um, and that changed everything because suddenly the process became predictable, clear, and manageable rather than reactive.
00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:59.839
And for me, that was the key learning that compliance wasn't a problem.
00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:07.040
The process was, or even more simply, we were expecting people to do the right thing at the wrong time.
00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:09.839
And some that, yeah.
00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:14.560
And so what are the results that you've seen from this project?
00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:18.959
So the proposal was approved by the group.
00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:32.079
From a governance perspective, it was added to the risk register, um, and that helped bring wider visibility and support and ensured that the issue was recognized at the right level.
00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:36.079
During the project, bags became available in all of the world.
00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:46.959
Um also a sample audit showed that small changes in the process resulted in a pass rate increase from just 2% to an impressive 83%.
00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:48.240
Wow.
00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:58.800
And while compliance didn't magically fix overnight, um the key improvement was making the process visible, not just compliant on paper, and that amazing improvement.
00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:01.680
Yeah, absolutely.
00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:03.839
Absolutely, that's an incredible result.
00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:10.079
So if you were to do it again, what would you have done differently?
00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:24.959
Um if I were to do it all again, um I would involve stakeholders and secure sp stronger sponsorship even earlier because structures and support matter a lot.
00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:27.439
Yeah, yeah, indeed.
00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:34.960
So in terms of this project, you've had a fantastic set of results.
00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:44.720
You've m learned you the things you do differently would be to involve you know stakeholders more and and get some stronger sponsorship.
00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:50.559
It was there anything that didn't go as you planned as you went through this.
00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:52.320
Of course.
00:08:52.320 --> 00:09:01.919
Um but uh for me um it isn't a one single thing that didn't go as planned or a one single failure.
00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:09.440
Um, it's more the reality of doing improvement in a changing environment, because I mentioned earlier, um, organizational change.
00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:13.519
Um, like I mentioned at the beginning, my improvement journey wasn't linear.
00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:18.399
For example, I was part of a CQI function that was later dissolved.
00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:28.799
So I went from being in an improvement role to doing improvement alongside a full-time operational role, and that changes things.
00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:37.759
Um because you don't have the same influence, if that's the if that's the right word, or the same support and time.
00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:42.960
Um, and a lot of the improvement work becomes incremental and sometimes quite lonely.
00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:49.360
But there is still something beautiful in it for those who are passionate about simplifying complex processes.
00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:59.279
And to be fair, my eye twitches a little um every time I come across a process that has become far more complicated than used to be.
00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:03.679
I think once you can see it, you can't not see it.
00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:04.399
You can't.
00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:13.440
And and once and once you are exposed to continuous improvement, it's impossible for you to look at things through a different lens.
00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:19.039
So can you give me a couple of examples of what didn't work?
00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:19.759
Yes.
00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:40.639
So um at times engagement didn't land, um priorities shifted, um, leadership changed, um, and continuous improvement was not always seen as essential, um, often because it's misunderstood and seen as something that comes later rather than something that helps achieve our goals in the first place.
00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:52.480
Um and I think there's a reality in many organizations, um, in many organizations, the opportunity here is bringing improvement closer to how we solve problems, not often.
00:10:53.279 --> 00:10:54.080
Yes, indeed.
00:10:54.080 --> 00:11:00.159
And I think what you described there about priority shifting, leadership changing, that that's such a familiar story.
00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:05.200
Many people struggle with that and then struggle to you know keep that enthusiasm going.
00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:11.440
Um so from all of this, what do you think you've learned?
00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:22.879
So the biggest learning for me is that improvement is about context, leadership, and timing too, not just tools.
00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:32.320
Um and that protected time is essential, which is often seen as extra time, but in reality it's what saves you time in the long run.
00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:38.000
Um it links to what we call we we often call the cost of quality and continuous improvement.
00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:44.720
So you either invest time in doing things right or you spend more time in fixing them later.
00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:47.679
And not just time, but resources too.
00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:57.039
Um and I've also learned um that you can do good improvement work and still face resistance, and again, it's okay.
00:11:57.919 --> 00:12:02.159
Yes, yes, and it's having that resilience, isn't it?
00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:04.720
That the resilience, yeah.
00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:05.440
Correct.
00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:15.679
And also like if you have the skills and the tools, um then you will be able to work around that resistance.
00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:18.879
And I think the most important thing is never take it personally.
00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:21.840
Yes, very true.
00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:29.279
Um you mentioned at the beginning that you'd like to talk a bit about incremental improvement, and I think that's probably part of your current role.
00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:30.639
Yes, yeah.
00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:34.000
Um here is where I wanted to talk about incremental improvement.
00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:38.639
So in my current role, the improvements are much smaller, but still impactful.
00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:46.320
Um, for example, um I created a complaints tracker that improved visibility of active complaints.
00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:52.320
Um, it was initially developed for the team only and is now used more widely across the organization.
00:12:52.320 --> 00:13:03.200
I introduced a structured response template to support investigators, um, which improved the consistency and quality of complaint responses and management approval.
00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:12.960
Um, I simplified parts of the process by introducing email templates and document links, making complaint handling faster and easier.
00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:21.200
They are not big projects, but um they reduce pressure, improve consistency, and improve outcomes over time.
00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:25.120
I see them as 1% improvements that compound over time.
00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:42.559
Um, and I think that's where organizations need to get to, where people naturally look at the system and think about how to make it better and why, rather than seeing improvement as something that only happens through big projects.
00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:43.679
Absolutely.
00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:49.279
And it's that the piece that some people are missing is that small incremental improvements.
00:13:49.279 --> 00:14:00.720
Because if everybody is making a 1% improvement, you know, on a regular basis, that leads to an awful lot of improvement in the organization over that time.
00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:01.279
Exactly.
00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:02.960
In the course of a year.
00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:06.240
So yeah, I completely agree with you.
00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:17.039
Um, any thoughts on um leadership, any reflections from that work that you've been doing, both in projects and in incremental improvement?
00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:18.000
Yes.
00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:25.039
Um I think what's been interesting for me is seeing how much leadership shapes improvement.
00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:34.799
Um there were times where improvement felt like a tick-box action, or that was seen as a long-term plan rated under basics.
00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:40.159
And again, that is because improvement is misunderstood and is sequenced later.
00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:48.080
Um, with the current leadership, it feels like it's been being understood differently, and that gives me hope.
00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:53.679
Hope that improvement will become a culture and everyone will speak eventually the same language.
00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:54.799
Definitely.
00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:57.600
That was that's that's the the the goal, isn't it?
00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:59.679
That's what we're all aspiring to do.
00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:03.840
And what would you say that is the biggest lesson that you've learned?
00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:05.519
The biggest lesson.
00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:12.080
Um the biggest lesson for me is that not all problems are the same.
00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:15.200
So they shouldn't be solved in the same way.
00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:20.799
And again, there are plenty of tools that we can look into it um from a continuous improvement perspective.
00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:29.360
Um, so some problems may need compliance, some structure, but mainly need understanding and improvement.
00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:36.320
I also think, and this is very interesting, um, because I've been I've been thinking um about this.
00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:42.720
Um we've traditionally designed jobs around people learning a process and following it.
00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:46.480
And that's important because standards matter, of course.
00:15:46.480 --> 00:16:04.240
But I think organizations gain a lot more when people are also equipped with some improvement capability, so that when something isn't working, they naturally become curious about why, rather than spending all their energy firefighting symptoms.
00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:12.720
So for me, continuous improvement, it should be part of how people think about their everyday work.
00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:14.639
Definitely.
00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:23.360
And so you said in the beginning you're you're studying your level five um improvement specialist at the moment.
00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:37.840
Um now that you've obviously done a few projects yourself, what advice would you give to somebody, whether they've recently trained as a as a as a yellow belt or green belt, or whether they've started an apprenticeship themselves?
00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:41.279
What would you say to someone who's starting their first project?
00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:43.279
Uh many.
00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:46.480
But I I'll I'll use three if that's okay.
00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:47.360
Of course.
00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:55.919
Um so the first um advice that I would give them is take a step back to move forward.
00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:58.080
And this is my mantra now.
00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:03.919
Um I mean to move forward, not before moving forward.
00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:10.240
Because if you don't understand the problem, you might move, but possibly not in the right direction.
00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:15.519
The second advice would be go to Gemba.
00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:23.599
Go and see what's happening in practice, not what you think is happening or what's written in the policy.
00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:28.559
Um because the reality is always where the learning is.
00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:39.519
And the third advice would be identify and engage stakeholders early, and it's what I found to save you a lot of headaches.
00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:45.839
Um and and and I'd probably give the same advice to leaders as well.
00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:52.640
Um, and finally, I'd like them to remember that improvement happens with people, not to them.
00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:55.359
Yes, indeed.
00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:59.039
Anca, thank you so much for your time today.
00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:02.640
Wonderful stories and also some fabulous advice.
00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:17.920
Um, and it's just great hearing from somebody who's really practicing this work and and the fact that you are looking as well in a in a role currently which isn't improvement focused, but you are looking for everyday improvements, I think is fantastic.
00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:20.559
So thank you very much for joining me.
00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:31.519
To our audience, if you've enjoyed this episode and listening to Anca, then please don't forget to subscribe and share the podcast with any of your colleagues or friends.
00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:32.799
Leave us a review.
00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:36.880
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00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:43.680
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00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:47.440
Anca, once again, thank you so much for your time today.
00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:49.119
Thank you very much, Suse.
00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:50.640
It was really great.
