12 Benefits of Using Lean Six Sigma
for You and Your Organisation
See also: Project Management Skills
Six Sigma Certification is an important certification for businesses and their employees. It is a means to measure quality, cost and lead time to identify process improvement opportunities.
Through Lean Six Sigma certification, organisations can improve their performance while decreasing the time it takes to create products or services.
What is Lean Six Sigma?
Six Sigma is a set of methods and tools that have been developed over the past few decades to help organizations improve their operational efficiency and streamline the way they work. It was originally developed in 1986 by Motorola and has since become a global phenomenon with enterprises around the world investing in these reliable methodologies to increase their rate of success.
Lean Six Sigma Certification is an excellent opportunity to increase the scope of leadership ability in your organization by renovating business processes. This process will not only streamline the workflow of your employees, but also help in taking the company to new heights.
The Lean methodology and Six Sigma are often confused with one another, but they do have clear distinctions. Lean is a method focused on eliminating waste in all aspects of a business while Six Sigma is more concerned with reducing errors. This can be done through improving process quality and empowering employees to make decisions themselves.
These two methodologies offer relevant training that is in high demand across a variety of industries. The training is applicable in the manufacturing, finance, healthcare, and IT sectors, as well as elsewhere. Lean Six Sigma strategy has been recognized as the best and most comprehensive approach to quality management in today's business world. It is also known for delivering a wide range of benefits, such as increased customer satisfaction, cost reduction, revenue growth and productivity improvements. It is the ideal process that will help any organization succeed in a competitive marketplace while staying committed to delivering high-quality products or services.
The United States has the highest number of Six Sigma Black Belt certified professionals in the world. These professionals are earning up to $167,000 per year and can be found in all industries and work in a variety of capacities. They help their companies maximize efficiency by reducing waste, increase profits, and improve quality of goods. A recent study shows that the average salary for a Six Sigma certified professional is $93,000 per year. Another study shows that the average salary for a Master Black Belt in the United Kingdom is $138,851.
Here is a list with some examples of roles that might benefit from Six Sigma certification:
- Team Leader
- Supervisor
- Manager
- Senior or General Manager
- Business Process Manager
- Analyst or Business Analyst
- Program Manager or Project Manager
- Quality Assurance Manager
- Continuous Improvement Manager
Lean Six Sigma certification
The Six Sigma certification has three levels of certification, starting at the yellow belt and going all the way to the black belt. You do not need to be certified at all three levels, but it is necessary to have completed at least one level before applying for another level. It is important to first identify which level will be most appropriate for your career objectives before selecting which one you want to complete.
A Yellow Belt certification is an efficient way to learn the basics of Six Sigma. It is ideal for those who lead limited improvement projects. Those who are supporting improvement projects in a limited role in a Six Sigma team will find it beneficial to obtain the knowledge and skills that come with the Yellow Belt designation.
A Green Belt certification is perfect for those who are part of a Six Sigma Management Team. They are tasked with assisting with data collection and analysis in order to help improve projects. Green Belt training will allow you to implement Lean Six Sigma proficiently and efficiently, which will lead to improvements in your company.
A Black Belt certification is an indication that you are a team leader who actively manages big improvement and problem-solving projects. The Black Belt level provides a thorough understanding of all aspects of Lean Six Sigma and other quality management tools. The certification helps in the long-term success of the business.
The benefits of Six Sigma have been seen on all levels of business and has led to the process being adopted by businesses in all types of industries. There are many benefits to this process, including the reduction of defects and the improvement of quality for customers.
Benefits of using Lean Six Sigma
1. Advance your career
The most common reason to have a certification is that it provides an endorsement to employers that you have a specific skill set. This can help you progress in your career and make yourself more competitive for employment opportunities. Recent studies show that competition in the job market is growing fiercer. By using Lean Six Sigma, you can show that you can think critically and strategically. This will set you apart from others competing for the same opportunities.
2. Help to nurture and develop managerial and leadership skills
Once you achieve Six Sigma certification, you will have a thorough understanding of measuring and quantifying financial benefits. With the techniques and knowhow to cut costs and increase revenue, Six Sigma training makes you ready for leadership roles. The skills that you gain by achieving Six Sigma certification make you well-prepared for any position within an organization.
People who complete the Six Sigma Black Belt training learn how to improve the efficiency of business processes. They are equipped to become a change agent within the organisation and lead efforts to improve processes. They help in improving quality of products and services delivered to customers.
Financial management and risk assessment have become crucial skills that are important at the middle and top levels of organizations. This is a skill set that certified Six Sigma professionals should leverage in order to improve their chance of moving up the corporate ladder and into more senior management roles.
3. Standardisation
There is no single organization that manages the certification process for Lean Six Sigma. While the actual certification and training process does not have a direct impact on culture, it does help with process management. The certification process also helps to facilitate an organizational culture of continual improvement.
Those who are aware and trained in the Lean and Six Sigma methodologies have a similar way of conversing with one another. They better understand the different steps necessary to correct a process, as well as how to reduce waste that occur due to linear thinking.
4. Improve business processes and maintaining quality enhancements
After you complete the Six Sigma certification program and pass the exam, you will have proved you understanding how to identify the different characteristics of a company's business processes. You'll know how to measure key performance indicators (KPIs), set process targets, and identify and prioritize potential opportunities for improvement.
You will be able to measure, analyse, control, improve, and review them. You will also have the capability to conduct a review of current processes. Through this process you will gain a clear understanding of their impact on quality performance.
You will also develop in the ability to achieve the level of continual quality improvements that an organization needs. You will be able to closely observe processes and confirm there is no deviation from an average standard. You will be able to take corrective measures in a project should any deviation from the original plan occur.
5. Earn a good salary
According to new data from indeed.com, Six Sigma professionals are amongst the highest-paid in their respective field worldwide, with salaries typically in the $100,000+ pay bracket. They are also among the most sought-after and qualified professionals around.
6. Applies across global industries
Six Sigma certification is worth a lot more than just the Six Sigma methodology that is found in electronics, aerospace, banking and financial service industries. It can also be found in other industries such as IT, telecom, HR, marketing and so much more.
Pursuing a Six Sigma certification for your career can lead to great benefits such as better salary prospects, more hours in the day, and, with proper preparation, there are not too many times where one would find themselves facing a Six Sigma exam that is too difficult to pass.
It is common knowledge that Six Sigma certified professionals command respect from executives and hiring managers at key companies. This is one of the reasons they are so highly sought after and popular.
With a Six Sigma certification, you will be able to direct your energies in the form of change within an organization. You will be spearheading quality improvement throughout the organization. You will also strengthen your leadership qualities, which will only further speed up the rate of quality improvement within the company.
Individuals who are certified in Six Sigma are knowledgeable in many different methods of improving business processes. Certified Six Sigma professionals are experts in reducing costs and increasing revenue, which benefits the overall organization. This leads to a better bottom line for any industry.
As a professional, it is important to continually update your knowledge and skills to adapt to the changing needs of your industry. You need to learn how to quickly adjust your thought process and skillset for a variety of business situations, no matter what industry you are in.
7. Ensure high standards compliance
With the rigorous standards of Six Sigma, organizations can reduce the error rate in their processes dramatically. This has meant that many organizations use Six Sigma as a way of evaluating their products or services before they hit the market.
As a certified Six Sigma professional, you will be able to help organizations ensure they conform with international standards and maintain high standards of profitability at the same time.
8. Gain hands-on experience in quality management, communication, and project management
Six Sigma certification process is the culmination of hands-on work on real-life projects. It gives you experience with the principles of Six Sigma when implementing them in a business setting. As a certified Six Sigma professional, you will be armed with knowledge of the industry even before you enter. This alone will give you an advantage over new entrants to the industry and valuable experience that is hard to find otherwise.
9. Good understanding
There are many people who have the skills and do the job as somebody who is certified. Formal training and certification can provide a much better understanding of how to apply the methodology. It teaches you how to apply the right skills when dealing with different situations and can help you develop those skills to fit a particular position.
People who are not familiar with Lean or Six Sigma may not be aware of the issues that need to be addressed, or how to identify them. However, when teams have Lean knowledge, they can focus on the right process enhancements by looking for the best way to address them.
10. Grow the Organisation
A company can only be successful in applying Lean Six Sigma methodology by creating a culture of continual improvement. This is achieved through training the employees who are interested in Lean Six Sigma and establishing a strong ground for their ideas to be heard. With an organizational culture that is full of people who understand its benefits, it will be much easier to develop initiatives and implement them in order to improve processes.
Employees should be equipped with the knowledge and skills to address complicated problems in an efficient manner. The most important skills include the ability to gauge causal factors and plan accordingly. This will help professionals make appropriate decisions that solve problems.
Organizations are in the pursuit of pursuing their goals through the elimination of waste and by promoting innovation within their processes.
11. Eliminate errors and support your organisation
From an enterprise’s perspective, attaining a Six Sigma certification enables an individual to become vital. An individual that has attained a Six Sigma certification can identify and eliminate repeatable errors, which can save the enterprise money and increase profitability.
By obtaining Six Sigma certification, individuals will be able to transform their organization through the implementation of quality management and performance improvement techniques. This will lead to an increase in revenue and improved customer satisfaction. These benefits arise from the ability of those with a Six Sigma certification to identify, measure, and reduce errors within their workplace.
Certified Six Sigma professionals have the potential to help decrease complaint resolution time, customer complaints, spending and cost overruns. They can help identify and resolve problems earlier which allows for a more cost-effective and timely solution.
12. Enhance company culture
Lean Six Sigma is a well-established methodology and has become ingrained within the culture of all big organizations. It's something that everyone in these organizations can adapt to, and contribute to, no matter what their role. This is what really makes the difference for any company that adopts it.
Culture is something that people are often quick to dismiss, but it's worth noting that it does propagate from the top. This means that companies need to adopt a continuous improvement culture if they want it to continue throughout the business, and one of the best ways to do this is by having qualified professionals.
About the Author
James K Meyer has been an entrepreneur and passionate blogger for over a decade, during which time he has written thousands of articles on his blog and in many other publications. He writes about business, health, technology, automobiles, legal, hospitality and much more. He is also an active contributor to Entrepreneur, Forbes, NYTimes and Vents Magazine.