The mounting drive for a government that is more effective, more efficient and driven by the mandate to do more with less is resulting in a growing rate of interest in – and deployment of – management methodologies to make it happen.
In fact, process improvement initiatives, particularly Lean Six Sigma, are playing a big role in transforming government.
- The U.S. Department of Defense has what is considered one of the most aggressive implementation programs in the government, with about two-thirds of DOD organizations committed to Lean Six Sigma.
- Fort Wayne, Ind. became the first city government in the U.S. to implement the methodology in 2000, winning national recognition for high performance city services. Taxpayers saved $31 million, even as record-breaking investments in downtown development, neighborhoods and infrastructure were brought about.
- Washington State, whose Lean initiative began in September 2013, has reported a range of 18 specific improvements resulting in $5.92 million in savings, $27.4 million in avoided costs, and $3.16 million in additional revenue.
An early report by IBM identified key trends driving significant change in government, three of which speak directly to Lean Six Sigma practices. These trends have only gained traction since.
The first has been the growing recognition by the public sector of what it takes to successfully deploy performance management systems to improve services. For the systems to be successful at improving services, they must be powered by a methodology. More importantly, managers understand that managing performance of public agencies takes equal parts of measuring performance and improving it. Service improvement does not happen on its own.
The second is the evolution of citizens who are hyper-engaged and invested, and whose expectation of service by the public sector is on par with their expectations of private sector: High. In the private sector, any Lean Six Sigma framework that doesn’t revolve around and involve the customer (among other stakeholders) will fail. This holds true in the public sector, as well.
The third trend is the fostering of greater managerial flexibility within government departments and agencies, a distinct departure from the one-size-fits-all management preferences of the past. Lean Six Sigma supports this concept of rule changing as a function of the way it’s implemented, along with its adaptability. Still, government leaders must consistently set the stage and uphold their commitment to change if Six Sigma-led transformation are to truly take hold.
While progress continues to be made in Six Sigma and Lean deployment, there’s still a way to go before public sector organizations more effectively absorb it into their management and operational fabric and realize the benefits.
Certainly, the DOD could be expected to lead the charge by virtue of a culture that makes Lean a logical “marriage” – probably more so than for other agencies. As Jon Desenberg of the Performance Institute said in an FCW magazine interview, “Particularly on the uniform side, the mind-set in the military is that if you are not working, then you’re training and learning.
“There’s an understanding that to move forward you need to continually learn new ways of doing things, and that’s likely to make Lean Six Sigma more successful in the military than elsewhere.”
The absence of that kind of mindset is one of the challenges keeping the public sector from realizing the full potential of Six Sigma methodologies. But the barriers are more extensive, according to a 2011 study by American Society for Quality.
For one, government is characterized by an environment of conflicting strategies, goals and priorities – compounded by ongoing political partisanship. It all makes it impossible to undertake a comprehensive evaluation. Further, there’s no urgency to mandate Lean – or any type of comprehensive improvement methodology – across government agencies.
Overcoming such barriers to meet the Six Sigma imperative is critical if our government expects to operate at peak levels of efficiency and effectiveness and to position our nation for the challenges ahead.
