As we increase our focus on continuous improvement in UVAFinance, we want to share ideas that can make your personal transformation more approachable. Here are some tips to help you think about continuous improvement in your work day:
1. Focus on your customer. No matter what you’re doing, someone is a “customer” in the sense that they benefit from your effort. So, focus on your customer first. Your customer might be people in the schools and units, or it might be your colleagues. Whomever they are, think about delivering the best value to those people first. Without them, we wouldn’t have jobs!
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| Visit https://vpfinance.virginia.edu/continuous-improvement to see upcoming sessions available and register now! |
2. Outline your process. Before you can make improvements, it helps to have a clear idea of your current process - including, ideally, any steps that happen upstream and downstream of your work. It’s possible that a minor change to a process before it even gets to you could make a huge difference overall! Make a chart that helps you visualize all the steps in your process, so you can see areas of wasted time, effort, and resources.
3. Take out the trash. Once you have mapped your process, you can identify problems and solve them, and remove activities that don’t add value – or in some cases even result in waste or defects.
4. Keep going. Nothing will change unless you change it, but change can be unsettling to those on your team. Be prepared to help them understand the changes you’re suggesting, both the whys and the hows.
5. Stay committed to change and flexibility. Continuous improvement requires a lot of change. Put yourself in the shoes of your teammates – know that change is scary sometimes. Be prepared to dispel their fears by showing how change can make our work more impactful.
For more info on Continuous Improvement, including upcoming classes from Finance Outreach and Compliance, visit us on the VP Finance website!
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