Even a proactive floor-level worker may come up with some good ideas, as they go about their work.
However, in some cases you will find that top-level management is not supportive about any Six Sigma initiative undertaken by the members of the organization.
This may be for various reasons, such as the need for extra money.
At the same time, there are different ways in which project leaders can try to turn their reluctance to support.
Stealth Six Sigma and Limited Initial Commitment If you consider the above scenarios, top management is reluctant, as they feel they may be short of the manpower required to undertake regular activities.
There would also be some of the lower level staff who will look at it as a way to just try changes without any specific output.
If you undertake a Six Sigma project without much noise, then you can undertake the activities that would not be noticed by the management and show results - which have to be accepted.
You can call this 'stealth Six Sigma'.
Another option is to get some amount of support from management in addressing executive level problems, which need management support, or let management be involved to a certain extent throughout the project.
Factors to Overcome Reluctance Quick results: If a project shows quick results and the benefits exceed the cost, they will surely catch the eye of senior management.
If the project achieves minimum returns of 30 percent, then you can call it a good target achieved, as will senior management.
Project selection criteria: Selecting the right project for improvement of a given area is very critical to prove the utility of Six Sigma to upper management.
Well-defined scope: The scope of the project should be clear and narrow enough, which will ensure the quick completion of projects.
The limited scope and improvements will help prove to management the benefits of the Six Sigma project.
Teams with understanding of Lean Six Sigma: The projects need members, internal or external, who have good understanding of Lean Six Sigma.
Lean principles will show good results in reducing cycle times, while Six Sigma will help deal with the variations.
Teams with a good understanding of the solutions can combine the techniques and ensure improvement as a result of the Six Sigma deployment.
Team who set their own goals: When teams set their own goals and objectives, they will work harder and with great motivation to achieve them.
Such motivated teams ensure the successful completion of the project, which proves the capability of the team as well as of Six Sigma, which can bring about the changes with the support of upper management.
People-intensive processes: The processes should be designed in such a way that they become people-intensive and not machine-intensive.
Otherwise, resistance from management will undoubtedly increase.
With proper process mapping, they will be handed out to the appropriate team members to bring about improvements.
There are many other ways to ensure that the Six Sigma project gets support of top-level management, from the very beginning of the project.