August 10, 2022

Contrary to popular belief, Lean Six Sigma is not just for large, multinational companies. Yes, sure, these companies gain a lot of benefits out of Lean Six Sigma; but so does any business size. Start-ups and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) can reap the same benefits from implementing Lean Six Sigma within their organizations.

 In this article, we explore the benefits of having Lean Six Sigma in small businesses and how owners and operators can deploy it successfully. But first, we have to identify why SMEs and start-ups must have a Lean Six Sigma program within their business.

 

The Need for Lean Six Sigma

The business world is constantly evolving. The never-ending change in the landscape pushes for an agile nature in businesses, else they get left behind. Start-ups and SMEs are not an exemption from this. In fact, because of their size, they are much more vulnerable to failure. With minimal budget margins to help alleviate failures, it's becoming more and more important for SMEs to have a quality program to prevent future losses and gain more satisfied and loyal customers.

 

This is where Lean Six Sigma comes in.

Lean Six Sigma is a data-driven approach to problem-solving, eliminating wastes and defects, and minimizing variations in their processes. Start-ups must continuously improve their processes or risk being overshone by larger corporations. Thankfully, they can pivot more quickly because of their small size as every organization involves input-process-outputs. This makes implementation of Lean Six Sigma much easier.



The Benefits of Lean Six Sigma for Start-ups and SMEs

Now we go to the meat of this article: the benefits that start-ups and SMEs can reap from Lean Six Sigma. Note that while we do not guarantee instant success in your process improvement projects when done properly with the right Lean Six Sigma professional, these benefits can be realized in reality.

  • Stronger Branding and Customer Loyalty

    Through Lean Six Sigma, customer service and quality of products can improve. Since there is a better quality of products or solutions along with the pre- and after-sales service, customers will likely stay for a longer period, maximizing their lifetime value to the business. Lean Six Sigma can also help deliver outputs on time without diverting from the standard by which the output should be held. Being known for good quality service and products in the market is every start-up owner's dream. Good thing Lean Six Sigma can help!

  • Enhanced Productivity

    Lean Six Sigma removes all barriers that make processes and productivity inefficient. Need a copy machine near you, but the machine is located on a different floor? Got a lot of paperwork to transport from one office location to another? Have a lot of stack of unused materials sitting in the office, occupying space? Lean Six Sigma eliminates all these and makes daily productivity much more efficient while improving the rest of the business processes. Lean Six Sigma can help businesses become data-driven organizations by utilizing tools and techniques to evaluate performance and intuitively make decisions in your operation.

  • Improved Teamwork and Increased Employee Motivation

    Say goodbye to a lot of unnecessary meetings and bottlenecks, and start collaborating better! Lean Six Sigma makes employees evaluate their current way of doing things and instill the mindset that things can always be done in a better way. This mindset opens up feedback from team members, thus making collaboration much more evident. Lean Six Sigma improves workplace culture, making employees happier, healthier, and more satisfied. Lean Six Sigma helps by reducing stress on resources which then makes them stay in the company longer.

  • Reduced Costs

    Because Lean Six Sigma goal is reducing defects and errors by reducing variation in the process, that will decrease cost production and higher gains for the business. Additionally, the high quality of products would be one of the significant factors that can boost a business's reputation in the market and gain competitive advantage - thus increasing market share through word-of-mouth.

  • Customer Satisfaction

    These knowledge checks also help build on the foundational learning of Six Sigma - making students feel confident when they decide to go for further Lean Six Sigma belts.

From reducing costs and cost savings to improved productivity and teamwork, Lean Six Sigma brings about many benefits to businesses of all sizes - wherever they are in their journey. However, how do start-ups actually start implementing Lean Six Sigma in their business without burning a hole in the pocket?


One of the easiest ways to implement a Lean Six Sigma program is to hire a professional with a track record of improving processes and bringing Lean Six Sigma results to businesses. 


Another alternative is to get Lean Six Sigma training and certification for owners and employees. With the right training provider and the commitment to be better, start-up and SME owners can equip themselves with the necessary skills to grow professionally and in their organization. Tie that up with a Master Black Belt who can guide them navigate through project-by-project implementation and make sure the results are happening.

 

DivergenZ Training and Consulting offers various Lean Six Sigma trainings that will surely help your business and career growth! Be it White Belt, Yellow Belt, Green Belt, or Black Belt. Our training courses are comprehensively made to make every student's learning experience successful. Along with our supplementary training for each belt, you get unlimited coaching time and guidance from our trainers, who are all Lean Six Sigma practitioners in their respective fields. So whether you're in services, manufacturing, BPO, education, HR, or agriculture, you're sure that the training is customized according to your needs.

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