Whenever a new methodology is introduced to a corporation, it becomes the duty of every individual to play their part in its success. Executive leadership alone can’t make it a huge success based on a single decision. Errors occur when there’s a loophole in the existing system, and this is when the organization decides to implement continuous improvement methodology for the betterment of the company. But one should know that the process of Six Sigma implementation can be a difficult road, and there are many roadblocks that can hinder success.
Let’s talk about three major challenges of Six Sigma implementation:
Lack of Commitment
One big hurdle that the corporation has to vanquish while implementing Six Sigma is the lack of commitment from leadership. It is easy for leadership to openly introduce Six Sigma to the corporation. But are they entirely committed to the Six Sigma project? There’s no way that you will have overnight success; and finding the right motivation is another challenge of Six Sigma implementation. These challenges usually occur later because the company hurriedly made a decision of implementing Six Sigma without acquiring substantial knowledge.
Goal Misalignment
Hiring Master Black Belts and Black Belts isn’t always enough; and people involved internally must be given the opportunity to have Six Sigma training. Many organizations make this terrible mistake and ignore the observation that their employees’ alignment towards the company’s goal is far better than the people associated only with the Six Sigma project. Therefore, the crucial involvement of leaders of the organization as well as Six Sigma project leaders will definitely contribute to success.
Fear of Change
While the old saying goes that “Change is the only constant,”; many companies fear that there is a risk in bringing change. There is a possibility of two events while implementing Six Sigma – it could either fall apart or lead to massive success. The organizations who are willing to take this risk always weigh the pros and cons before implementation. For instance, Six Sigma works well in the manufacturing industry but it eats up more efforts in the service industry. This certainly doesn’t mean that Six Sigma will collapse if applied in service organizations; but it will be difficult to mimic those principles. The execution of Six Sigma in various other industries is what makes it unique.
There are many other challenges such as poor execution, the indefinite role of Six Sigma champions, irrelevant team members. These may give a difficult time to the companies implementing Six Sigma.
To deal with such organizational roadblocks during the implementation, it’s important to keep an agenda of open communication and transparency among people associated with the Six Sigma project.
