The history of Six Sigma speaks volumes about the benefits of its use to a business organization. Since first put into practice by Motorola in 1986, the impact of Six Sigma on a company’s bottom line has led to it being adopted by businesses in many different industries.
This success has also led to more people becoming trained in Six Sigma methodology. What can that training do to help your career? The benefits are not only valuable to your career, but your overall business intelligence, as well.
Benefits of Six Sigma to Your Career
Learning Six Sigma and applying its methodologies to your work life can have tremendous impact on your future in business. Simply being able to put Six Sigma certification on your resume proves your commitment to improving your business acumen and analytical skills, not to mention your commitment to improving the business within which you work. In short, a Six Sigma certification makes the recipient stand out from the crowd.
That, in turn, can lead to better job opportunities and improved salary. It’s not easy. Another reason Six Sigma certifications demand so much respect is that they are not easy to attain, and executives and hiring managers at major companies know this.
Then, of course, there are the practical applications. Those who know Six Sigma are knowledgeable in dozens of different methods to reduce costs, increase revenue, streamline business processes and improve employee buy-in, all of which leads to a better bottom line.
Six Sigma training also prepares students for a leadership role. Once the Six Sigma Black Belt level is achieved, a person is not only educated on the methodologies of Six Sigma, he or she is prepared to become a change agent within their organization, leading efforts to improve processes and the quality of what is delivered to customers.
Achieving Six Sigma Black Belt status can open the doors for promotion into upper management, as well as improve your chances of obtaining a job with a different employer should you want to leave your current position. It’s not difficult to see why a person with these skills and a Six Sigma certification to prove it would be an attractive job applicant.
Benefits of Six Sigma to the Organization
The proper application of Six Sigma methodology can affect many different aspects of a business, from improvements of goods and services to employees investing more into the final product. Here are some benefits of using Six Sigma to improve a business operation.
- Customer Satisfaction: With Six Sigma methodologies in use, a business will implement improved processes and better quality control, both of which should result in a better product. That, in turn, will lead to more satisfied customers.
- Customer loyalty: Satisfied customers are customers who will stay loyal to a brand and return to make future purchases – as long as the product remains consistent in its quality.
- Improve bottom line: Happy customers mean good word-of-mouth and also customers returning for more, all of which translates into a better revenue stream. If publicly held, this can also mean a rise in share prices.
- Employee satisfaction: One of the side benefits of Six Sigma is how it can rally employees to a common cause. Unlike companies where management often flounders, Six Sigma offers leaders a chance to clarify and streamline the message. Also, improved results can create a sense of camaraderie that leads to even more good results going forward. Nothing succeeds like success.
- Better partnerships: Whenever a company does well, other companies associated with it can see improvements, as well. This can lead to long-term partnerships as well as having other companies adopt similar Six Sigma strategies for their companies.
As you can see, becoming Six Sigma certified has advantages for both you and the company you are working for. Six Sigma methodologies have the capability of improving your company’s bottom line and making customers happier, as well as improving your marketability and chances of quality employment for many years to come.