Empowering Excellence: Top Tips for Creating a People-Centric Approach to Continuous Improvement

This March, SSON hosted the 2024 Process & Continuous Improvement Virtual Summit. The two-day event contained unique insights about synthesizing people and technology to foster a strong culture of continuous improvement.

To open the second day, SSON was joined by Ana Flávia Cavagnoli, the Senior Manager for Customer Experience and Product Manager Mentor for Metrics & Outcomes at Johnson & Johnson. Ana’s session, “Empowering Excellence: Top Tips for Creating a People-Centric Approach to Continuous Improvement”, discussed how to keep the customer’s journey at the center of an organization’s strategic goals. Moreover, Ana highlighted how “employee experience drives customer experience”, and so provided attendees with insights on how to effectively manage workforces.

3 Tips For People-Centric Continuous Improvement

1. Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn

Alvin Toffler, an American writer and futurist, stated that “the illiterate of the 21^st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

This principle can be applied to current changes within the business landscape. As innovative technologies, such as AI, emerge, many have concerns about job security. Instead of fearing this change, relearning ways of working allows people to leverage technology effectively.

For Ana, those who are willing to “unlearn and relearn” will not be replaced by AI, as these individuals are the key to combining the power of people and technology for maximum efficiency. 

2. Outcomes, Not Outputs

A results-orientated organization overly prioritizes cost-reduction and time-savings. This can be detrimental to the continuous improvement mindset as it shifts the focus away from the customer. Consistently seeking outputs from the workforce often develops into an authoritarian leadership style. This lowers both employee engagement and customer satisfaction.

Instead, Ana urges enterprises to focus on the value of what they do. This mindset views outputs as consequences of change, not the priority. This more transformational leadership sees the value of continuous improvement, not quick savings. This adjustment can foster a more people-centric work environment, with effective communication and high engagement.

3. Humility is Essential for Leadership

So, what makes a transformational leader? For Ana, humility is key.

Often this can be considered a negative trait, linked to weakness, but in reality, humility can foster collaboration within a workplace. Humble leaders can admit a lapse in knowledge and are then more inclined to listen to the ideas of the workforce.

A humble leader can distance themselves from their perceptions, which provides an empathetic, balanced perspective. This empathy and self-awareness are key drivers for change, as leaders “have a more direct correlation with the company culture.”

Instead of prioritizing their egos, humble leaders are focused on driving positive change through communication and collaboration.

For more in-depth guidance on how to cultivate a people-centric mindset, Ana’s entire session is available on demand above. Or, if you are looking for more ways to manage your workforce, SSON will be hosting the webinar "5 Ways Workforce Analytics Can Transform Your People Strategy" This not-to-be-missed webinar will highlight how workforce analytics fosters transparency and collaboration both in and out of the office. Secure your place today!