Generation Y takes on LSS

By Alex Kayle, Senior portals journalist

Johannesburg, 15 Jun 2009

Generation Y is moving into the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) domain and businesses need to be prepared for this, says Estelle Williams, GM for Vodacom Business Unit, Merchants.

Williams said during the ITWeb Lean Six Sigma conference in Sandton, last week, that companies looking to deploy LSS to improve business efficiency need to have the right business culture.

Williams cited a case study showing how telecommunications outsourcing company Merchants, a subsidiary of Dimension Data, deployed its LSS philosophy.

“Generation Y is impatient, irrational and information-obsessed. They are the technology-savvy generation. Companies need to look at the challenges and learn how to do things differently in order to position the LSS methodology with this generation. We need to get connected with the Y Generation because we are moving into a LSS world.”

She noted that some of the biggest barriers surrounding LSS implementation are lack of commitment from top management and companies expecting too much too soon.

Synergistic culture

Tony Bartner, process executive at Nedbank, compared LSS to the structure of an orchestra. He said that like musicians, company employees need to fine-tune their talent and best practices so the entire organisation works together as a single unit. This will bring transparency to the business and make the organisation the best it can be.

“The LSS model aims to address all aspects of the business to drive the organisation into a predictable and stable state and after level five, the company can start to innovate,“ added Bartner.

“The fundamental building block that has to be in place for an LSS programme is embedding the right disciplinary culture into the organisation. Unfortunately, not many companies are really doing it right in the country.”