For those of us in the performance improvement or performance technology fields, the concept of continuous improvement (CI) comes naturally. After all, the components that drive CI are the same ones that drive our field. The concepts of CI and human performance technology (HPT) are quite similar, in fact. The cycle (and hopefully inherent desire) for improvement seems to naturally perpetuate itself, with no clear beginning or end, just like a circle. This circle resembles the looping of the HPT model.

CI can take on many forms: Plan-Do-Check-Act, Six Sigma, Malcolm Baldrige method, etc. Regardless of the model we follow, the underlying concepts are all the same: invest in making things continuously better, be proactive, use systems thinking, and have complete/absolute participation.

Since we are all so familiar, and therefore comfortable, with the concepts of CI, we often struggle to understand why our clients or internal organizations are not willing to embrace CI. It becomes part of our responsibility as PI/PT professionals to enhance our clients' perceptions of CI.

In order to change perceptions, we must first try to understand why the current perceptions exist in the first place.

Why Do Clients/Organizations Resist CI?

Perhaps clients resist Continuous Improvement because they don't know what it is and how they can benefit from it. Some clients/organizations may resist CI because the current culture is not supportive of a CI type of mentality.

One of the biggest explanations, however, is that an organization has become stagnant or complacent. The clients may feel as if they have nothing broken so there is nothing to fix. Let's use a sales environment - how many times have you heard something like: "our sales figures remain strong, why would we need continuous improvement? Nothing is wrong with our sales levels." Or in the case of a higher education environment, clients sometimes have the ingrained thinking that there will always be a need for college graduates so they don't need to worry about enrollment numbers.

What Can We Do About It?

When introducing CI, avoid getting caught up in the terms and tools. Keep it simple and explain the concepts. This will help you avoid having clients focus on the details instead of the bigger picture. (i.e., Asking, "Do I use a fish bone diagram or a histogram to tackle this issue?")

Also, don't fall victim to the top down buy-in approach. While it is certainly essential to have buy-in from the top of the organization, don't assume that an initiative will produce results just because upper level leadership supports it. In CI, you have to have front line staff who not only embrace the CI concepts but also deliver on the behaviors that are necessary for the CI mentality to take root in an organization and become part of its culture.

Instill in clients that CI is not a one-time passing phase. Make sure that clients feel compelled to make CI a priority. After all, if you don't insist on these items, CI will never catch on.

Continuous improvement must become imbedded in how business is conducted, how strategies are developed and carried out, and become part of the organization's ongoing commitment to have an advantage or make itself unique from other companies that offer similar goods or services. Since CI is in fact a commitment (note the word "continuous" in the term), the organization must be willing to invest time, money, intellectual capital, and other resources into beginning and sustaining CI. If this does not happen, CI will never perpetuate and be sustained.

Implications

As we all know, in order to make people understand how important human performance or performance technology is, we must speak a language that they understand. We can often equate performance related issues back to the bottom line. We say things like:

• "If you don't address this issue your company stands to lose $250,000 in new sales accounts."

• "If you continue to use this outdated process to execute your production forecast, you will waste 5 percent of your raw materials."

It is somewhat more difficult to tie the implications of not embracing CI to the bottom line. When talking to clients, relevance is usually the key, but sometimes, relevant examples don't cause enough urgency to make the proverbial light go on. Remember, our clients can become comfortable and complacent in their respective environments. When trying to convince clients that CI is a worthwhile investment, cultural shift, and a necessary component of survival, consider the following implication examples:

• If the automotive industry did not embrace CI (and TQM, etc.,) we would still be driving vehicles with same fuel efficiency rate as we were 40 years ago.

• If the healthcare industry did not embrace CI, we would be living shorter lives with fewer prescription drugs and treatment alternatives.

• If an institution of higher education does not embrace CI, it could loose accreditation, revenue opportunities and eventually cease to exist.

• If the IT and computer technology industries did not embrace CI, we would still be using mainframe computers.

Pulling It All Together

All of us approach CI differently, and you likely possess insights I did not mention in this article. I do think however, that we can all agree that CI and its concepts need to be embraced so that we all become better people who work in stronger organizations that produce superior goods and services to keep our nation competitive. After all, performance improvement and performance technology can impact a small department to the entire world and everything in between.

Reference

Van Tiem, D.M., Moseley, J.L., and Dessinger, J.C.. (2004). Fundamentals of Performance Technology: A Guide to Improving People, Process, and Performance, Second Edition. Silver Spring, MD: International Society for Performance Improvement.

2005 ASTD, Alexandria, VA. All rights reserved.