Let’s take a look at an example of continuous improvement practices at the company Atlassian.
Atlassian, a software company that offers products to product managers and development teams, has successfully created and sustained a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. Atlassian achieves this in a few different ways.
Firstly, to drive innovation, employees are given 20% of their allocated work time to spend on personal projects. [1] This is modelled on Google’s innovation strategy, where personal projects often can be transformed into creative new features or products for the organisation. This strategy requires Atlassian to allow their employees the time to work on these personal projects, which is an expensive risk for the company since 20% of employees’ time is given away to experimentation. However, to ensure that this time is used productively, employees focus their personal projects on the team, how it operates, and what they do.
Secondly, Atlassian cultivated a culture of continuous improvement to support innovation. Specifically, Atlassian split their employees into small teams and encouraged them to own their career path by embracing and identifying challenges and strengths. What they found was that successful teams handled challenges differently to other teams, so to help those who struggled, Atlassian implemented a workshopping resource called the Team Playbook. They gathered the practices that successful teams used and created short, purposeful workshops and exercises that enabled teams to learn and adopt these practices. [2]
For example, Atlassion’s Health Monitor [3] helps teams to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Once some weaknesses have been identified, teams and employees can use other plays to strengthen these areas.
Instructions: How do you implement continuous improvement practices?
Taking dedicated work time to innovate and find continuous improvement opportunities can be an expensive cost for an organisation. Considering what you have just learned, complete the following:
- Explain in a brief paragraph:
- How might you go about implementing effective continuous improvement practices?
- What might you do differently to Atlassian?
Implementing effective continuous improvement practices involves creating a culture that encourages experimentation, learning, patience and adaptation. To start with, I would ensure that employees have a structured yet flexible template to identify and address areas for improvement. Unlike Atlassian’s model of dedicating 20% of time to personal projects, I would integrate continuous improvement into regular work routines through periodic “innovation sprints” where teams focus on process enhancements or new ideas within their usual tasks. Additionally, I would establish a feedback loop, using tools like Atlassian’s Team Playbook and Health Monitor, but customized to our specific organizational context. This would involve regular check-ins and workshops where teams can share their successes and challenges, learn from each other, and apply best practices. This approach balances the need for innovation with the demands of ongoing work, making continuous improvement a natural part of the workflow rather than an additional commitment.
June 7, 2024 at 11:22 am
To make continuous improvement a habit, i will make sure the workers learn how to identify their strength and weaknesses, in order to grow the strength. Provision for monthly trainings to equip the workers and provision for research adventure.
The Atlassian’s Approach cannot be swept under the carpet.Since they are successful,we can still adopt such models with slight modifications.
To implement effective continuous improvement practices, start by fostering a culture that values ongoing learning and adaptation. This involves establishing clear goals and performance metrics to identify areas needing enhancement. Engage employees at all levels in the process, encouraging feedback and innovation through regular brainstorming sessions or suggestion systems. Utilize structured methodologies like Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) or Lean Six Sigma to systematically approach problem-solving and process optimization. Finally, ensure continuous monitoring and data analysis to track progress, adjust strategies as needed, and celebrate successes to maintain motivation and momentum.
To drive innovation employees will be trained regularly and also on a monthly basis carry out a workshop where they will be encouraged to carry out a personal project to improve on the product in the company.
To encourage a culture of continuous improvement in order to support innovation, employees will be encouraged to identify their strengths and weaknesses as the work in teams.
The strength of each team and their achievements will be communicated and this will be used to train other employees and their teams members in an organized workshop .
To implement effective continuous improvement, the employee would first be given job description for them to know what’s expected of them, let them know the organization core values and vision…. Create environment that promote constant learning and creativity by organizing seminar where employee will be assigned to do that, which would allow them to learn from each other , and also allow idea bank so that everyone would be involved.
To implement effective continuous improvement practices, I would establish a structured program that allows employees to dedicate a portion of their work time to personal projects and innovation, similar to Atlassian’s approach. However, to balance costs and ensure productivity, I would allocate a smaller percentage of time, such as 10%, to these activities. This would still foster creativity and continuous improvement without significantly impacting overall productivity. Additionally, I would implement a mentorship program where experienced employees guide less experienced ones in identifying and tackling improvement opportunities. Unlike Atlassian’s small team structure, I would encourage cross-functional teams to collaborate on these projects to leverage diverse perspectives and expertise, further enhancing the innovation process. Regular review sessions would be held to assess progress and share successful practices across the organization.
My approach to implementing good continuous improvement processes would be comprehensive, involving every department in the company. Rather than setting aside a specific amount of time for personal projects, I urge staff members to find chances for ongoing growth within their regular work duties. Furthermore, I would give training and knowledge a lot of weight. Giving staff members the skills and resources they need to comprehend and implement continuous improvement techniques, like Kaizen, will enable them to actively contribute to the process of improvement. Lastly, I would put in place a reliable method to monitor and assess the results of our efforts for continual improvement. This would entail gathering information, establishing precise metrics, and routinely assessing advancement. Maintaining a culture would require acknowledging contributions and celebrating victories.
One significant distinction with Atlassian’s methodology would be the creation of cross-functional teams devoted to ongoing enhancement. These groups would be in charge of process analysis, pinpointing areas in need of development, and putting fixes in place. They would collaborate extensively with frontline staff members to get comments and ideas, making sure that changes are doable and in keeping with the objectives of the company.
To make continuous improvement a habit, i will:-
-Give employees time to work on their own projects
– Encourage ownership and accountability
– Share successful teams’ strategies through workshops and resources
While Atlassian’s approach to continuous improvement is impressive, I might consider adjusting these approaches to fit my organizations size and needs, start small, focus on specific areas, and provide feedback and training
By doing so, I will create a culture that continuously improves and grows, tailored to my organizations unique strengths and challenges.
I will implement effective continuous improvement practices by using the four pillars of continuous improvement and implementing the four steps of the continuous improvement process.
I won’t do anything differently from Atlassian.
A dedication to achieving good work is a great effort that will keep birthing continuous improvement.
I will keep using great strategies that will always help in delivering good work.
By making sure that I collaborate, and communicate with the teams effectively.
And also make sure I put in place the very necessary things employees need to do their best in achieving the common goal, which is producing a good product.