Dear Mr. Andrew,
First of all, I just wanted to take a moment to say how much your presence at Medair will be missed. Your innovations have made a meaningful significance on Medair country programs, and Medair simply won’t feel the same without you. While it is a bitter moment to see that you leave, I am excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for you and deeply appreciative for all you have supported. You will always have a place in the Medair family.
Secondly, I also want to express my sincere appreciation, Mr. Andrew Parris, for your outstanding work as a LEAN trainer and practitioner. Further, having had the privilege of working with you on incremental initiation programs and projects, I can decisively say your expertise, passion, and ability to drive long-term change are truly unique. On top of this, Your talent for translating LEAN lesson such as (5S, Kaizen, value stream mapping, and root cause analysis) and bring these into practical, actionable strategies is remarkable.
Lastly, your training sessions are not only engaging and interactive but also promote a lasting culture of continuous improvement and initiations. Whether working with teams or leadership, you persistently ensure that LEAN principles are both understood and effectively implemented.
If further support is needed, I will remain in touch for additional instructions and LEAN assistance.
Best regards, Humayoun Hafizi
The importance of Lean and CI to humanitarian NGOs - Lean empowers people lower in the organization and engages them in improving how the organisation works.
Dear Andrew. Thanks for reaching out for input. We had trained some project officers on the Process Excellence Energiser training on Continuous Improvement (CI).
I can provide you with some examples below that showcase how Lean and CI empower individuals within humanitarian NGOs in problem-solving decision-making and tap into their workforce's collective wisdom and expertise, leading to more efficient and effective operations and service delivery.
Kaizen Events: Lean methodologies often involve Kaizen events, which are short, focused improvement projects. During these events, employees at all levels are encouraged to participate, voice their concerns, and suggest improvements. For example, in a humanitarian NGO, frontline workers might suggest changes to logistics, resource allocation, or communication procedures that can significantly impact the organization's effectiveness.
1. Daily Standup Meetings: Some team members are implementing weekly or biweekly standup meetings, which encourages all team members to share their progress, challenges, and ideas. These meetings provide a platform for lower-level officers and supervisors to raise issues and make suggestions for improvement, ultimately contributing to the organization’s continuous improvement.
2. Process and Value Mapping: Engaging employees in mapping out the entire process of an activity, allows them to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies. Lower-level employees, who are directly involved in day-to-day operations, often have valuable insights into streamlining processes and eliminating waste.
3. Whys Technique: When a problem arises, Lean encourages the "5 Whys" technique to dig deep into the root causes as a team. This approach engages the lower-level staff in critical thinking and problem-solving, helping them more actively improve processes.
4. Training and Skill Development: We encourage the managers as champions of lean to plan and encourage continuous development through training and skill development programs. This initiative empowers all low-level staff with new skills and fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement. As the staff gain expertise, they become more capable of suggesting and implementing changes.
5. Gemba Walks: By encouraging the managers and the staff to do the Gemba walk where leaders and the staff go to the actual workplace to observe processes. This practice gives the staff the opportunity to voice concerns, share insights, and propose improvements directly with management. It breaks down hierarchical barriers and encourages open communication.
6. Recognition and Rewards: We have spoken of a system of recognition and rewards for innovative ideas and contributions to continuous improvement that will win the global lean awards where they will be rewarded as a group with certificates and special awards either through promotions or special gifts and public acknowledgement for their contribution from the country leadership. This has motivated staff and groups to participate in Lean initiatives actively.
7. Kaizen Events (Lean Community of Practice): through the short, focused improvement projects, the Kaizen events. During these events staff at all levels are encouraged to participate, voice their concerns, and suggest improvements that can significantly impact the organisations’ effectiveness.
In summary, Lean and CI methodologies provide a structured framework for empowering individuals at all levels of an organization to actively participate in improving how the organization operates. By engaging employees in problem-solving, decision-making, and innovation, humanitarian NGOs can tap into the collective wisdom and expertise of their workforce, leading to more efficient and effective operations. Sharing stories and case studies of organizations that have successfully implemented Lean and CI with a focus on employee engagement will help illustrate the importance of this approach in your talk.
[Note from Andrew: I asked Abdinoor for examples of how Lean CI is helping Medair Somalia. After I read this, in response to my further question, he confirmed that these are actual examples of what is happening in Medair Somalia - not just textbook theory of what should happen.]
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