In business, there is a need for development from time to time. A business development strategy with the kaizen principle is one of the proven ways for business progress.
Kaizen is a basic philosophy that can be applied in various departments within the company. This principle can be implemented, not only in the form of self-development of employees to improve performance, but also by involving employees as a source of suggestions for improvement.
Work effectiveness has a big influence in business. For example, a more effective production system can make the production process faster, or it can reduce production costs significantly.
With these advantages, the company is more flexible to move to develop, for example, by increasing production capacity, and can also increase operating profit.
#Kaizen Is A Philosophy With 5 Elements
In kaizen, there are 5 elements which are the main basis, namely:- Team work- Self discipline- Moral development- Quality environment- Development suggestions
The elements above can be applied in planning that will be implemented in real projects and implemented. Interestingly, the actual implementation of activity planning with the kaizen principle is what makes the philosophy alive.
#Application of Kaizen
The implementation of this kaizen principle is carried out in several stages. In each stage, there are details of activities or activities that need to be carried out to shape change and development.
##a. Set a goal or main goal that makes sense
Determining the main purpose of implementing kaizen is the first thing to do. You need to set goals that are reasonable and achievable.
These goals will help you determine your next steps. If your goals are abstract and cannot be measured, it will be difficult to define the steps, as well as determine whether the program is successful or not.
For example, you see that your employees lack discipline regarding attendance, for example, there are many delays during work hours. You can set goals to improve discipline.
To more easily monitor attendance discipline, you can take advantage of Clockster’s [Time and Attendance](http://108.137.157.234/en/time-attendance/) feature. This feature can help you track how big the delay is with an easy-to-understand interface. You can also find out the employee’s location during attendance, because Clockster has been equipped with geolocation tracking facilities.
##b. Review the current state, and make a development plan
Kaizen’s goal is system improvement. You need to compare the current state of your business with your goals. What is the gap between the current condition and the desired condition?
This comparison factor also requires measurable and reasonable variables, so that the results can also be proven with clear data.
Once the data is in, you can start defining a plan and timeline. Make a plan with a clear, achievable deadline. If you don’t have enough data or insight, discuss it with your team leader or employee representative, and consider their suggestions.
##c. Implementation of the development plan
The next step in the application of the kaizen method is the implementation of development planning.
In this implementation, supervision is needed. This supervision serves to ensure that all programs can run according to deadlines and are not hampered by various obstacles.
If there are problems in implementing the plan, immediately find the best solution. If the problem is not resolved, this needs to be noted and a special concern during a later review.
To make it easier to share the to-do list of program execution, use the Task Manager feature of [Clockster](http://108.137.157.234/en/). In this feature, you can create a to-do list for each staff, while monitoring the progress of their performance.
##d. See the results achieved and check which parts are not delivering the results as expected
The next stage in the application of the kaizen concept is to conduct a review or review of the results achieved during program implementation.
Analyze carefully, whether the results obtained are in line with expectations, which things have not provided the appropriate results, and what has been achieved according to the target.
Highlight the things that need to be improved and plan a program to follow up on them.
##e. Report the results and make a follow-up plan on what is needed
The last stage in the implementation of kaizen is to make a complete report of the results of the implementation of the development plan.
Compare the initial conditions with the conditions after the application of kaizen. Are the results significant enough to be successful? If not, what should be done to fix it?
Make a follow-up list consisting of bullet points for the next steps. Re-planning for kaizen is an improvement that must be made.
#Kaizen Is An Iterative And Continuous Process
If you want to apply the kaizen principle, you can’t just do this once. Kaizen is a program that needs to be done iteratively, with the aim of making the system better every time.
So you need to make an implementation plan every few periods. Your world and business environment will continue to change over time, so you need to apply kaizen to adapt.
In conclusion, kaizen is an important guideline to help businesses adapt and thrive. However, you are also obliged to continue to apply the principles and steps continuously.