Continuous Improvement: Policies & Procedures at Fast Forwarding Co - Essay Sample

Introduction

Continuous improvement is a process that involves ongoing and consistent efforts used to improve the quality of products and services in a given time (Morissette & Wisozk, 2012). The management at Fast Forwarding Company can communicate continuous improvement policies and procedures through various approaches. Fast Forwarding requires a lot of resources in implementing appropriate policies and procedures for continuous improvement processes. The continuous improvement policies and procedures developed by Fast Forwarding can be communicated to stakeholders using various ways (Ikramullah, Van Prooijen, Iqbal, & Ul-Hassan, 2016).

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First, the continuous improvement policies and procedures can be communicated through annual general meetings. The company provides a copy of all the policies and procedures to the stakeholders during annual meetings (Delgado, Weber, Ruiz, De Guzman, & Piattini, 2014). Also, annual audits about the policies and procedures may be presented to the stakeholders during general meetings.

Secondly, the policies and procedures form continuous improvement at Fast Forwarding Company may be communicated to stakeholders through emails, memos, and reports. The notices, announcements, and emails contain all policies and procedures for continuous improvement in the Fast Forwarding (Morissette & Wisozk, 2012). Lastly, training programs are essential in ensuring effective communication of the continuous improvement policies and procedures to stakeholders. Practical interpersonal communication skills are significant in ensuring that the stakeholders understand the updated policies and procedures.

Informing Team Members on the Outcomes of Continuous Improvement Efforts

The team members can be informed of the outcomes of continuous improvement efforts in different ways. First, direct consultation ensures that team members contribute to the development of appropriate policies and procedures for continuous improvement in the organisation (King, 2009). Through direct consultation, the Continuous Improvement Managers take part in advising all team members on the importance of collaboration for improving the performances of Fast Forwarding Company.

Second, the representation of data through pictures and graphs helps in informing all team members on the outcomes of efforts applied during continuous improvement processes. Charts are used to present data based on the results of the efforts and possible future performances (King, 2009). The third approach used in informing team members is through performance reviews. In this approach, the Continuous Improvement Managers are responsible for assessing the performances of all team members based on the outcomes of the applied efforts.

The fourth way is through the use of Knowledge Management Systems (KMS). The purpose of the KMS approach enables Continuous Improvement Managers to identify hardworking team members for public recognition. Lastly, the management informs all team members using websites and notice boards. Notices on boards are essential in ensuring that all employees assess the information on time. Websites are necessary for updating team members who usually spend most of their time online (Delgado et al., 2014).

Sustainability Requirements

Sustainability involves consideration of biodiversity, equality, and human wellness during the development of continuous improvement policies and procedures (King, 2009). Also, the sustainability requirement involves principles for preventing environmental pollution. The sustainability requirements include environmental conservation policies, regulatory and legislative bodies, and health factors (Delgado et al., 2014). The team members are trained to comply with the sustainability requirements.

Mentoring and Coaching Process

Mentoring is processed in which an experienced person guides and advises those who are less experienced, particularly a colleague (Morissette & Wisozk, 2012). In a business context, coaching is defined as a set of skills that are important in managing the performances of employees to attain quality results. Coaching skills are crucial in delegating activities, giving feedback on employee performances, and motivating other colleagues. (Delgado et al., 2014). Mentoring and coaching are essential strategies in continuous improvement processes (Morissette & Wisozk, 2012). Being a mentor and a coach, the Continuous Improvement Manager is required to act as a leader and set a good example that can be emulated by other team members within the premises of Fast Forwarding Company.

Mentoring is part of coaching that focuses on guiding employees to do their tasks under limited or no supervision; therefore, promoting self-efficacy and self-development at Fast Forwarding . Effective interpersonal communication is essential in the mentoring and coaching process (King, 2009). As a Continuous Improvement Manager, I am supposed to utilize different coaching approaches in guiding all staff at Fast Forwarding Company. Also, a cough emphasizes efforts more than the abilities of employees in attaining business success. Mentors guide mentees in developing or defining their operational goals.

Mentoring and coaching involve formal training of team members on the practical implementation of new systems that help in promoting continuous improvement in the Fast Forwarding (Morissette & Wisozk, 2012). The mentoring and coaching process involves setting realistic goals, developing a possible action plan, identifying strategies for overcoming obstacles, and assessing progress based on staff performance. Action plan for Mentoring and coaching process:

Aims Actions Timeline Resources Success Criteria Responsible people

• To promote staff awareness
• To improve policy and procedures development processes Establish feedback forms Monday Excel Feedback forms demonstrate staff engagement. Information technology (IT) personnel
• Create a presentation Tuesday PowerPoint presentation Clear presentation created Information technology (IT) personnel
• Produce policy and procedure guidelines Wednesday Microsoft Word Effective policies and procedures updated Continuous Improvement Manager
• Develop clear goals Thursday Time to prepare Clear Operations Supervisors
• Deliver presentation on mentoring and coaching Friday Meeting time to deliver the presentation Timely deliverance of presentation Continuous Improvement Manager

Table 1: An Action Plan for Attaining Continuous Improvement at Fast Forwarding Company

Progress Strategy and Customer Service

Evaluation of permanent improvement policies and procedures is vital in determining customer services based on the team's performance (Sharma, Sharma, & Agarwal, 2016). The performance appraisal model assists Fast Forwarding Company in identifying skills that are necessary for achieving business objectives and successful implementation of continuous improvement policies and procedures. The performance appraisal model also guides workforce planning, especially in apprenticeship numbers, training needs analysis, and employee retention (Sharma et al., 2016).

Essential strategies implemented through the use of performance appraisal include the establishment of goals and recording operations. Also, the workforce is trained to improve their skills and ensure sustainability at Fast Forwarding Company. Staff training programs lead to improvement pf services delivered to clients like Build with Us Company. Also, training reduces staff nervousness and improves performance. After recording measurable outcomes, a dashboard or report is created to identify issues that affect the team's performance in the continuous improvement process (Sharma et al., 2016).190500556895

Figure 1: The Performance Appraisal Model by Ikramullah et al., 2016.

The figure above (Fig. 1) represents how the performance appraisal model is used to strategically determine the performances of Fast Forwarding Company about customer services. Providing feedback is vital in assessing employee performances and identifying potential opportunities for continuous improvement process at Fast Forwarding Company.

Informing all Stakeholders

It is of paramount importance to apply appropriate ways of communication while informing the stakeholders on the new changes in the continuous improvement process (Ikramullah et al., 2016). The opinions from stakeholders help in improving overall outcomes in the Fast Forwarding. Effective ways of communicating the changes to stakeholders save time (Ikramullah et al., 2016). Also, the strategies prevent cases of poor communication that might lead to low performances. There are various methods of communication implemented while communicating the changes to all stakeholders.

First, schedule a meeting to communicate with all stakeholders. Stakeholder meetings are an essential communication method in most of business corporations. Also, sessions save time because the Continuous Improvement Manager can convey a message to a large number of participants. The appropriate ways for communicating messages to stakeholders during a meeting include the use of PowerPoint and online mind mapping software. Encounters lead to the prevention of misinterpretation issues during communication (Ikramullah et al., 2016). Scheduling of stakeholder meetings promotes real-time transparency during the conversation. The second communication strategy involves sending out newsletters to the stakeholders. The newsletters contain the changes developed by the management to encourage continuous improvement. Email is a communication channel used in sending newsletters to the stakeholders through the use of internet services established by the Fast Forwarding.

The third communication strategy is scheduling a conference call. In most cases, conference calls are used when there are urgent issues to be discussed. Conference calls are one-way communication, therefore, the Continuous Improvement Manager should prepare presentations or agenda before meeting with stakeholders (Ikramullah et al., 2016). Furthermore, summary reports can be sent to all stakeholders to assess and evaluate the company's performance. The budget and statistical data included in the report help in determining the progress of Fast Forwarding Company.

Future Planning

Strategic business planning involves the development and implementation of appropriate actions for improving the quality of products and services of Fast Forwarding Company. The plans for Fast Forwarding Company include the creation of practical future vision or mission statement. Another long-term improvement plan is staff induction and training. The induction and training of staff improve professional competence and skills. Exercise is a long-term foundational purpose that allows employees to create realistic goals. The development of appropriate goals helps in achieving quality performances. The goals also promote staff participation in the continuous improvement process.

Quality requirements involve activities considered in the continuous improvement process for improving performances. The quality requirements include identification of skilled team members responsible for spearheading strategy implementation, resources, and operational systems. Effective communication may also be utilized as a quality requirement in the continuous improvement process. Data on the performances of team members are collected and analyzed to determine the quality of customer services in the Fast Forwarding.

The Continuous Improvement Manager monitors and evaluates performances of all team members or staff through the use of an appraisal model. Efficient budgeting allows managers to consider the pri...