Survey Reveals Problems with Six Sigma Implementation

A recent survey by Optimize Research indicated that of the 156 business-technology executives recently surveyed fewer than 40% reported that their company employed any aspect of Six Sigma at all.  This may be because of the daunting effort that overhauling key portions of a company’s business model requires.  To help alleviate some of the time and energy requirements, over half of companies surveyed who have implemented the program sought partnership with an outside firm to complete the task.  That same survey found that despite hiring outside service providers to implement the program, however, its intensity has required the vast majority to become intimately involved in the process themselves.  Even with such efforts, often the adoption process does not go as smoothly as would be desired. InformationWeek Reports:

When asked about the challenges they’ve encountered, respondents say the issues aren’t related to money. Instead, resistance to change or lack of buy-in top the list of problems. Resistance was about the same at almost every level of the enterprise, including among employees, middle management, and senior executives.