There are many methodologies for operational excellence – from Six Sigma to Lean Management, and Shingo model to Kaizen – and each of them has their own guiding principles. At CMG we describe operational excellence as a framework for a business to drive growth, achieve goals and execute their strategy better than their competitors.

Operational excellence embraces many aspects, but one of the key pillars is the efficiency of processes. This aspect can often be overlooked in companies for several reasons: rapid growth, being in a fast-paced environment or industry, or a general lack of awareness on improvement areas.

Where we start

To help our clients achieve operational excellence and meet their specific goals – from reducing costs, to increasing efficiency and quality, or meeting regulatory compliance – we systematically review the situation and the first step is Process Mapping.

We work to compare the ‘As-is’ and ‘To-be’ processes for the end-to-end flow across the business. Next we identify the key challenges and the root causes, and then identify the areas for improvement. We perform impact analysis to gain insight into what is changing, so that we can effectively manage that change.

Plan of action

The results of the assessment feed into the creation of a Process Action Change Plan, which is key in assigning and tracking actions to manage sustainable change.

Not only it is crucial to identify the changes to move towards operational excellence, but it is equally crucial to set the right framework to adopt them.

The best structures, processes and systems will not be successful if the people won’t adopt them.

Read our client case study – Ensuring operational excellence across end-to-end hotel experience

Potential pitfalls

Here are some of the typical pitfalls we help our clients overcome when striving for operational excellence:

Lack of clear ownership can end up in endless discussions and change of decision, rather than action.
Process “loops” between departments can slow down development.
Lack of tracking of process efficiency supported by data, which prevents the company setting the right acceptable standards.
People are often reluctant to accept change. Many companies fail to deliver clear communication of the benefits or take the time to listen to feedback. An impact assessment can really help with visualising how the change will affect your workloads.
No matter how mature the business is, thinking about how organisational efficiency can be improved is often static; something that is considered only occasionally, which can create a stop-start approach rather than continuous improvement.

We offer propriety tools and methodologies to drive operational change and development in a structured and efficient way, whilst respecting your company culture. We bring in the right people with the right skills to help our clients take responsibility for improving operational excellence. More importantly, when we go, we leave behind an in-house team with all the skills and training to ensure continual improvement and growth.