BSBSTR502 Student Guide

Lyons College
RTO Number: 21918 CRICOS Number: 03578M
Student Guide
BSBSTR502
Facilitate Continuous Improvement
Contents
Overview 1
Topic 1: Systems and processes to support continuous improvement 2
Topic 2: Monitoring and adjusting performance strategies 15
Topic 3: Opportunities for further improvement 20
Overview
The Student Guide should be used in conjunction with the recommended reading and any further
course notes or activities given by the trainer/assessor.
Application of the unit

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to lead and manage continuous improvement
systems and processes. Particular emphasis is on the development of systems and the analysis of
information to monitor and adjust performance strategies, and to manage opportunities for further
improvements.
The unit applies to individuals who take an active role in managing a continuous improvement
process in order to achieve an organisation’s objectives. At this level, work will normally be carried
out using complex and diverse methods and procedures which require the exercise of considerable
discretion and judgement, using a range of problem-solving and decision-making strategies.
No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.
Learning goals
Learning goals include:
• You are able to establish systems and processes to facilitate continuous improvement, as well
as developing strategies, knowledge management systems and communication.
• You are able to monitor and adjust performance strategies to identify and evaluate continuous
improvement systems and processes.
• You are able to evaluate and make suggestions for further improvement and future planning.
CRICOS No: 03578M Student Guide Page: 1 of 21

RTO Code: 21986 BSBSTR502 Facilitate Continuous Improvement
Topic 1: Systems and processes to support continuous
improvement
What is continuous improvement?

Continuous improvement is an ongoing effort within an organisation to improve its products and/or
services, as well as systems and processes.
A successful company will generally not be happy with the status quo and will always seek to
continuously improve. This in turn is likely to mean the company’s performance will improve, along
with profitability.
Continuous improvement is a process, which, in the long term, achieves:
• customer focus
• enhanced quality of service delivery

• simplified processes and procedures
• attitudinal change
• recognition of customers, both internal and external.
It is important to establish formal systems and processes to support continuous improvement.
Why? Continuous improvement is now a necessity, not a choice. As companies compete for
survival and for market dominance, they must consider:
• ever higher productivity
• that customer loyalty is decreasing; customers now look for what product or service best
meets their needs, not who is offering it
• product life cycles are decreasing

• aiming for zero defects
• the effect of technology on business and customers
• that those who cannot maintain improvement are falling behind.
Having a formal system and processes in place ensures that continuous improvement is of the
utmost importance, as it ensures that continuous improvement is embedded in organisational
processes and as part of the culture of the organisation. It also ensures that everyone knows
what is expected, and that the organisation is able to achieve goals related to quality and
continuous improvement.
Systems and processes

For an organisation to implement continuous improvement they have to look at the systems and
processes to facilitate it. You may be looking at information systems such as knowledge
management systems, decision support systems or document management systems to enhance
decision making; performance management to support the improvement of employees’ work

performances; new or improved processes for sustainability to reduce wastage and spending; or
using models and frameworks to formally support improvements or creating new opportunities.
There are a number of formal systems used for facilitating continuous improvement. Some of the
key elements include:
• Cyclical: continuous improvement should be cyclical, as in it is a process that never ends.

Goals should be identified continuously and then adjusted.
• Measurable: continuous improvement must be measured through clearly identified

performance indicators.
• Participation of all staff: all staff must be part of the continuous improvement process,
including development, implementation and evaluation.
Following are an overview of some common models used for facilitating continuous improvement:
Plan – Do – Check – Act Model

Among the most widely used tools for continuous improvement is a four-step quality assurance
method called the Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) Model. The PDCA approach is used for continually
improving processes, products or services and for resolving problems. It involves systematically
testing possible solutions, assessing the results, and implementing the ones that are shown to
work.
The Model sometimes also called the Deming Wheel or Deming Cycle was developed in the 1950s
by Dr William Edwards Deming. The model was developed by Dr Deming in order to create a way
of identifying what caused products to fail to meet customers' expectations. His solution was
designed to help businesses to develop hypotheses about what needs to change, and then test
these in a continuous feedback loop.
The four phases of the PDCA model are:
• Plan: identify and analyse the problem or opportunity, develop hypotheses about what the
issues may be, and decide which one to test.
• Do: test the potential solution, ideally on a small scale, and measure the results.
• Check/Study: study the result, measure effectiveness, and decide whether the hypothesis is
supported or not.
• Act: if the solution was successful, implement it.
Activity: Watch
Watch this short video with more information about the PDCA.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij0y7bqRP6Q (04:40)
Kaizen
Kaizen is a Japanese word and essentially means to change for the better. It is a general
philosophy that could also be applied to a person’s personal life and not just to a business
organisation. The two core beliefs that inform how Kaizen operates are that everything can be
improved and that small gradual changes can lead to significant overall and long-term
improvements. The philosophy of Kaizen developed from the Toyota Way, an approach that grew
Toyota into one of the largest manufacturers of cars in the world.
Kaizen can be applied in a number of simple ways in the workplace. For example, asking staff to
look around their work area to discover small problems and at the same time to consider a way to
resolve the problem. There could also be a suggestion box for staff that allows staff to continuously
locate gaps, inefficiencies and other suggestions for improvement. All ideas from staff could go up
to a “Kaizen Committee” which meets to discuss ideas from staff.
Activity: Read
Read more about how to use Kaizen for continuous improvement in the workplace at
the following link:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140610090246-4806191-how-to-use-kaizen-in-the-
workplace-for-continuous-improvement/
The trainer/assessor will facilitate a discussion about the differences.
Lean
In contrast to Kaizen, which is a general approach to continuous improvement, Lean is a
methodology with a background in manufacturing that focuses on specific type of metrics. The
methodology was formulated a long time ago and contributed to the success of Henry Ford’s Model
T. The main focus of this model is to eliminate waste in order to free up time to increase value to
customers.
The main target of this approach is efficiency across the system (value stream). It has proven quite
successful in improving or removing all the inefficient steps of a process that waste time, energy,
finance or raw materials. Lean provides a competitive edge since it allows a business to
manufacture products or provide services faster and at lower costs. It also is easy to learn, which
makes it easy for all employees to be involved in improvements.
Activity: Watch
Watch this short, amusing video about Lean, Kaizen and continuous improvement.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PcAGlXvXJ4 (03:24)
Six Sigma
Kaizen and Lean both look at resources and ways to optimise a process. However, the main focus
of Six Sigma is achieving consistent and reliable results. It is primarily focused on improving the
quality of the result or outcome of the process.

Six Sigma strives to achieve near perfection in terms of a process such that the process succeeds
99.99966% of the time. To achieve this seemingly impossible result, training and coaching is
required in order to learn the tools and framework. Ultimately use of the model is designed to
achieve lower costs, improved customer satisfaction, and helps to drive continuous improvement in
order to achieve higher and higher sigma levels.
Activity: Watch
Watch this video about Six Sigma.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EDYfSl-fmc (08:58)
Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management (TQM) is an approach that seeks to improve quality and performance
which will meet or exceed customer expectations.
The approach focuses on achieving this through integrating all quality-related functions and
processes throughout a business. TQM focuses on the overall quality measures used by a
company including managing quality design and development, quality control and maintenance,
quality improvement, and quality assurance.
TQM takes into account all quality measures taken at all levels and involving all company
employees.
A number of key principles can be identified in defining TQM, including:
• Top management act as the main driver for TQM and create an environment that ensures its
success.
• Staff receive regular training on the methods and concepts of quality.
• Improvements in quality should improve customer satisfaction.

• Quality decisions should be made based on measurements.
• Use of appropriate methodology and tools ensures that non-conformance incidents are
identified, measured, and responded to consistently.
• Companies should continuously work towards improving manufacturing and quality
procedures.
• The culture of the company should aim at developing employee’s ability to work together to
improve quality.
• Staff should be encouraged to be pro-active in identifying and addressing quality related

problems.
Activity: Watch
Watch this short video about Total Quality Management.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qaYone7J_A&ab_channel=
ManagementAddaManagementAdda (06:02)

Improvement needs and opportunities
In the first stage of continuous improvement, an organisation will need to look at improvement
needs and opportunities to help them meet their goals and enhance the quality of a product or
service.
These opportunities can be found within the workplace in many areas such as workflows,
employees’ performance, systems, processes, structure, technology, policies and procedures.
This can involve a systematic process
of identifying problems that exist, then
finding solutions and opportunities to
make improvements. The first step of
the PDCA cycle looks to identify an
opportunity and plan for change.
For example, an organisation may
identify that projects are often not
meeting deadlines, milestones or
timelines; the need for improvement
could be defined as time management.
The opportunity exists to implement
improvements such as using software
to manage time, creating daily schedules for Image by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
staff or responsibilities for prioritising tasks.
Activity: Discuss
Look at the following table and list down what could be improved and what
opportunities exists to make improvements:
Issue Improvement needs Opportunities
Departments are
overspending on
purchasing
equipment,
materials and
stationery.
Employees are
not meeting task
deadlines which
are affecting
project end
dates.

The database
system is slow
and not
producing the
reporting that is
needed for
making financial
decisions.
Your trainer/assessor will facilitate the activity.
Decision-making processes
As you can imagine, there may be a number of improvement needs and opportunities, all of which
will need to be discussed and decided upon.
Subsequently, there will be a lot of people trying to make many important decisions. This could
lead to conflict, create lengthy timelines or become too complex to solve. To support this process,
there are a number of common approaches, to decision making, which broadly include:
Identify the decision Gather information Identify options
Weigh up the evidence Select an option Take action Review
Using a process can provide a clear framework and guidelines to support those important
decisions.
This can be integrated into an organisation’s policies and procedures to support manager and their
decision-making process. This could include who is responsible for decision making and the
process they must follow, any boundaries and limitations, and following a code of conduct and
ethics for decision making.
A manager may use a decision support system or computer model to help them with their decision
making, putting in different variables and outcomes or what-if analysis to provide them with
different scenarios and alternatives so that they can make an informed decision based on the
options presented.
Activity: Read
Read the article explaining the decision-making process:

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/principles-of-management/decision-making-
and-problem-solving/the-decisionmaking-process

Take any notes to summarise what you have read and keep for future reference.
It is important to ensure that the decision-making process is communicated to all the relevant
stakeholders. This helps to ensure that everyone understands who is responsible for what. This will
support the continuous improvement process so that:
• everyone is aware of who are making decisions
• it provides clear expectations
• provides clarity on roles and responsibilities
• there is effective communication.

Communication can occur through a range of ways such as distributing a decision-making policy to
all those involved; or providing a decision tree procedure on the intranet that can be accessed by
stakeholders.
Strategies for continuous improvement

It is important that team members are actively encouraged to participate in continuous
improvement and the decision-making processes.
An organisation can choose to have a number of continuous improvement strategies in place at
any given time. Different areas or departments of the organisation could each be working off a
separate strategy to maximise the results.
For example, you may have a sustainability strategy, a purchasing strategy and a performance
management strategy, each different in its areas for improvement but each working toward similar
goals.
Performance
Process Strategy Commitment
Quality
It is important that team members are actively encouraged to participate in the decision-making
processes. As a manager you could do this by holding meetings and encouraging them to share
their ideas and contribute to discussions:
• Create open communication
• Encourage debate

• Provide the right environment
• Encourage creativity
• Train, develop and educate in problem solving, teamwork and reasoning
• Encourage brainstorming.
It is also important to ensure that your team understands that each person is responsible for
continuous improvement on an ongoing basis. Therefore, team members should be encouraged to
look out for areas that can be improved, be innovative and feedback their ideas to management.
Activity: Read
Review the article about engaging employees in continuous improvement:

https://www.ceosuite.com/10-tips-engage-employees-continuous-improvement/
Developing new systems and processes

Having identified improvement needs and opportunities, you can then start to develop new systems
and processes that facilitate continuous improvement. For example:
• Policies and procedures relating to continuous improvement systems
• Knowledge management systems
• Quality management systems
• Sustainability
• Mentoring and coaching
• Using new technologies
• Cyclical audits and reviews of the workplace
• Performance management of teams and individual performance
• Seeking and considering feedback from a range of stakeholders
• Modifications of processes to improve systems
• Evaluations and monitoring of effectiveness.

We will explore a few of these below.
Organisational policies and procedures

Policies and procedures allow an organisation to systematically review and improve the quality of
its products, services and processes.
There are a number of organisational policies and procedures that can have continuous
improvement systems integrated. For example:
• Sustainability
• Performance management procedures
• Communication policy
• Procurement policy
• Training and development
• Customer Service Policy
• Workplace Health and safety
• Quality management
• Recruitment and Selection
• Equal opportunity, anti-discrimination
• Code of conduct/ethics.
Taking the customer service policy as one example, a continuous improvement system may be to
have an automatic survey sent to a customer’s phone, to rate a service provided. The feedback
can then be used to make improvements.
Activity: Discuss
In small groups, discuss the following:

Consider the following organisational policies and procedures and discuss how they
relate to continuous improvement systems. You may need to undertake some
research to prepare for the discussion.
• Sustainability policy
• Code of Conduct
• Quality management
• Performance management
Your trainer/assessor will facilitate the discussion.
Knowledge management systems

When establishing systems and processes for continuous improvement, a knowledge management
system (KMS) can be used to collect, store and analyse information.
A knowledge management system is made up of five components:
• Hardware
• Software
• Databases

• Network
• People.
The purpose of a KMS is to share knowledge and information to support decision making.
An organisation’s KMS assists in storing information collected that can also include continuous
improvement activities. This can assist all staff members to be able to review the outcomes of
continuous improvement activities and to apply these learnings to their own work or department.
A KMS can also assist in identifying patterns and emerging trends and therefore very useful for
For example, the identification of patterns could be through analysing employee record data for the
number of sales achieved per month over three months. Patterns emerging could be to show that
the younger employees are achieving higher sales, or the location of branches have an effect on
employee’s sales. Emerging trends could show that more people are using social media feedback
surveys than the usual ones emailed at the end of each sale.
Thus, using these insights and experiences can inform continuous improvements, as well as be
captured in knowledge management systems within the organisation.
It is important that KMS and any other information systems used by an organisation are effectively
managed, ensuring privacy and confidentiality of the systems and data held.
It is important that these systems are also continually updated and monitored to ensure quality of
the information being produced.
Organisational policies and procedures can again be used to support continuous improvement for
digital systems such as a KMS, as well as other information systems, computer systems and
networks and data. For example:
• Privacy and security of systems, devices, data and records
• Privacy and confidentiality when collecting information
• Intellectual property and copyright
• Information security and the protection of data
• Managing employees, systems and networks
• Privacy and confidentiality of client data.
Activity: Research
What are the components and features of a knowledge management system?

Your trainer/assessor will facilitate a discussion.
Quality management systems

A quality management system includes a number of components of which continuous improvement
is one component. The importance of continuous improvement within a quality management

system is that it ensures that there is a formal process, as well as schedule for reviewing business
systems and processes.
The continuous improvement process should ultimately improve the quality of a service or product.
The systems and processes following models, such as Total Quality Management, Six Sigma and
the Plan, Do, Check, Act, provide quality related methods that can be implemented as part of
Quality of business systems can include:
• Standards that must be met

• Reducing errors and mistakes
• Improving efficiency and effectiveness of processes
• Accuracy, validity, reliability, completeness, timeliness of data that systems use.
Sustainability
In making changes identified through continuous improvement, it is important to consider
sustainability. For example, say a business is introducing a new product or service, it may wish to
consider how sustainable that product or service is.
There may be aspects of the product or service that could be improved to make it more
sustainable, for example, improving the energy efficiency ratings of a white good such as a
washing machine.
In fact, hopefully sustainability drives continuous improvement in the first place. As an example of
sustainability driving continuous improvement consider the following.
A business may decide it wants to continuously improve through reducing its energy usage.
Systems put in place could be through a purchasing policy to source sustainable products; or
implementing processes to recycle, reuse and reduce energy in the workplace. This has the dual
effect of reducing costs, as well as improving sustainability.
Continuous improvement efforts in lean manufacturing are focused on the elimination of non-
value-added waste to produce exactly what the customer wants, when they want it, in the
quantity they. It also aims to use the minimum amount of time, material, space and labour to
accomplish this at the lowest possible cost. Sustainability is all about minimizing the use of
natural resources like materials, energy and replenishable biomass resources like trees, while
reducing solid waste and hazardous materials from our production processes and minimizing our
carbon footprint. Thus, the two approaches have a lot in common.
Activity: Project
Using the internet research continuous improvement relating to sustainability in an

office environment.
Write a short overview on how you would ensure that sustainability is considered when
implementing continuous improvement within an organisation in one area.
How would you encourage staff to participate in decision making processes?

How would you encourage staff to come up with ideas for continuous improvement
relating to sustainability?
Record you research in a professionally structured document.
Performance management
A performance management system can be defined as:
A strategic and integrated process that delivers sustained success to organisations by improving
the performance of the people who work in them and by developing the capabilities of individual
contributors and teams.
Performance management enables managers to assess employee’s performance to assess
whether key tasks are being achieved as per performance indicators specified. Performance
against key performance indicators can therefore be assessed to see if the required outcomes
have been achieved. Continuous improvement ensures that the performance indicators are
adjusted as time goes by to allow for improvements in productivity.
A performance management system that includes performance reviews of staff can also be an
excellent way of identifying continuous improvement.
For example, say a review of performance reviews of several members of staff showed
commonalities across skill gaps then this could be seen as a continuous improvement opportunity
to provide training to staff to improve these skills.
Activity: Read
Read the following article about performance management:

https://ahri.com.au/resources/ahriassist/performance-management/
Activity: Research and discuss
Look for a job that you would like to pursue after finishing your study. Use
www.seek.com to find a job description. Assume that you are working for an
organisation in this position (if you have a job then base this activity on your current
job).
Look at the skills and knowledge that you are required to have for the job.
Identify any skills or knowledge gaps that you have.
Select two of these and explain one way you could improve on each. For example, this
could be undertaking further training, having a mentor or informal on the job training
and coaching.
Your trainer/assessor will facilitate a discussion

Communicating outcomes
When setting up systems and processes, it is also important to ensure that there are processes in
place to communicate improvements to team members.
These processes must use the most appropriate and relevant communication format, platform and
mode, be easily understood and in a format that suits the audience.
Communicating with teams can occur through a range of ways such as progress meetings, emails,
social media, using project management software or information system reporting.

Topic 2: Monitoring and adjusting performance strategies
As part of the continuous improvement process you will need to monitor performance strategies to
address any impacts, implications or issues that may arise through the implementation of systems
and processes.
The main purpose for monitoring performance strategies is to maintain quality, improve, learn and
remain compliant with organisational and legislative requirements.
Monitoring can include:
• Gathering information on performance outcomes, performance indicators, objectives and

goals that must be met.
• Analysing and identifying any problems or issues.
• Identifying areas that require improvement.
• Making decisions on actions to solve any problems and address areas needing improvement
• Making necessary changes to processes and systems
• Putting further measures in place to monitor progress of the adjustments

Then the process should be repeated after a certain period of time to continually improve.
Meeting sustainability requirements

Once strategies are in place for continuous improvement, it is important to conduct ongoing
monitoring of the measures put in place.
An organisation’s sustainability strategy can include a number of different initiatives that will need
to be monitored so that it meets the requirements of the organisation which may include:
• Compliance to legislation (this will depend on the industry and size of the organisation).
• Meeting codes of practice to demonstrate social responsibility
• Environmental performance standards are being met
• Waste management practices are meeting required standards

As an example, an organisation may have the following strategies in place for sustainability:
All products purchased must have the least environmental impact such sourcing from suppliers
who use recycled packaging.
• All computer’s must be scheduled to shut down at the end of every night.
• All offices must have the lights turned off at close of business.
• All paper must go in the recycling bin.
Monitoring could include financial reporting to see if there has been a reduction in electricity bills
for the quarter; checking products are using recycled packaging; or monitoring the use of the
recycle bin.

An organisation has introduced a green office program that aims to reduce paper
use, electricity and waste.
Staff must keep printing paper to a minimum and reuse where possible.
All waste must be put in the correct recycling bins.
When not in the room, air conditioning, heating and lights must be switched off.
How could you monitor each of these initiatives?
Monitoring knowledge management system

You can use a knowledge management system to monitor the progress of a team, their insights,
experiences and any other information that you have captured.
Monitoring can be done through software analysis and reports; for example, you may want to
review lessons learned reports from the last three projects that your team have uploaded.
You may want to analyse patterns or trends from data collected; ensuring that the system has
quality data means continually monitoring what goes into the system and what is being output. The
data should be of quality, otherwise the outcome will not be accurate.
If a system is not configured, structured, or even built for a user to input their information in an
easily to understand platform, method or format that is accessible, then it will need to be adjusted.
You may receive feedback from the users of the system or when you run reports it may be obvious
that the system isn’t being used effectively.
Running spot checks, audit reports and collecting feedback are three methods for monitoring a
KMS.
Activity: Discuss
What is RIRO and how would it affect a KMS?


Coaching and mentoring to support continuous improvement
Mentoring and coaching is vital to ensure that individual staff members, as well as the team overall
are able to implement continuous improvement processes identified. Mentoring and coaching
processes will also ensure that staff support continuous improvement processes, as they will be
sufficiently trained.
In order to effectively and successfully implement continuous improvement systems and
processes, you will need to ensure that your team are skilled, knowledgeable and confident in
using them.
Mentoring
Mentoring in the context of a workplace is
where a mentor assists a mentee to achieve
their career goals through passing on their
own knowledge, skills and experience
according to a structured mentoring approach.
Mentoring is a good way to assist staff in
developing skills at little or no cost as it
focuses on using existing staff to develop
skills and can also assist in employee
retention.
Image by Campaign Creators on Unsplash
Coaching
Coaching is a method used to support individuals and teams during the continuous improvement
process.
As a leader of continuous improvement, you will need to be able to implement coaching processes
and you may even be involved in a coaching role yourself.
Coaching is a good way to assist staff in developing skills at little or no cost as it focuses on using
existing staff to develop skills and can also assist in employee retention.
It tends to be task based and therefore focussing on specific issues that a staff member may need
assistance on. An expert coach is required who can teach the coachee to develop the required
skills. This can be another staff member or a supervisor. Once the coachee successfully acquires
the skills, the coach is no longer needed.
Activity: Read and watch
There are numerous sources of excellent information about mentoring. Here are two
sources of information that you could review:
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/employing/staff-
development/mentoring

https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/drugtreat-
pubs-front1-wk-toc~drugtreat-pubs-front1-wk-secb~drugtreat-pubs-front1-wk-secb-
3~drugtreat-pubs-front1-wk-secb-3-3
Review the information at the following link about coaching:
https://www.brefigroup.co.uk/coaching/coaching_and_mentoring.html
Watch this short video about coaching; it discusses the difference between coaching
and mentoring.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fFQiLOtDkc (02:58)
Write down your key takeaways.
Consider a new task that has arisen as a result of continuous improvement: The
introduction of online meetings for time and cost efficiencies.
How would you coach your fellow colleagues so that they can gain skills and
knowledge in this new area?
Activity: Project
Refer back to your project where you researched continuous improvement relating to
sustainability in an office environment.
How could you mentor and coach others so that they participated in the continuous
improvement process?
You have to capture their progress, insights and experience using a knowledge
management system; create a form that could be used by staff for each area.
Record you research in a professionally structured document.
Improving planning and operations

The outcomes of continuous improvement are also important to consider in the context of planning
and operations.
This could be planning for human resources, financial, resources and technology; or operational
functions such as reducing waste or meeting performance standards for work activities.

Measuring success usually take the form of quantifiable measurements that reflect the critical
success factors of an organisation. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can be used to help define
and measure progress toward goals.
Key Performance Indicators are quantifiable measurements, agreed to beforehand, that can reflect
the success factors of systems and processes being implemented. They will differ depending on
what is being measured.
An example for meeting sustainability requirements could be:
A reduction in resource usage and expenditure for stationery equipment by 25% in first quarter.
This can be monitored. If the target is not reached then you need to identify and evaluate ways in
which planning and operations could be improved to reach that goal.
Let’s look at some examples of ways in which planning and operations could be improved:
• Cutting down on spending by reducing paper purchases
• Training and development for staff that have gaps in skills
• Automating tasks
• Using scheduling software
• Responses to emails to be within 24 hours

The idea of continuous improvement is to continually reflect back on the performance indicators,
revaluate what needs improving, make the adjustments and then review all over again.
Recommendations
When you have identified and evaluated ways to make improvements, you will need to
communicate any recommendations to the relevant stakeholders.
Any strategies for improvement will need discussing and approval before they can go ahead. When
you are making recommendations you will need to include:
• Different options
• Comparisons
• Benefits
• How changes will affect business planning and operations
• Timelines
• Costs
For example, you may make a recommendation that employees must have a performance review
every three months because you have identified that the process is too long and issues are not
being addressed effectively due to the time between reviews. The changes will require managers
to prepare reviews, policies will need changing, procedures will need changing, it will require
resources and time. The benefits could be to reduce conflict, build team confidence and
productivity, identify skill gaps to increase performance.

Topic 3: Opportunities for further improvement
A major aspect of continuous improvement is to be able to always look at opportunities for
improvement. What worked, what didn’t, why, why not. Seeking feedback and identifying other
areas for improvement and future planning should be cyclical – continuous!
Opportunities for improvement

You have probably heard of the expression ‘There is always room for improvement’. Identifying
opportunities will mean looking at the outcomes and seeking what needs changing.
Using the key performance indicators, targets or goals, you should be able to identify the outcomes
and compare it to what was expected.
At this point you are reviewing the systems and processes and seeing how well they performed.
You may be evaluating outcomes from:
• feedback given from clients
• issues or problems from systems
• team feedback
• performance management reviews
• financial records, statistics and data
• workplace health and safety records
• KPIs
• internal process assessments
• system reports.
As you perform your review and evaluate the outcomes, you may be able to identify opportunities
for improvement. There must be some benefit and why it is needed, as well as how long the
improvement would take to implement, how much it would cost and who would be responsible.
Again, you would need to make formal recommendations that would need to be discussed and
approved.
Seeking feedback
Feedback is an important aspect of continuous improvement. Otherwise, how will you know if a
system and process is working? Well, you probably won’t unless you are told. That means putting
in processes that will obtain feedback from the relevant people.
Feedback can be formally undertaken through surveys, online feedback forms, via apps, social
media or email.

The way in which you seek feedback should include:
• Using the relevant platform, mode of delivery and method
• Using effective questioning techniques to find out relevant information (such as using closed
questioning or using rating scales).
• Timeliness; if you seek feedback too late the information you receive may be outdated.
Once feedback has been received it should be acted upon in a timely manner. For example, if it is
via social media then it would need an immediate response. If it was via a client survey then it
would need to be done within a certain time so that the information can be used effectively.
Activity: Develop
Using www.surveymonkey.com, create a survey that could be used to find out if staff
are happy with the new sustainability initiative. Think of 10 applicable questions that
you could ask.
Your trainer/assessor will facilitate a discussion where you can share the type of
questions that you devised.
Other areas for improvement

There may also be other areas for improvement that you identify during the evaluation and
feedback process. These should be
documented for future planning.
It also could include lessons learned
such as inappropriate targets that were
set, ineffective communication, new
technologies, things that succeeded and
things that failed.
Any suggestions or future initiatives
should be documented so that these can
be addressed at the right time. It could
include an action plan with suggested
timeframes, roles and responsibilities
and prioritising things that need
Image by Alex Knight on Unsplash
addressing for the future.


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Lyons College

RTO Number: 21918 CRICOS Number: 03578M

Application of the unit

CRICOS No: 03578M Student Guide Page: 1 of 21

What is continuous improvement?

• enhanced quality of service delivery

• ever higher productivity

• product life cycles are decreasing

Systems and processes

CRICOS No: 03578M Student Guide Page: 2 of 21

• Cyclical: continuous improvement should be cyclical, as in it is a process that never ends.

• Measurable: continuous improvement must be measured through clearly identified

Plan – Do – Check – Act Model

• Act: if the solution was successful, implement it.

CRICOS No: 03578M Student Guide Page: 4 of 21

Watch this video about Six Sigma.

Total Quality Management

• Staff receive regular training on the methods and concepts of quality.

• Improvements in quality should improve customer satisfaction.

• Staff should be encouraged to be pro-active in identifying and addressing quality related

Watch this short video about Total Quality Management.

CRICOS No: 03578M Student Guide Page: 5 of 21

Issue Improvement needs Opportunities

CRICOS No: 03578M Student Guide Page: 6 of 21

Your trainer/assessor will facilitate the activity.

Identify the decision Gather information Identify options

Weigh up the evidence Select an option Take action Review

Read the article explaining the decision-making process:

CRICOS No: 03578M Student Guide Page: 7 of 21

• everyone is aware of who are making decisions

• it provides clear expectations

• provides clarity on roles and responsibilities

• there is effective communication.

Strategies for continuous improvement

Process Strategy Commitment

• Create open communication

CRICOS No: 03578M Student Guide Page: 8 of 21

• Train, develop and educate in problem solving, teamwork and reasoning

Review the article about engaging employees in continuous improvement:

Developing new systems and processes

• Policies and procedures relating to continuous improvement systems

• Knowledge management systems

• Quality management systems

• Mentoring and coaching

• Using new technologies

• Cyclical audits and reviews of the workplace

• Performance management of teams and individual performance

• Seeking and considering feedback from a range of stakeholders

• Modifications of processes to improve systems

• Evaluations and monitoring of effectiveness.

Organisational policies and procedures

• Performance management procedures

• Training and development

• Customer Service Policy

• Workplace Health and safety

• Recruitment and Selection

• Equal opportunity, anti-discrimination

In small groups, discuss the following:

Knowledge management systems