As noted on our recent post an Introduction to the Holistic Toolkit, we leverage WorkOut in combination with other methodologies to drive business results. WorkOut is an amazing tool to drive simplicity, cultural change and realize tangible benefit.
WorkOut emerged as an approach to drive transformation at GE in the 80′s. Like many large organizations, it was marred with bureaucracy, barriers and siloing preventing it from moving forward. The methodology was used to drive rapid, continuous process improvements reducing, and ultimately eliminating, wasted hours and energy organizations experience in day-to-day operations.
Jack Welch’s goal was to create an environment where “a relentless, endless companywide search for a better way to do everything” is baked into the very DNA of the company. As such, WorkOut enables increased employee engagement, makes customer expectations real to team members, turns business strategies into results, improves business process while removing bureaucracy and breaks down organizational barriers.
WorkOut comprises of three high-level steps:
- Planning
- Sponsor identifies critical business challenge
- Challenge refinement with an Engagement Team
- Participant selection
- WorkOut event
- End-to-end overview of scope
- Issue identification
- Solution generation
- Action plan development
- Recommendation approval
- Implementation
- 90-day implementation delivered by event participants
Many have been quick to overlook WorkOut as a methodology to drive results but we’ve experienced incredible results from utilizing the approach from customer experience to tangible business benefit:
- Increased customer satisfaction
- Increased collaboration between teams after WorkOut events
- Double digit year-over-year increases in team engagement in areas that have high utilization of our holistic toolkit including WorkOut
- An average of over $250,000/project in operational savings across a growing portfolio of 50+ WorkOut opportunities
We’ll get into more detail as to why it works in future articles.
Have you used WorkOut before? What results have you seen?
Happy holidays!
