Last week, we explained why staff enhancement is an essential follow-up to business automation. Now, we’ll look at the key method we use to develop employees in small businesses. It’s an optimization strategy well-known in Japan called the Kaizen method. And self-development experts have discovered that it is a proven method for personal and professional growth.
But first, we want to address a simple fact about humans and change:
People naturally prefer pleasure over pain and resist changes that make them feel uncomfortable. Self-discipline is admirable, and it seems like there’s always someone who is better at self-mastery. People look at who they are rather than who they could become, and resist.
People imagine the hours and days and months and years of toil… and decide that it’s impossible.
But that’s not true! We merely have to employ a method that works with human nature and not against it.
The Kaizen Method
Japan’s industrial and economic growth after WWII is all thanks to the business philosophy of Kaizen or “continuous improvement.” The Kaizen method is a Japanese technique for continuously improving an organization. It encompasses a wide range of ideas that have all come to be recognized as key to Japanese business success.
Corporations such as Toyota are world-renown for the quality of their cars and the efficiency of their processes.
Kaizen entails making the work environment more efficient and effective by creating a team atmosphere, improving everyday procedures, ensuring employee engagement, and making a job more fulfilling, less tiring, and safer. At the core of the philosophy is the idea that improvement comes through small changes made at the point of need. Any employee can thus have an impact on the entire business by making incremental changes right where they work.
Slight changes now can result in massive changes in the future.
Self-development gurus and even doctors have discovered that the same principle can be applied to personal growth. A person who makes small, incremental changes to their daily habits can effect massive changes later to improve any aspect of their lives. Whether it’s implementing a lasting physical fitness strategy or developing new work habits.
In recent years, Japanese businesses have given more attention to holistic employee well-being, recognizing that an investment in the development of an individual is an investment in the business’ future.
But is that the case in American businesses?
American corporations have recognized the fruitfulness of the Kaizen method to develop a culture of continuous improvement. Some have implemented Kaizen, but others stick with methods such as Six Sigma, which focuses on quality control of the final product. Kaizen focuses on part of the business.
And we are far from seeing Kaizen implemented in the millions of small businesses that form the backbone of the American economy.
A typical scenario in American small businesses is to hire a person, train them in their position and leave the rest to chance. This minimalist approach goes against the grain of optimizing business processes because it leaves the employee undervalued to the business. You pay good wages, provide benefits, pay taxes, provide a good office, and so on, only to leave an underdeveloped employee operating at merely 20 to 32 percent of their potential.
The Kaizen proves that making small changes over time is more powerful than making big changes and trying to stick with them. The employee won’t become overwhelmed with change and can see major improvements over time.
Kaizen and Staff Enhancement
So, how does DatCom use the Kaizen method for our Staff Enhancement service? We begin with tools to establish a baseline. This helps us know where your employees are so that we can show the impact later and give business leaders critical data for insights into their company.
Cognitive Baseline
Staff Enhancement begins with assessments to determine a baseline for each employee. This baseline testing is particularly relevant for visualizing increases in cognitive ability. A Cognitive Assessment Baseline (CAB) is a professional tool that helps measure cognitive ability in adults. The results of this neurocognitive test are useful for understanding the user’s general cognitive ability and highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.
This test shows how people score in concentration/attention, memory, reasoning, planning, and coordination compared to healthy adults of the same age.
This standard cognitive test takes about 30-40 minutes to complete online using a web browser or mobile app. After completing the evaluation, the system will automatically generate the user’s neurocognitive profile. This report gathers useful information and presents data in an easy-to-understand format, including every cognitive skill level.
12 Minute Daily Training
Here’s where the Kaizen method comes into focus by training employees with a program of daily masterclasses that are only 12 minutes each. Each workday, the training builds on the previous day’s activity in a building block learning system.
The training is only 12 minutes per day because of the significant body of evidence showing that consistent, brief training sessions produce the best results over time. Instead of working against human nature, Staff Enhancement training considers how human beings are wired for optimal personal growth over time.
When faced with the possibility of significant change, the human brain resists. The body’s natural fight-or-flight response makes it almost impossible for people to stick with sweeping lifestyle changes. But if you introduce new ideas and commitments in bite-sized increments, change is not only possible but inevitable!
It’s also easier to fit a 12-minute session into a busy workday schedule for maintaining concentration throughout the session.
Believe it or not, people can improve and train their cognitive ability with simple, daily sessions. All it takes to strengthen neural connections in the human brain is a consistent challenge. By frequently training our cognitive skills, the brain becomes stronger.
Training your employee’s cognitive skills is only the beginning. We also have training blocks for nutrition, physical fitness, conflict resolution, empathy, leadership, active listening, and business development, just to name a few.
Evaluation
A general employee evaluation is an important part of maintaining integrity and quality at your business. It creates a trackable, observable history of performance so that you can make decisions based upon evidence. Staff Enhancement makes this easier for small businesses who may not have formal or data-based assessments.
We provide an assessment for each employee at the end of a discrete building block series, and we compare the results to the baseline to see how the employee is progressing. These assessments reveal the employee’s strengths and weaknesses, and help managers understand how the employee fits within the organization. You’ll have a greater appreciation for your staff members and how to make better decisions related to their placement and contribution.
Tap into the full potential of your people with Staff Enhancement and discover new levels of efficiency at your organization. Because efficiency leads to greater profits and a healthier work environment, your business can get on the right track toward transformation.