Motivating Millennials with Lean and Six Sigma

Millennials are the rising generation of employees who are the subject of numerous discussions. Millennials are those who were born between 1982 and 1994 and make up more than one-third of the workforce in America today. According to a recent Pew Research Center analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Millennials have already surpassed Generation X to become the largest single group in the American workforce.

The six sigma methodology gives businesses the tools they need to manage their operations more effectively. By enhancing performance and reducing process variance, it is feasible to lower defect rates, boost employees' morale, and raise the caliber of output, all of which help to increase profitability. It is a collection of management methods and technologies intended to increase the effectiveness of the business process by lowering the probability of error.

What is the Six Sigma Methodology?

If your business notes on Six Sigma have understandably become hazy over the years, Six Sigma is a methodology used to identify and fix process flaws that reduce productivity or produce more errors than what could be counted as a desirable amount.

But over time, Six Sigma's application has far outgrown the industrial sector, benefiting a wide range of businesses including Amazon, Xerox, and Bank of America by enhancing productivity and reducing costs.

Which Methodology is Suitable for Millennials and the Things They Want?

Millennials find Lean Six Sigma to be a particularly useful and appealing methodology. They always seem to be more involved in improvement projects when applied to any project.

It turns out that Lean Six sigma, in comparison to other techniques, works better in a setting where independence, feedback, adaptability, and inspiration are valued highly. Let us see the reason behind that:

Gives millennials a sense of importance

Millennials want their opinions to be taken seriously and to feel that their work has meaning. To determine the CORRECT projects to work on in order to solve an organizational problem, leaders and frontline personnel must collaborate closely. This is a requirement of Lean Six Sigma projects. Because they are collaborating with their leadership to find projects that will enhance customer pleasure, the working environment, and the organization's profitability, this provides employees with a sense of importance.

Feedback

There are milestones in any lean six sigma project that must be tracked and measured. As a result, a regular review of the findings is included in the implementation timeline. The anticipated revenues generated or expenses saved in the process are actually one of the fundamental results of six sigma implementation.

Thus, you measure your outcomes once more and contrast the real savings with the projected ones. The Feedback and reviews make it fascinating for the millennials to work on any project using Six Sigma. They want to know both - what they are doing right and what they are doing incorrectly. Often, feedback meetings are held, but this merely includes filling out a form that determines an employee’s salary increment.

However, millennials seek feedback more frequently in order to help them adapt as quickly as possible so that they can advance in their careers and become adept. They also want the results to be displayed, not only their own but also the results of the team's efforts. Millennials love to celebrate and the project’s success determined by the Six Sigma methodology gives them a reason to celebrate.

Flexibility

Lean Six Sigma does not use hours worked as a measurement metric; instead, it looks at whether objective deadlines are reached. In most cases, lean six sigma projects are not even full-time positions. The only individuals who typically devote their entire time to projects are black belts; everyone else typically splits their time between their regular tasks and improvement initiatives. For millennials, who anticipate working for less than three years on average, this is wonderful news since it will lessen their likelihood of getting bored.

It doesn't even matter if they are working from home, a Starbucks, in Silicon Valley, or in New Delhi as long as the project is moving. Recently, numerous businesses, like ExxonMobil, BP, and JP Morgan, have put continuous improvement programs into place to harmonize operations across many nations using business support centers.

Working with Groups

Millennials seek intellectual challenges. If they become disinterested, they will move on to the next thrilling opportunity. As opposed to working at a 9 to 5 they don't enjoy, millennials would rather have a fulfilling career, with a positive impact on society, and a healthy work-life balance. One of their "wants" is met by teamwork. To ensure that they are constantly learning, they want to be surrounded by exceptional people. Working in teams, particularly cross-functional teams, gives your younger employees exposure and a voice while utilizing the expertise of your older employees.

Inspiration

Millennials desire inspiration, leadership, and a sense of purpose more than anything else. Quality initiatives are always motivated by factors other than money. They are eager to enhance the working conditions for their employees, boost customer happiness, or even lessen their carbon footprint. The goal beyond the project is never disregarded because large projects may have an impact on clients, vendors, and even public safety, for e.g., recalls in the auto sector or the most recent Samsung S7 recall.

Removes pointless work

As businesses get better project by project, they eliminate waste and variation from their operations, which has the noticeable consequence of raising worker productivity, which in turn increases worker motivation. Millennials are more motivated and content when they don't have to struggle through ill-designed procedures, come up with workarounds to solve problems or waste time on unimportant activities. Furthermore, because their employees are now in line with the organization's goals and values, millennials will perceive their roles within the company by going beyond the tasks listed in their job descriptions.

Technology

Digital natives, or those born after the year 2000, have grown up with technology and consider it to be a natural part of their lives. In fact, this might be the one characteristic that sets Millennials apart from the previous generations. Millennials are fascinated by new technology, and although non-Millennials could be reluctant to do so, millennials can quickly think in technological terms and find easier and quicker solutions via technological tools.

Conclusion

Millennials have a tremendous opportunity with Lean Six Sigma to find the job satisfaction and recognition that they dig for a while also being given a purpose behind the tasks that they are performing and the job role that they are carrying. As a result, the company gets an employee who not only contributes to its overall performance but also someone who is passionate about fostering long-term success.