"Building Human Resources Strategic Planning, Process and Measurement Capability: Using Six Sigma as a Foundation"
Organizational Development Journal
Spring 2007, pp. 37-41
This article describes one application of Six Sigma to the Human Resources function. The plan was implemented in a specific organization that was implementing Six Sigma across all organizational functions, but the principles are considered adaptable to a variety of organizations.
The steps of the plan were:
- Dedicating a full-time HR employee to Six sigma for HR.
- Using Six Sigma tools to develop a strategic planning process for the organization's people assets. The plan was conducted in alignment with the business planning cycle, to be sure that it was integrated with the overall organization strategy.
- Developing an HR Dashboard that linked metrics to each of the strategies on the HR plan. Two HR metrics were also included in the overall business dashboard.
- Identifying specific HR strategies for Six Sigma improvement projects. This helped HR professionals better understand the Six Sigma mindset.
The author identifies a number of key learnings that she feels can be transferred to other organizations:
- Resist the temptation to try to solve all HR issues at once. Prioritize and focus HR strategies to ensure progress and success in initial efforts.
- Ensure that the business planning cycle is aligned with the HR strategic planning cycle.
- A well-planned communication approach is needed to convey HR strategy and dashboard results.
- Ensure that key HR metrics are included in the business dashboard.
- Focus on the critical few metrics because collecting and reporting on a large number of metrics can be cumbersome.
- Be sure to use solid change management practices throughout the process. These should include "communication plans, ongoing stakeholder management and engagement of HR and business leaders. Seeking input and feedback throughout the process was a key activity to build the needed engagement and commitment over time."
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