SIX SIGMA Infrastructure Workshops

About the Program:

One of the most important learnings of Six Sigma companies over the past five-years has been that a strong support system, often referred to as an organizational infrastructure or management system, is a critical element of Six Sigma success. While hundreds of companies currently employ Six Sigma Black Belts, fewer than two-dozen have put in place the support systems necessary to achieve true breakthrough improvement. Without the supporting infrastructure, Six Sigma becomes a contributor to better continuous improvement, but not breakthrough improvement.

Support systems include human resources, finance, communications, and information technology. Human resources and finance are the two support systems that must be developed from day one.

ASI’s infrastructure workshops are intended for finance and human resource managers. During these workshops participants will learn about the issues they will face, which in many case are similar to the issues faced everyday in business, however the effects are often exacerbated during the early stages of Six Sigma implementation.

Participants will also receive books that include templates for the development of policies and procedures to support Six Sigma activity and the session leader will describe the best practices of companies that have already implemented Six Sigma.

For some smaller companies, the person attending Champion training will be an appropriate participant in these workshops, but in most cases the managers of the support functions should attend.

Learning Objectives:

HR Workshop

• An introduction to Six Sigma
• The need for HR support
• Support for Champions
• Support for Black Belts
• Overview of HR Policies and Procedures
• Black Belt Selection, Retention, and Compensation
• Rewards and Recognition
• Organizational dynamics in Six Sigma companies
• Distribution of templates
• Presentation and discussion of best practices
• Questions and answers

Finance Workshop

• An introduction to Six Sigma
• The need for finance support
• Support for Champions
• Support for Black Belts
• Overview of financial guidelines
• Hard versus soft savings
• Incorporating Six Sigma into the budget
• Validating financial assumptions
• Validating project results
• Tracking post-project results
• Distribution of templates
• Presentation and discussion of best practices
• Questions and answers

These workshops may be attended as part of ASI’s Small Business Package or by themselves. They are excellent workshops for HR and Finance managers in new Six Sigma companies as well as more mature Six Sigma companies