The approach CS International has always taken to training is that this needs to be more than a classroom experience. The experience in the classroom is just the first step in the knowledge transfer process. It is the knowledge that gets transferred that creates the benefits from the application of the Lean Six Sigma methodology. It is those benefits that create the Return on Investment (ROI) for the organization that is deploying Lean Six Sigma.
The founder of CS International came from Motorola during a time when the Six Sigma Methodology was being developed. In the Motorola environment people were trained in all these skill sets. There was never a conflict/competition between these skill sets. It was common knowledge that the objective was to resolve a problem i.e. project that was identified by the business as an issue. We were expected to resolve those problems efficiently and effectively.
The training material created and used by CS International has always been an incorporation of Lean, Change Management and Six Sigma. When CS International engages in a deployment the training model integrates the various skill sets into a methodology that is designed to deliver the Motorola expectation of efficiency and effectiveness without large amounts of time pontificating on the advantages/disadvantages of one methodology versus the other. CS International delivers practitioners that understand the selection of the various tools that is based on their experience with the methodology that will deliver the most efficient and effective benefits and results.
Training Model
When we began training people to perform projects using the Six Sigma methodology several questions came to mind after years in industry, particularly after spending over a decade at Motorola where we were required to train everyone a minimum of 40 hours per year.
Some of those questions were:
- What courses seemed to create value when people returned from the training classes?
- Is there a difference in training adults versus children? If so, how do you effectively train adults?
- What is the point of training?
There were more issues considered than previously listed however those were some of our more critical concerns. Ultimately were identified that adults and children learn differently, the most effective programs actually transferred skill sets and the point of training was to train people to do things differently. Hopefully that change was to a more effective manner. We settled on an Adult Learning Model named Bloom’s Taxonomy to help design a training experience that not only benefited the person being trained but the company as well. It seemed that training was infrequently measured using the standard business metric of ROI. It should make sense to evaluate the effectiveness of training in terms of the cost of that training.
Blooms Taxonomy
Six Sigma Training
CS International has built its success as an effective training and deployment company by very basic objectives.
- Green Belts and Black Belts must be operating minimally at the Application level of Bloom’s Taxonomy to create any business value for the organization.
- Master Black Belts must operate at the Evaluate level of Bloom’s Taxonomy to create any business value for the organization.
- Financial results are critical to creating a common level of understanding with the Leadership Team on the value of the training and the overall value of the program. Measuring ROI for the program is critical to a successful deployment.
The first two objectives enable the third objective but do not necessarily guarantee it. Objective #3 extends beyond the training model. It is a function of the organizations culture and ability to execute change.
CS International’s training program has always been built around the combination of classroom training and successful project execution. The classroom training and project report outs move the training candidates through the first two levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Executing projects while going through the training program is the mechanism that will move a training candidate from the classroom environment into the Application Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy, the minimum level to realize business results.
Mater Black Belts role should be expanded beyond the role of the Black Belt and the Green Belt. There is the requirement to be able to mentor people through the training process and to manage larger more complex projects that is critical to creating a self sustaining* program. When this becomes the scope of the Master Black Belts then it is critical that they be operating at the top level of Bloom’s Taxonomy, the Evaluate Level. Functioning effectively at that level of Bloom’s Taxonomy, requires additional training, teaching and mentoring experience and program management experience.
Training Model
The basic training model for CS International is shown in the flow diagram below. It is considered a ‘straw man’ model for training. The model has been adjusted over the last 15 years in terms of the training period. The content of the training modules has evolved to an extent but the underlying thought process, which is the key to the success of the methodology, remains very much the same as it has always been. Specific tools are not the key to the success of the Six Sigma Methodology.
* Self sustaining in this context is used in terms of a program that continuously moves people through the program without the necessity of using outside resources, i.e. consultants, to train future Belts.