Michelle was a disciplined, data-driven leader, even before engaging with COE. However, she faced a challenge: her team of leaders didn’t share the same depth of analytical thinking. Gut feelings often dominated their decision-making processes. Michelle aimed to instil a common approach within her team, encompassing shared frameworks, language, and tools. Her leaders needed to adopt this mindset not just from her but from an external source. Simultaneously, she sought to enhance her own skills.

While Michelle had been inadvertently modelling Operational Excellence (OE) principles, it was an entirely different challenge to teach her leaders. Merely instructing them didn’t seem to drive the learnings into their hearts and minds. 

A Team Unified

The COE program through QBS, provided Michelle and her team with a unified language and refined, accurate tools. The trainers facilitated alignment among her leaders and equipped them with resources to analyse their business comprehensively and the benefits included:

• A common language and tools fostered daily use for managing the business.
• Identification of issues and opportunities within the business.
• Transformation of business operations through collaboration and breaking down silos.
• Introduction of other leaders to the Introductory Operational Excellence (IOE) program, further advancing progress and common language use.

“Every leader should do COE – I don’t know how a leader can do their job without it” Michelle.

Inclusion. Alignment. Common Ground

Michelle’s journey through COE highlighted several key insights:

• The importance of recognising diverse learning styles among team members.
• Identifying leaders who may resist change and assessing their alignment with the desired leadership model.
• The value of a common language, alongside standardised frameworks and tools.

Of course, like anything it wasn’t all smooth sailing. As a senior leader, Michelle faced questions about why she took on the program.  However, she was determined to lead from the front, knowing that previous methods had not yielded the results.

Is your organisation calling out for an aligned approach to leadership? Start here with our Leadership Skills Audit and unearth the hard skills gaps in your operational leaders, and where to next. Get it here.

In a rapidly evolving financial landscape, the Risk Division of a major bank faced a unique set of challenges. Unlike other divisions that had embraced process maturity and business excellence initiatives, they perceived themselves differently. They believed they didn’t have processes; they had specialists. The result was an accumulation of requirements, reports, and actions, leading to inefficiency, especially with an ageing specialist workforce.

Before engaging with QBS, the Risk Division encountered several challenges:

• Resistance to Change: There was resistance to viewing the Risk Division as an operational entity that could benefit from operational management principles.
• Accumulating Complexity: Operational complexity increased with time, while little was removed or redesigned.
• Ageing Workforce: The specialised workforce was ageing, and there was a lack of systematic operational improvements.

A culture shift was missing

Prior efforts involved appointing a specialist black belt to improve credit risk processes. While results were positive, they were limited in scope compared to the broader accountabilities of the Risk Division. What was missing was a shift in culture that would make every function contribute to operational excellence.

QBS introduced a structured approach to address the barriers within the Risk Division. The journey began with a three-pronged approach:

Leadership Engagement: QBS conducted introductory sessions for senior leaders, who then selected candidates for the COE program within their teams.

Collaborative Leadership: One leader partnered with an operations management specialist to demonstrate the potential improvements, achieving quick wins.

Customisation and Co-Design: Recognising that the standard program wasn’t entirely suitable for Risk’s unique processes, QBS adapted by emphasising skills and tools relevant to Risk’s operations.

Key Outcomes and Learnings

The Risk Division underwent a transformation that led to remarkable outcomes:

• Business maturity scores that quickly rose to be amongst the highest in the organisation.
• A 25% uplift in productivity.
• A 6% reduction in rework.
• Capacity savings of approximately $1 million through process standardisation and role realignment.
• Additional savings of $250,000 by investing in continuous improvement within a year.

Key takeaways included the growing understanding of operational and business excellence within Risk. Operational goals became an integral part of their language, with 80% of leaders actively participating in training and selecting candidates for improvement initiatives.

This won’t work here!

Not unlike many other organisations QBS has led through this leadership transformation, several barriers had to be overcome to achieve this outcome.

Changing belief systems, such as “Risk doesn’t operate processes” and “this won’t work here – we are different.”

Securing funding through negotiations and involving leaders in candidate sponsorship.

Maintaining credibility through QBS and the coaches, who facilitated issue resolution and prioritised impactful tasks.

The success of their transformation journey underscores the value of addressing business needs, overcoming belief barriers, and obtaining strong stakeholder engagement. A “leader-led and professionally executed” program was crucial, with QBS and COE coaches playing pivotal roles.

It was a revelation how beneficial this was to the division

The Risk Division’s experience demonstrates the transformative power of QBS’s operational excellence program. By addressing belief systems, fostering leadership engagement, and focusing on high-impact initiatives, they achieved substantial improvements, making operational excellence an integral part of their culture and operations.

“I would recommend COE to anyone who runs a team and wants their operation to improve, even a small team of three or four professional services will benefit from this approach. It was a revelation how beneficial this was to the division, contributing to engagement and collaboration as well as tangible business outcomes.” Jo Cunningham (Head of Operational Excellence Risk)

If you are a leader ready to work on high impact initiatives and address the belief systems in your team, you might be ready to book a call with QBS here.

Damien (a Consulting Principal in a large technology provider) and his business were under significant cost pressure driven by external market changes. Prior to engaging in Core Operational Excellence (COE), Damien observed a lack of continuous improvement focus, plus data and reporting were not consistently utilised to drive performance enhancements.  

To address these issues and achieve their goals, Damien sought solutions beyond simplistic staff reductions, which were having adverse effects in other areas. While external consultants had provided guidance on lean practices, it didn’t seem sustainable for long-term improvement.

Thinking Differently

COE proved to be a challenging yet rewarding program that allowed Damien to further develop his leadership and operational management skills (the EQ and the OQ). Through workshops and feedback from Anita and the QBS team, he was pushed to think deeper and get the maximum benefit from the program’s activities. The practical nature of COE, coupled with the use of straightforward business language, made it engaging and effective. Collaboration with various stakeholders uncovered the direct impact they had on the business, fostering joint problem-solving efforts.

Impressed by COE’s outcomes, the organisation extended participation to both leaders and emerging leaders across their organisation. Senior leaders underwent a shorter version of the program, equipping them with the necessary language and knowledge to support operational excellence initiatives.

Achieving Real Impact

Following Damien’s COE journey, several positive changes were observed within the organisation.

• Skills matrices were developed across teams to facilitate training plans.
• Documentation of processes improved delivery reliability, and knowledge of continuous improvement (CI) processes increased leading to a CI mindset across the teams. 
• The organisation’s drive to improve processes intensified, and individuals felt empowered to drive change within their teams and across the business. 
• Team engagement increased by over 15 points.

Damien’s key takeaways from COE emphasised the importance of alignment among leaders and teams. By participating in similar programs, they ensured a shared understanding and commitment to operational excellence.

Despite initial scepticism from some within the consulting business, COE proved its efficacy in driving tangible results. Concerns about reducing total headcount were countered with the argument that enhanced skills and value would make individuals more valued rather than less.

Spreading the Word

Damien highly recommends COE to others seeking operational excellence. With many of his peers and team members having completed the program, his business is advancing even faster with an operational excellence mindset. COE has become a game changer for Damien and his team, providing a clear understanding of why they operate the way they do. They have also recommended COE to their clients, recognising the need for organisational alignment and efficiency.

In addition to his own growth, Damien took on the role of coaching other graduates, an experience he found highly rewarding.

Damien’s journey highlights the transformative impact of COE in driving operational excellence, fostering collaboration, and empowering individuals and organisations to thrive in a challenging business landscape.  If your journey feels like Damien’s, it might be time to measure the hard skills gaps in your business. Check out our Leadership Skills Audit here.

Grant, the General Manager of International Field Services, embarked on a transformative journey when he enrolled in the Core Operational Excellence (COE) program. With a technical background and over 20 years of management experience, Grant sought to enhance his leadership skills and find effective solutions to the challenges he faced in running his global function.

Before COE, Grant’s team operated in a reactive manner, dealing with issues as they arose and lacking a structured approach. They faced constant cost pressures and struggled to progress initiatives that needed wider stakeholder buy-in. Siloed ways of working and a lack of knowledge on how to drive improvement further added to frustrations.

Grant hoped that COE would help him achieve his budgetary goals without compromising customer satisfaction or team engagement. Additionally, he sought to boost his confidence and professionalise his skills as a leader. While previous restructuring and attempts at cascading the budget challenges had fallen short, Grant recognised that COE could provide the practical tools and feedback loop needed for sustainable improvement.

Accelerating Functional Transformation

COE proved to be a game-changer for Grant and his team. The program equipped him with best practices to assess and measure his business against, bringing clarity and strategic focus to his role. Extensive support and coaching provided a confidence boost, and the involvement of his leaders in the program fostered a collective learning experience. By actively engaging with his team, Grant saw his own leadership skills develop, leading to a more engaged workplace and improved performance.

Among the key takeaways from COE, Grant realised that management is both an art and a science, and authentic team engagement is essential for driving improvement. Impressed by the impact of COE on his own performance and the success of his team, Grant took the initiative to train all his leaders and their successors in COE over a two-year period. He also extended the program to key field staff, recognising its value in enhancing cross-team conversations and driving business improvement.  By the end, Grant had 18 COE graduates in his business and 39 graduates from the shorter Introductory Operational Excellence (IOE) program.  

Mindset Matters

Grant acknowledges the challenges of finding time for the program but emphasises that the rewards outweigh the difficulties when tangible differences become apparent – in his case, over $500k in external cost savings. He highly recommends the COE program to leaders who are seeking personal growth, team development, and sustainable business improvement. Grant credits Anita, the program facilitator, for her exceptional knowledge and ability to make the content relevant and engaging for participants. Under Anita’s guidance, COE came to life for Grant and his team, sparking numerous “aha” moments and creating an interactive learning environment.

As his organisation faces increasing pressure, Grant’s endorsement of COE and its application in driving change is invaluable. With a growing number of leaders across the business recognising the language and approaches of operational excellence, implementing transformative initiatives becomes a smoother and more successful endeavour. In fact, it has unleashed a movement with a core of his team banding together to drive ongoing and relentless continuous improvement.  Grant’s journey stands as a testament to the power of COE in enabling positive change and delivering tangible results. If your journey feels like Grant’s, it might be time to get a scorecard on the hard skills gaps in your business. Check out our Leadership Skills Audit here.