Taking a Gemba Walk to boost productivity and uncover hidden talent
Post written by Krzysztof Kiernozek, Global Business Process Outsourcing Director at Gi BPO
The idea of “taking a walk” is often associated with leisurely strolls in relaxing surroundings. Yet there is one type of walk – the “Gemba (pronounced “ghem-ba”) Walk” – which is about many things, but not leisure. Meaning “the place where work is carried out and value is created” in Japanese, it is a crucial concept in lean management and “kaizen” (“continuous improvement”). It emphasises the importance of going to the place where work is being done in order to gain the first-hand knowledge of – and insights into – business operations that conference calls and emails simply cannot deliver.
At Gi BPO we are firm believers in the benefits of the Gemba Walk and we are avid practitioners of it. Not only that, but we also strongly encourage this type of exercise for our clients and partners as it is an excellent tool for spotting inefficiencies and finding solutions that help companies increase their productivity.
“The key to Gemba Walks is careful observation of company processes,” says Krzysztof Kiernozek, Global Business Process Outsourcing Division Director at Gi BPO. “They enable us to achieve many objectives at once,” he goes on to say. “By ‘walking the floor’ at a company’s operations, we can watch processes as they are taking place. This enables us to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies that the client may not be aware of – problems that we can then offer solutions to, thereby helping the client achieve improved results.” The key is an approach that calls for a type of “non-interference”. “If I tell workers ‘I am going to observe you’, they will change their behaviour,” Krzysztof points out. “They will follow the procedures that they usually don’t for some reason. But I want to see things as they really are. This is the first step for me, it’s about collecting the real data,” he explains.
Basically, it’s about collecting accurate information that might otherwise not be obtainable, but Gemba Walks also generate other benefits. For example, they enable real-time problem solving: if the operations manager is present during a Gemba Walk, any identified inefficiency can be tackled immediately. Otherwise it can be noted for future solving. Including employees in the Gemba Walk (when possible) is equally important as this gives them a sense of ‘ownership’ of the process they are a part of. “Often the workers themselves are aware that something is not working as it should and they suggest solutions. By involving them in the process, not only can we solve a problem more quickly, we can also engage with the people who know the process best: those who work on it.” This type of engagement results in a situation whereby employees feel they are more valued, and this improves morale and their sense of commitment.
Another key benefit of the Gemba Walk is its ability to bring out hidden talent. Krzysztof recalls how he was once visiting a bottle cap production facility. For a couple of days, he observed the workers: no questions were asked, no advice was given, he just studied the workflow. At one point, Krzysztof saw four separate teams stationed at the same assembly operation, each moving at a different pace. There was no process coordinator, which struck him as odd. “This shouldn’t be like that,” he recalls thinking to himself. One of the teams was performing very well, reaching its targets, while the others were underperforming. After more observation, it became clear that the problem was caused by a lack of supervision. Not only that, the key difference between the best and worst performing teams also became apparent: “I noticed that the team that was performing best appeared to be led – unofficially – by a very diligent woman, who made sure that her group was active, thereby enabling it to hit its targets consistently. The other three teams were clearly suffering from a lack of effective organisation, and their output was lagging behind.” Thanks to the Gemba Walk, in other words, not only did a solvable problem emerge: it also became apparent that one of the workers had management potential – something which the client hadn’t noticed until then.
A few days after the Gemba Walk, when Krzysztof put together a report for the client, he recommended reshuffling the teams, placing members of the slower crews in mixed teams, together with the faster workers, the idea being that this could help raise the overall productivity rate. Separately, he highlighted the natural leadership that had emerged and suggested formalising that role. He also proposed a modest incentive programme: any employee whose suggestion saved time or reduced waste would receive a bonus. This is what Krzysztof calls a “win-win-win” situation, since everyone benefits: the worker, the client… and Gi BPO who, the manager says, in some cases shares the profits generated by the savings attained by the client.
The application of the Gemba Walk methodology shows how disciplined, on-site observation can translate into actionable insights that lead to enduring efficiency improvements, in addition to strengthening client relationships by reinforcing a collaborative, improvement-focused culture, and delivering quantifiable operational benefits. In other words, it’s a “win-win-win” situation.
At Gi BPO, we are firm believers in the benefits of the Gemba Walk and are avid practitioners of it. Our expertise in implementing Gemba Walks is well-established, particularly in Italy, Spain, Portugal, China, Brazil and Colombia, where we have successfully guided numerous clients in optimising their operations. While today we discuss a case in logistics, it is crucial to understand that Gemba is a universally applicable technique, highly useful whenever you manage any process in any division, sector, or industry. We strongly promote this method to improve processes across all contexts.
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