Office KAIZEN^™

Introduction

KAIZEN has become the Holy Grail of operating philosophies for most companies in competitive environments. ¹ As industries across Canada are propelled into the 21st century due to COVID, the need to adapt in order to remain competitive is stronger than ever. However, adjusting and transforming operations at an uncertain time like this, while necessary, can be daunting. The application of office KAIZEN is here to help.

“KAIZEN means improvement. Moreover, it means continuing improvement in personal life, home life, social life, and working life. When applied to the workplace, KAIZEN means continuing improvement involving everyone — managers and workers alike.” ² This philosophy is “recognised worldwide as an important pillar of an organisation's long-term competitive strategy... and companies that implement KAIZEN have continually yielded superior results.” ³

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When everyone practices KAIZEN at work, staff members are organised, less stressed and more productive. The idea focuses on achieving a new standard of performance, rather than focusing on the gap between “where you are” and “where you should be.”

Perhaps you manage several people and do not have a lot of time, but the pandemic has created a bunch of new challenges, or even caused a few old ones to reappear. You have ongoing work, staff and procedures that need to be kept on track, but repetitive and time-consuming tasks are stealing too much employee time. Maybe you've thought about making a change and implementing new systems, but the complexity of the software out there today means your time and attention will be redirected for too long, and that is time you simply do not have to give. Add growing concern for cost and the stress of running the day to day operations of a business — it's a lot to handle.

The past 18 months have been disruptive, but making changes to your office needn't be.

Of course, not all processes will be ripe for change, and oftentimes offices believe what they have works, but the best companies in the world are very well aware that they must constantly improve themselves.

To follow the KAIZEN philosophy more easily and to make it a strong constant of a corporate culture, here are a few principles that managers should consider and embrace.

Keep an Open Mind to Change

It can be incredibly easy to fall onto the path of “things have always been done that way.” If that path is solidified, it becomes a hindrance to progress or change, which is a problem. No matter how good or effective your process currently is, you can always be open to doing things better.

See Problems as Opportunities

As the shift towards automation surges in 2021 and remote work is quickly becoming an integral part of the 'new normal', it is vital for offices to adopt new techniques and technologies. ⁵

“The more problems you see, the more ideas you should have. You can always turn waste into gold...but if there are no internal ideas, there's probably no motivation, and if there is no motivation, change won't last for long.” ⁶

Try looking at the situation from a different angle:

• Is this taking too long?
• Can this process be simplified?
• Can that be done faster?
• Can we do this better?
• Are there automated solutions for that?

KAIZEN is Endless

The best thing about KAIZEN is that it is endless. No matter how many changes you've already implemented there is always a way to improve something.

A common misconception about KAIZEN is that the philosophy is all about companies getting as much as they can out of their people. The fact is, if applied correctly, it can help to double output without doubling effort. The only thing that offices need to get out of people is IDEAS. Making changes should focus on finding efficiencies and removing wasteful steps that don't add value to the end result. You may even find it actually takes less effort to deliver the same result. ⁷

Take Law Firms

Legal offices run on time efficiency. This means no unnecessary tasks, lean processes, and implementing automation where possible to remain competitive. After all, their time is money. Therefore, this means constantly being on the lookout for ways to improve along with regularly revisiting already existing processes and procedures to make sure things are operating as smoothly as possible.

Implementing any kind of positive change starts with the right mindset.

So, can your office be doing better, and if so, in what ways?