We’ve written quite a bit about the philosophy of Kaizen and how organizations that embrace it are able to dramatically improve both short and long term results. (If you are new to the idea of Kaizen, we recommend this post or this one.) Today we want to focus on how technology can support philosophy. After all, it is at the intersection of intention and action where the magic happens.

Kaizen tracking software helps organizations:

Capture Opportunities for Positive Change

The Japanese word Kaizen is roughly translated to, “good change.” The practice of Kaizen is built on the beliefs that small changes can lead to great results and that everyone in an organization is responsible for improvement. Kaizen tracking software supports both by giving employees an efficient way to report every opportunity for improvement that they find. The best solutions are cloud-based and available anywhere so that employees can record their ideas wherever and whenever they happen.

Ensure Forward Momentum

Once an opportunity has been identified, Kaizen tracking software automatically alerts the appropriate supervisor so that the idea can be assessed and assigned for action. Throughout the improvement process, alerts and notifications keep everyone involved up to speed. This makes it easy for managers to know when a project stalls or when obstacles need to be addressed.

Collaborate Effectively

One of the common barriers to effective collaboration is the lack of visibility into the activities and feedback of other team members. Kaizen tracking software addresses this by providing everyone a real-time view into the work of others.

Measure Results

Organizations don’t adopt Kaizen because it sounds nice. They do it to constantly achieve measurable business results. Without Kaizen tracking in place, it is impossible to tell if your improvement work is really paying off. The ability to point to specific improvement projects that impact the business is key to executive and employee engagement.

Improve on Improvement

By tracking all Kaizen activities, companies create a repository of tribal knowledge. They are able to assess past projects and determine what worked best for each type of challenge. In doing so, they learn from successes and mistakes and get better at making things better.

When it comes to Kaizen, technology and philosophy are a match made in heaven.

Learn more about continuous improvement software in this free eBook: