When compliance failures lead to more checks and reminders, it’s easy to focus on getting people to follow the process rather than asking whether the process is helping them succeed.

That was the challenge facing Anca Palade and the team at St Andrew’s Healthcare when recurring issues with medical emergency bags weren’t being resolved by the existing interventions. But stepping back to understand how the process worked in practice changed how the team understood the problem and where they looked for the answer.

“You cannot solve what you cannot describe.”

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction
02:20 When previous fixes still leave emergency bags failing compliance checks
03:11 Why more reminders weren’t getting to the heart of the issue
04:06 Using process mapping to resist the rush to solutions
05:22 Making it easier for busy stakeholders to contribute
06:09 Rethinking ownership to simplify the process
08:11 Looking back: earlier engagement and stronger sponsorship
09:02 The reality of continuing improvement work without a dedicated role
12:29 Making 1% improvements part of everyday work
15:04 Why different problems need different approaches
16:45 Three key lessons for your next improvement project
17:57 Outro

Look Beyond the Symptoms
When familiar interventions aren’t shifting performance, a fresh perspective can help uncover what’s really happening. Get to the root of process challenges and focus improvement effort where it can make a difference, with the help of our performance improvement consultancy services.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

• Dive into our Knowledge Hub for more tools, videos, and infographics
• Join us for a PMI LIVE Webinar
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Bringing teams, products, and systems together at Informa TechTarget created opportunities to simplify ways of working. It also created pressure to move quickly.

Karen Winter, Chief Transformation Officer, reflects on the realities of leading transformation through complexity, the role of process in shaping better decisions, and the risks of starting with the solution before fully understanding the problem.

"We should have spent more time understanding the process problems first."

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction
01:03 Preparing Informa TechTarget for a major merger
03:39 Bringing sales teams, systems and products together
06:11 Building trust through clear governance and decision-making
09:47 Why process mapping became a catalyst for change
11:42 Measuring performance through the customer's eyes
13:49 Taking a practical approach to AI adoption
15:52 Solving business problems before choosing the technology
17:14 Lessons from moving too quickly on transformation
19:15 Managing expectations when change takes longer than planned
21:24 The impact of culture on successful change
23:05 Why continuous learning matters for leaders
25:57 Outro

Understanding Before Change
The success of a transformation depends on understanding the work before redesigning it. Create clarity around priorities and ensure solutions are grounded in real operational challenges, with the help of our performance improvement consultancy services.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

• Dive into our Knowledge Hub for more tools, videos, and infographics
• Join us for a PMI LIVE Webinar
• Explore Lean Six Sigma Certifications
• Follow us on LinkedIn

The results of improvement work at Comrod were significant, with sites doubling turnover while reducing team stress and increasing operational productivity.

Yet Lean Manager, Frode Steinsland, reveals that 90% of the effort went into helping people see what was really happening and recognise that change was needed, because when teams are already working hard, simply being told things need to change isn't always enough.

“People were working hard. A lot of effort was not creating value.”

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction and why performance problems are often visibility problems
02:46 When the numbers don't reflect what's happening in reality
05:44 Why seeing the data still wasn't enough
06:40 Getting leaders out of the office and onto the Gemba
08:30 Uncovering capacity that was always there
10:00 Why 90% of the effort went into helping people want to change
13:25 A different site, a different challenge, and the same underlying problem
15:37 Making time for leadership, problem solving, and support
17:05 Why people have to see the problem for themselves
18:20 Working harder without creating more value
20:29 Applying the same thinking to AI, risk, and governance
24:15 Creating the conditions that allow change to stick
25:29 Outro

When Hard Work Isn't the Problem
Most organisations don't suffer from a lack of effort. The challenge is understanding where effort is being lost. Our performance improvement consultancy helps organisations create the visibility, leadership focus and operating rhythms needed to turn effort into value.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

• Dive into our Knowledge Hub for more tools, videos, and infographics
• Join us for a PMI LIVE Webinar
• Explore Lean Six Sigma Certifications
• Follow us on LinkedIn