The Benefits of Collaborative Continuous Improvement Programs for MSPs

Even if your problem-solving team managed to come up with a viable solution to a vexing staffing challenge, things change. Fluctuating line managers, labor market conditions and demand for contract workers requires MSP program managers and their partners to continuously refine and improve recently implemented solutions to unfilled staffing requisitions or similar issues.

Periodic evaluations not only help collaborative partners identify what is working and what is not and initiate adjustments, they produce meaningful lessons and best practices that will aid future problem-solving endeavors. That’s why it’s important to have an action plan to monitor compliance and follow-through when you initiate a major program change. While some teams adopt a formal methodology such as Six Sigma, Kaizen or Lean, you can accomplish similar results using a less-formal approach that includes these four steps.

Plan

Establish specific times when your problem-solving team will receive scorecards, benchmarking data and reconvene as a group to review the impact of changes to policies and procedures. Having a set schedule to monitor performance will emphasize compliance and reinforce the need for speedy adjustments. Delivering quick wins is critical as it reduces rework and boosts your group’s credibility with line managers, buyers and contract professionals.

Measure Results

Naturally, you’ll want to collect data and facts to measure the success of your latest initiative, but don’t forget to solicit informal feedback from stakeholders. For instance, line managers and contractors may illuminate positive and negative consequences from changes to hiring or onboarding processes that may not be captured by scorecards or performance data. Ultimately, it’s the stakeholders who determine the success of your team and any problem-solving initiatives that affect your managed program or processes. Build credibility by being fully transparent about your findings and incorporating stakeholders’ recommendations into your continuous improvement process.

Initiate Improvements

Identify opportunities to improve and modify your initial solution. Remember to incorporate the updates into your implementation roadmap, success criteria and performance metrics and disseminate the revised information so that everyone affected by the latest change understands their role and responsibilities.

Keep repeating the planning and measurement steps until the desired results are achieved. If necessary, revisit your original root cause analysis since continuing struggles may indicate a superficial understanding of the problem and its underlying causes or a tectonic shift in workplace conditions that mandate a return to the drawing board.

Note Lessons Learned

As you execute your latest modifications and monitor data for continuous improvement, record the lessons learned for future use. By observing and recording the results of problem-solving efforts, combined teams can not only eliminate problems and improve key staffing deliverables but improve the continuous improvement process itself.