Articles

Since Six Sigma is an all out team effort, it is extremely important to have the right candidates creating those teams. Let’s assume that we have an excellent staff already, but we need to increase our manpower due to turnover. This is when the duties of human resources become extremely important to get the company moving towards a successful outcome.

The Six Sigma philosophy is all about getting as close to perfection as possible; for Six Sigma this would be 99.9997% defect free. Remember, anything less than perfect is an opportunity for improvement.

In order to achieve the high standards of Six Sigma, a strong level of commitment is necessary. A clear understanding of the DMAIC process becomes a top priority. A quick reminder: DMAIC stands for Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control.

The potential of HR’s effectiveness towards achieving a Six Sigma culture is unlimited. Some of the ways HR can contribute include:

• Creating a qualification template that will help establish the ideal candidates with the right team, leadership and technical abilities.
• Create specific detailed job depictions to not only attract but also help potential candidates completely understand what the job entails, as well as the expectations.
• HR can also create a strategy that will help the company in the retention of their staff, i.e. Black Belts. Retention is the only way an organization can recoup their investment in the training and development of those Black Belts.
• HR can also help in making sure team leaders as well as staff get the important training that is required. This might include conflict management or conflict resolution, communication skills, and dealing with issues that affect team effectiveness.

As you can see, HR has a lot of potential in the achievement of a successful Six Sigma culture since they can help attract the right candidate from the start.

Interested in learning how human resources can help your organization with implementing Six Sigma? For more information on our Six Sigma training courses or services, please visit 6sigma.us.