Organizational changes require time and energy to be successful and the implementation must be nurtured and supported. The heart of every continuous improvement activity is statistical process control. They began teams during reorganization and downsizing and the case study includes the results of this process. Clearly understood and articulated business reasons for moving to a team-based environment are required before starting the initiative. All levels of management must be fully committed to teams before starting.
Most employees intrinsically buy into the principles of employee involvement.
Communication of work in progress, as well as the final result, will increase buy-in and ownership of changes. Baseline measures are a must if improvements are to be tracked. Leadership evolution must precede team evolution. There must be a balance between a structured approach and employee creativity within boundaries. The implementation process takes a great deal of patience and expectations must be managed.