How Lean Kaizen Boosts Employee Empowerment

Lean Kaizen has proven to be an effective methodology and technique for removing waste and creating more value for the customers. But this removal of waste that is all the non-value adding activities will be of little use if your employees are not empowered and engaged enough to drive meaningful changes. A large portion of  Lean’s success depends on the employee/ frontline workers who actively engage with the tasks of production and value creation. Without empowering employees through training, education, and upskilling, it will be challenging for companies to reap the complete benefits of Lean Kaizen. Additionally, it will be difficult to make  a culture of “continuous improvement” a norm in their respective organisations.

The basic premise of Lean Kaizen philosophy is to always look for scope of improvement. Since there is no singular end to Lean, there is always room to streamline the process.  And it is equally important to identify limitations, find new and effective ways to save costs, time and human resources. All of this is only possible when employees or frontline workers are empowered and educated to take lead and incorporate Lean practices into their daily work. Using Lean methodology not only removes waste but it also shows the way to boost employee empowerment and engagement. 

American cultural anthropologist and writer Richard Kath Nelson defines empowerment as a process where individuals feel as though they are in control and have ownership over their work environment. When it comes to employee empowerment, it means giving employees the autonomy to perform a task without constantly seeking approvals from higher-ups. This Lean approach eliminates the waste of motion and waste of time which can be used to create value. Here is more on how how Lean philosophy can empower employees: 

Table of Contents 

1. Elimination of Waste (Non-Value Generating Activities)
2. Encourage Employees to Share Insights 
3. Provide Employees Constructive Feedback
4. Organise Workshops, Seminars and Training Sessions
5. Delegate Tasks Based on their Strengths 
6. Appreciate Employee’s Hard work and Efforts 
7. Set Meaningful Boundaries for Their Work 
8. Give Employees a Shared Sense of Meaning 

1. Elimination of Waste (Non-Value Generating Activities)

While performing a task there are many non-value activities that an employee has to perform which leads to wastage of time and wastage of motion. Seeking approvals, retrieving tools or documents or doing unnecessary paperwork lead to waste of time that could  have been used in performing tasks efficiently. Through implementation of Lean, employees are able to make quicker improvements and decisions related to their tasks, contributing towards business growth and development. 

2. Encourage Employees to Share Insights 

Each employee brings a different and unique perspective and skill set to drive business operations in your company. They work closely with production and value creation processes and know all the minute details that as an employer you would have missed. This is the part where you encourage them to contribute and share insights regarding tasks where they have found scope for improvement.

Empowering frontline workers to share insights, ideas and perspectives brings a shift in their mindset. They gain autonomy and get a sense of ownership to seek new opportunities and ways to improve efficiency and productivity. 

3. Provide Employees Constructive Feedback

No employee can progress if they are not getting constructive feedback from their seniors/ higher-ups. The emphasis on the word “constructive” to highlight their areas of improvement and finding ways to make them better. Managers or seniors must refrain from offering harsh criticisms and personal attacks that go against the very idea of employee empowerment.  If they perform poorly, explain to them in detail what went wrong and how they can improve, even if it’s slowly and gradually. 

4. Organise Workshops, Seminars and Training Sessions

Educating, Training and Upskilling are three important pillars for empowering employees. Even when implementing Lean Kaizen in your organisations, a lean consulting company conducts workshops, cross-functional collaborations, and training sessions to educate the workers. By doing so, you will be able to dispel any doubts or worries an employee may have and train them to look for opportunities to improve. This will enable them to develop a Lean Kaizen mindset that is needed for micro improvements.  

5. Delegate Tasks Based on their Strengths 

It is imperative that businesses start delegating tasks (or parts of it) to employees. They must also allow some room for employees to perform it in their own capacity. Every employee has their own way of doing a task and unnecessary questioning or scrutiny can feel like micromanagement. If the goals and objectives of tasks are clear and they are well aware of what the results need to be, employers should trust them or at least give them a chance to perform. Employees will also have a sense of responsibility and accountability if you provide them space and freedom to perform a task. 

6. Appreciate Employee’s Hard work and Efforts 

No employee likes to get their efforts and hard work ignored or undermined. If an employee has worked hard and delivered tangible results, employers must recognise their efforts and recognise them. Hence appreciation, such as awarding them monetary benefits, performance bonus or public recognition can go a long way. 

7. Set Meaningful Boundaries for Their Work 

Delegating work responsibility and offering autonomy doesn’t mean there is no bound for a worker. While delegating a task, an employer must make their expectations and objectives clear only then an employee will be able to perform accordingly. Explaining to them about what results you expect will give them a clear picture of how, when and where they should complete a task. 

8. Give Employees a Shared Sense of Meaning

A “shared sense of meaning” means allowing them to be a part of business building. When they know their worth and importance of building a business alongside their fellow employees, they will see themselves as part of something bigger. This is why sharing your company vision and allowing them to know exactly what value your business is trying to provide to customers can help them significantly improve their performance.