You’ve probably heard this phrase before, “There is always room for improvement.” When looking at it from a business standpoint, leadership always strives for continuing improvement in operations, equipment, and worker productivity. By pushing for improvement, companies may reach goals such as higher sales, more efficient operations, or more manufactured product volume. However, continuous improvement may be deterred by possible barriers in the way to solutions that will boost operational efficiency, like digital solutions. Here are the challenges to continuous improvement leadership, and how digital solutions can help:
Go Mobile for Continuous Improvement
When it comes to continuous improvement, workers may be at the forefront to push for change. Roughly 70% of workers want to use technology to help them do their jobs better. If a worker is without the tech they need for their job, this problem may lead to a disengagement with work and lower productivity. In fact, 60% of workers feel disengaged with their work when they do not have access to work-life tech.
Challenges to Continuous Improvement Leadership
There are several challenges that leaders will face when trying to implement continuous improvement in their operations. By selecting the right solution, many companies can overcome these challenges and have a smooth rollout with their strategies.
Aligning Continuous Improvement Strategies Across the Enterprise
A big problem with rolling out continuous improvement strategies and technologies is to make sure everyone can be connected. Typically, if a technology or software application is introduced in the company, it may start out in a few departments first. Once the roll-out kinks are taken care of, more departments gain access to the tech. However, the speed of this roll-out can create headaches for workers who are trying to communicate and use data from other departments.
If the technology isn’t adopted at a good pace within the company, some workers get left behind. Their work productivity suffers due to this disconnect that is not within their control. Texts, emails, and photos may become lost, as some workers don’t have access to real-time data, especially when they are working in remote locations. Supervisors need to ensure that the solution which is chosen is available for all workers in the organization. It should also promote greater levels of communication, as connected workers can boost their work output when they have timely information always available.
Getting Employee Buy-In
While some workers are eager to get new technology, other workers become so used to the older technology and processes that they may become stuck in their ways. They are hesitant to adopt newer technology as they are resistant to change. This issue is often common in industrial environments when new connected worker platforms are introduced. You may find some workers who become disengaged as they are reluctant to learn about the new technologies and how the tech may be leveraged in their daily tasks.
When it comes to getting more employees on board, look toward technology that they have already used in some form. Most people are already familiar with mobile technology such as tablets and smartphones. If the continuous improvement technology solution is integratable into these devices, workers who previously shied away from the solution may feel more comfortable using it now. A McKinsey report found that 70% of companies who placed a mobile solution in operations had a more successful employee buy-in and maintained digital transformation as workers had access to real time data and communications on devices that they already knew how to use.
Obtaining Actionable Data
Keep in mind that all data gathered and analyzed by tech is not the same. Some data is not actionable in its current form. Other data may not be usable for the specific company department. When seeking out the right technology for your continuous improvement strategies, look for solutions that are scalable and versatile. The solution should not only provide your workers with the data but also offer actionable steps that may be taken to use that data to its fullest.
Look for a Connected Worker Solution that offers a way for data to be gathered and stored on a single platform. Then workers across the company may access the data when they need it for specific tasks.
Anvl’s Connected Worker Platform
One data-driven solution for continuous improvement is Anvl’s Connected Worker Platform. This mobile platform offers multiple functions for workers who are always on the move and need real-time accessible at all hours of the day. For more information, click here to see our solution in action and then contact our company today.
