To become self-sustaining in Kaizen Lean journey, an organization’s ultimate goal should be to develop a team of internal Kaizen facilitators / Kaizen Coordinators to lead Lean Kaizen activities, such as value stream mapping and Kaizen Workshops. While there are several methods for developing internal facilitators, when ever possible, organizations should do so under the guidance of a External Kaizen Facilitator. Developing highly skilled Kaizen facilitators requires many years, because the bulk of their development occurs outside the classroom at the Gemba during real-world Kaizen Workshops. However, a company doesn’t have to invest years in developing someone before he or she is ready to facilitate Kaizen workshops. Kaizen and Lean thinking embraces the wisdom that we learn best through doing.
In fact, an important part of the development of an expert facilitator is the process of reflecting on one’s performance and considering ways to avoid trouble spots in future events. Many Organizations practicing Kaizen in Kenya, India, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia have put Internal Kaizen facilitators to support the Kaizen project teams. Role of Internal Kaizen facilitators is to guide, train and audit the teams but should not become the doer for them. Regular Reviews on Project Actions, Trainings and Gemba Audits are Key function of Kaizen Coordinator. It is very important to choose Internal Kaizen facilitators very carefully. Person with passion to work on Gemba and implement improvement with teams should be chose over person who prefers to conduct lectures (more talk and less action) and one who engages more in admin work. Merely attending Kaizen practioner or Kaizen certification course does not ensure person will become a good Kaizen coordinator. We have seen many Kaizen coordinator failing to play their part because they had knowledge, but less of profound knowledge and very little leadership and managerial skills. RIB Consulting can help and guide you to select right Kaizen facilitator for your organisation.
