In this blog, we explore daily tiered meetings - focusing on the tier one meeting. It's the foundation of transforming (and accelerating) your organisation's improvement efforts.
As continuous improvement practitioners, we understand the value of engaging with our frontline workforce. There's no better tool for this engagement than a daily tiered meeting.
These meetings, which involve direct interactions with frontline employees, hold immense potential for driving continuous improvement. So et's delve into why tier 1 meetings are an imperative and how they can be effectively utilised.
Tier 1 Meetings Are A Crucial Point of Engagement
Tier one meetings are not just a "nice to have" activity; they are crucial for establishing strong engagement across all functions within the organisation. By connecting with frontline employees, who are the last stop before your customers, you gain valuable insights and a deep understanding of operational challenges.
Their firsthand experiences and implicit knowledge can fuel meaningful improvement initiatives. Below is an example of how model behaviours and new ways of working can be captured at the Gemba, then shared in the daily tiered meeting with TeamAssurance:
A good place to start with Tier 1 meetings (and something you should be doing regularly) is seeking feedback from your team on any frustrations / identified hazards within their day-to-day. It starts a conversation and unlocks opportunities to resolve or escalate issues. You'll find that once your teams feel comfortable sharing, small drips of feedback will become a torrent - turning into consistent, meaningful, and rapid cycles of improvement.
Harnessing Process Know-How in The Daily Tiered Meeting
The frontline workforce holds the majority of your organisation's process know-how. Their experience and expertise are invaluable assets that should be treated like gold. Through Tier One meetings, you can tap into this wealth of knowledge and gain insights into what truly runs the show.
By actively involving frontline employees in strategy development, tactics, and execution, you ensure that any strategic changes are implemented successfully. Furthermore, with a connected system your people maintain a connection to the bigger picture, their contribution and progress towards goals daily.
The image above showcases the various ways information can be recorded, visualised, accessed by creating a tiered meeting board. It stimulates meaningful conversation and information isn't siloed away. The data can be used to make informed decisions - empowering autonomous contribution to continuous improvement.
You can find more tier meeting board examples throughout our full library of blogs and webinars.
Empowering Employees for Continuous Improvement
Tier 1 meetings provide an opportunity to unlock the untapped potential of your frontline workforce. By fostering a people-first approach, you empower employees to voice their frustrations and contribute to problem-solving. This not only improves employee satisfaction but also drives a culture of continuous improvement.
By addressing the common enemy together and providing a methodology for streamlined communication and action, you create self-sufficiency and eliminate the fear of administration. The case study below highlights how tiered meetings (supported by a connected daily management system) empower whole organisations to contribute to CI.
Daily tiered meetings are not just another checkbox in the continuous improvement journey; they are a catalyst for transformative change. By prioritising engagement, leveraging process know-how, and empowering employees, organisations can unlock the full potential of their frontline workforce.
Embrace tier 1 meetings as a powerful tool in your continuous improvement arsenal and witness the positive impact they bring to your organisation's performance.
A C.I. framework not locally optimised 'islands'
Tier one meetings must be supported by tools like standardised problem solving techniques, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and a digital Daily Management system. This elevates (and connects) the entire PDCA loop - key to achieving continuous improvement success. However, organisations should ensure that all standards and processes are developed together, not in isolation. Without considering all adjacent processes we can end up with misalignment of people, information silos, and sub-optimal procedures.
The image below demonstrates how we designed the interconnected TeamAssurance platform to avoid locally optimised, disconnected ‘Point Solutions’ (digital or analog) that do not help, and may even hinder the progress toward your goals.
If you’re a business in need (or a consultant with clients in need) and you'd like to explore the opportunities that digital-aids to Lean tools provide contact us for a demonstration of the TeamAssurance platform today.
