One of the strengths of the Six Sigma methodology is that it encourages organizations to involve employees from all levels of a company by providing training and involving them in projects. As more employees obtain Six Sigma training, a company can gain more eyes to see current and potential problems, more minds to solve them, and more hands to execute the solution. Six Sigma trained employees participating in project teams become problem solvers and continue to increase the company’s productivity for the remainder of their careers.
The drawback of involving many different people from all levels of the company in a project is the potential for conflicts in authority and responsibility. These conflicts can lead to unclear accountability between individuals or departments, duplication of effort in work, work that is delayed or incomplete, little accountability for program results and lack of committed resources.
Six Sigma prevents conflicts between team members and confusion about responsibility by providing a planning tool to help establish what needs to be done and who must do it. This tool is called a RACI chart, the letters stand for different expectations of team members.
- Responsibility – This person or role is expected to do the work
- Accountability – This person or role is held responsible for creating results
- Consultation – This person has the expertise in or authority over the process that requires that they be consulted before the final decision is made
- Inform – These people are affected by the activity or decision so they must be informed after the decision is made
RACI Chart Components
The RACI chart brings clarity and order to a Six Sigma project by first identifying the functional role of the participants and then listing the actions or decisions in the quality improvement process. Functional roles normally include: Champion, P&L Management, Process Owner, Black Belts and Green Belts.
Each functional role in the process is assigned an expectation of responsibility, accountability, consultation or informing. One functional role is assigned accountability for each activity; this assignment ensures that one person is committed to producing results and decreases conflict between different roles.
Benefits of the RACI Chart
The RACI chart is not just another requirement to be filled before a project begins. It reflects the underlying principles of the Six Sigma methodology. An important requirement of these design principles is that the program is governed and the resources are allocated by one central authority. When there is a single executive who is held accountable for overseeing Six Sigma deployment and who selects new projects and resolves conflicts these projects proceed more efficiently and produce better results. This consistent leadership ensures that new projects can be implemented to extend improvement throughout the company.
Another tenet of designing a Six Sigma project is sending accountability as far down the ranks as possible. The employees who understand the process best tend to be those who work with the process every day and are generally several levels removed from the executive team. When these employees are required to answer for their performance and given power to act, Six Sigma methodology stops being the latest directive from the corporate office and becomes part of the company culture.
An organization that plans its quality improvement projects around Six Sigma design principles and uses the RACI chart to help avoid conflict, brings a greater efficiency to project teams and instills process improvement into the company.
