Performance improvement is a large and rich topic. While there are many different "models" for performance improvement, one that is particularly helpful is associated with The Institute for Healthcare Improvement and describes three phases of improvement: generating will to change,generating ideas for change, and implementation.

Related topics

• Improving Healthcare Cost
• Improving Healthcare Quality

...that there is a real opportunity for board members, who generally represent non-healthcare industries, to introduce non-healthcare management strategies into the healthcare industry to help hospital employees understand that productivity and quality should not be managed separately?

...that in the 90's the Japanese worker registered 32 ideas per year while the American worker logged about one idea every seven years?

...that Every organization wants to be the best, with staff engaged in making it better. Yet the biggest hindrance to having an engaged staff dedicated to improvement is that most organizations don’t have an idea-friendly environment?

...that there is nothing more satisfying to a leader than facilitating the excellent potential of the people he is leading?

...that organizations would double the power improvement efforts if they built a culture of improvement with a singleness of purpose?

...that unless there is a compelling case for change, stakeholders will be reluctant to put their hearts into it while enduring a needed change?

Harvesting ideas yields empowerment, innovation, service, and quality. The ability to collect ideas is critical as work demands become greater, change happens faster, margins become thinner, and resources become scarcer. How does an organization continually harvest ideas to stay ahead of the curve?

A large part of the answer is right under our nose. The answer is in the staff we hire to run the business. They are trained at carrying out policies and procedures, but shouldn't they be trained to look for waste, in its many hidden forms, as well as improve the work they engage in each day? Are they tuned to a customer’s desires? Do they know the value of even one missed opportunity and how it impacts the bottom line? Do they know how to offer up legitimate idea proposals and does management know how to treasure this input?

Most staff are trained how to do their jobs but not how to improve upon it. Thus, bad habits die hard. As a manager or management engineer: here’s your chance to open the floodgates of employee engagement, and to have all eyes looking for ways to make a cumulative difference. The largest hindrance to this type of employee engagement is that most organizations don’t have an idea-friendly environment; for example, environments where ideas are welcome, developed, justified, resourced, implemented, recognized and shared. If there are no deliberate processes, communication plans, and job aids to facilitate each of these steps, it’s no wonder legitimate ideas aren't coming. As Dutch Holland of Holland & Davis Inc.^[1] put it: 'If we don't run the business, we won't eat tomorrow; if we don't change the business, we won't be here next year'. In the early 90's the typical Japanese worker was implementing 32 ideas per employee per year. Their American counterpart... 1 idea every 8 years. So what will it take to turn the corner? What's missing? (continued...)