Why is Continuous Improvement Important?

Continuous improvement, also known as the Kaizen approach, is a strategy that has the potential to create business value by continuously improving your business processes. For this reason, there are many benefits that go far beyond adding value to your company, from increasing employee engagement to increasing productivity. “Why is continuous improvement important?” We will ask the question and evaluate the benefits it will bring to your business.

What is Continuous Improvement?

Continuous improvement is an ongoing approach to improving performance and achieving the business’s goals. This approach always looks for ways to do things better, easier, higher quality and cheaper. So it focuses on making small, incremental changes to various aspects of the business (services, products, systems, methods, processes or skills). Continuous improvement is a versatile strategy and can be implemented as a team, organizationally or individually.

It is important to follow basic steps to implement continuous improvement. We can list these steps as follows:

Defining goals and measurements,
Analyzing the current situation,
Identifying existing problems or gaps,
Making and implementing improvement plans,
Following applications and analyzing results
Giving – receiving feedback and making corrections from the feedback

The Importance of Continuous Improvement

People who have not stepped out of their comfort zone generally desire to run the system they know and are used to. For this reason, they are closed to innovation and resist change. Because they do not want to be uneasy about the unknown and take risks, they want to stay in their natural and reassuring environment. In the past, this is actually what businesses have done. They trusted their own brands and products and wanted to preserve their current status.

5 Steps to Continuous Improvement

However, this is no longer possible in today’s business world. Because the competition is fierce and it has been proven time and again that businesses that can progress faster than their competitors are the ones that will stay ahead in the long run. Two factors are necessary for a business to progress rapidly: continuous improvement and innovation. There are some reasons for the increasing importance of these two factors. Let’s take a look at these together:

More Competition Than Past Times

There are multiple businesses that offer a particular product or service at the same time. In this era of increasing technology, it is very easy for customers to reach these businesses and make comparisons between them. When you look at it from here, it is clear that there is a much more competitive environment than in the past. The high level of competition allows businesses to focus on innovation, giving them the foundation to do better. It’s easier to defend your place in the industry when competition is limited. However, in today’s competitive environment, turning your back on innovation and continuous improvement means falling behind your competitors.

Competition Has a Globalizing Structure

Most businesses no longer compete with the local market alone. It also competes with foreign markets. With digitalization, borders are gradually disappearing in commercial activities. In such an environment, if you do not follow what is happening elsewhere in the world and prepare yourself for the future, your competitiveness will decrease.

Therefore, it is important for every business to keep up with the current and latest trends in the business world and to adopt a culture of continuous improvement.

Dynamics and Expectations Changed

With innovation, the way many industries do business has changed. Everything is now at our fingertips and with a few clicks we have everything we need. Online banks, online shopping for clothing, food, etc. When we say many shopping, even the way we buy products is changing. This clearly shows that businesses need improvement in order to compete and survive.

For the reasons stated above, businesses need to develop a culture in which efficiency is constantly optimized and innovation is always pursued and implemented. The continuous improvement method is very important for sustainable success and growth. It increases employee productivity and unlocks delivering higher quality products/services. Thus, it enables businesses to operate at a higher level and increases customer satisfaction. If Kaizen culture is implemented correctly, you will be on your way to becoming a successful business with higher efficiency, increased profitability and innovation, and quality, committed and happy employees.

How to Manage Resistance to Continuous Improvement?

In a business, for some reason employees or stakeholders may be resistant to continuous improvement. Reasons for this resistance may include attachment to the status quo, loss of control, fear of the unknown, or lack of confidence.

To manage resistance to continuous improvement, it is important to clearly communicate the purpose of continuous improvement, its benefits, and how it will impact employees and stakeholders. Listening to them, addressing their concerns, and involving them in improvement processes to eliminate concerns can greatly reduce resistance.

Another method that can be applied to break resistance in continuous improvement is to provide training and resources. Training ensures that the team embraces the philosophy of continuous improvement, embraces change and is equipped to contribute to this process. In addition, appreciating and rewarding employees for their work also reduces resistance.

Benefits of Continuous Improvement

Here are some of the benefits that the Kaizen Method will bring to your business:

More Efficient Processes

Continuous improvement makes processes more efficient and effective because it eliminates unnecessary and time-consuming tasks and time-consuming situations. Therefore, the most obvious benefit of continuous improvement is that you have more efficient operational processes.

Shorter Delivery Times

With the Kaizen method, the production time of the products is shortened. The faster the products are produced, the faster you can deliver their products to your pending customers.

Decreased Error Rates

As your processes will improve as a result of Kaizen, you will do much more productive work. This ensures that the number of errors made is reduced.

Costs Decrease

When you produce more products in less time with fewer mistakes, you will reduce your costs in the right way. With the efficient use of raw materials, more materials are used less. This allows you to reduce wastage in production.