There has been a lot of talk about the nearly 6 million workers who have been laid off during this recession – and rightfully so.  Some of these layoffs likely reflect the need to reduce organizational capacity and bring resources into alignment with reduced demand (I hate the term, but “rightsizing”).  But I think all the cost-cutting, restructuring, and rightsizing has left organizations in a dangerous position: those workers who remain employed (“survivors,” if you will) are now overworked and overstressed, which is beginning to impact customer satisfaction.  Though the cost-cutting may seem prudent in the short-term, over time this situation could have devastating consequences…

There has been much research on the link between employee and customer satisfaction over the last 20 years:

• In their seminal article, “Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work” (Harvard Business Review, 1994, 1997), Heskett, et al, argued that there is a direct link between employee and customer satisfaction and a further link between customer satisfaction and revenue growth and profitability (see http://www.councilforquality.org/improve_documents.cfm; keyword “profit-chain”).
• Sears Roebuck & Co. in the early 90s showed that a 5% improvement in employee satisfaction led to a 1.3% increase in customer satisfaction, which produced a .5% increase in their revenues.  Ritz Carlton and Disney have shown similar links.
• In 2000, Wiley & Brooks found that – depending on market segment and industry – between 40-80% of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty could be accounted for by the relationship between employee attitudes and customer-related variables (“The High Performance Organizational Climate”).
• Gallup reports that highly satisfied groups of employees often exhibit above-average levels of customer loyalty (56%), productivity (50%), employee retention (50%), safety performance (50%), and profitability (33%).
• A Watson Wyatt Worldwide study found that the practice of “maintaining a collegial, flexible workplace is associated with the second-largest increase in shareholder value (9%),” suggesting that employee satisfaction is directly related to financial gain.

It’s clear: happier employees make happier customers (and happier customers make happier shareholders).

There are probably many reasons for this, but Dr. Caterina C. Bulgarella offers five reasons why employee and customer satisfaction might be linked:

1. Employees with customer contact develop awareness of and respond to customer goals and needs.

2. Satisfied employees are motivated employees – they tend to WANT to do more to serve customers.

3. Satisfied employees are empowered employees – in other words, they have the resources, training, and responsibilities to understand and serve customer needs and demands.

4. Satisfied employees have high energy and willingness to give good service – at a very minimum, they can deliver a more positive perception of the service/product provided.

5. Satisfied employees can provide customers with “interpersonal sensibility and social account” – in other words, they usually provide adequate explanations for undesirable outcomes.  Let’s face it: breakdowns do occur, but satisfied employees seem to go out of their way more to show empathy, understanding, respect, and concern for customers.  Service recovery – which undoubtedly has impact on customer satisfaction – is more often achieved with satisfied employees.  (See Bulgarella’s 2005 at http://www.councilforquality.org/improve_documents.cfm.)

So if more satisfied employees make more satisfied customers, and more satisfied customers buy more products/services, remain more loyal, are more willing to make positive referrals, and are in general more engaged and profitable for organizations…herein lies the problem:

Given the economic challenges over the last 18 months, aggregate employee satisfaction is beginning to take a hit.  Customer satisfaction (and further impact on the bottom line) may be next.

Last month, Hewitt and Associates (a worldwide expert in HR and employee engagement) surveyed 518 executives (representing about $4 trillion in combined sales) and found that recent cost reductions in their organizations were impacting employee engagement.  In this study (you can download it at http://www.councilforquality.org/improve_documents.cfm – keyword “engagement”), they found:

• 75% of organizations had made hiring freezes or reductions
• 72% had reduced employee travel
• 63% had conducted layoffs
• 58% had salary freezes/reductions
• 50% had restructured

These same organizations were contemplating further actions in 2009, such as reducing health benefits, reducing or eliminating 401k matches, and outsourcing parts of its business.

Want to guess the impact on employees?  Nearly half of the executives (47%) believed that employee trust has declined as a result of the way their company has managed the cost reductions.  And while 42% believe their companies are not fully effective at measuring the impact of cost reduction efforts on employee morale, fully 37% – more than a third of US businesses – believe that their organization’s handling of the economic downtown will make talented employees more likely to leave.

That’s the frightening part: companies making all these cuts today either run the risk that A) their best talent leaves, or B) their employees stay but are no longer satisfied and engaged.  Either outcome likely results in a deterioration of customer satisfaction and organizational performance.

But there is hope, as many companies understand the importance of employees during these though times.

A week or so ago, Suzanne Ziegler profiled General Mills in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  The article (“A Place Employees Come to Stay,” May 10) focused on many of the things that General Mills is doing to support its employees – things like providing a concierge service, a fitness center, a mini-grocery store, a full-service health clinic, a full-service automotive center, flex time, on-site infant care, $10,000 for adoption fees, just to name a few.  General Mills is also offering many benefits that don’t have a hefty price tag – things like flex time, diversity networks, and several employee clubs (for things such as knitting and biking).

It’s no wonder that General Mills is a perennial listing on Fortune Magazine’s “Best Places to Work” survey and Working Mother’s Magazine’s “100 Best Companies” list.  It’s also no wonder that General Mills boasts a voluntary turnover rate of only 3% in the Twin Cities.

“If you don’t have people leaving and you don’t have to pay for the search and training for new people, you have just saved yourself a ton of money,” says Liz Sobrino, a director with the Alliance for Workplace Excellence in Washington DC.

Apparently other Minnesota organizations know this.  Like Mayo Clinic (also on the Fortune list) for its exceptional employee medical benefits and on-site gyms.  Or Best Buy for its Results-Only-Work Environment (“ROWE”), which gives employees the freedom to work wherever whenever they’d like so long as their work gets done (see the Council’s October 2008 newsletter at http://www.councilforquality.org/about_newsletter.cfm for more on this process).  Or Great River Energy, which has a “Connect the Dots” program, which annually makes 11 employees informal leaders.  The 11 employees interview 10-12 other employees and then synthesizes the information as a way to systematically listen to the voice of all employees.

What should organizations do to continue to promote employee satisfaction (or better yet: engagement) during these tough times?  Taking a cue from those companies above:

• Communicate – early and often.  And make it two-way to get feedback from your folks.  Listen.  Show empathy, and be responsive as you can.
• Ask them what factors drive their satisfaction, and then measure how you’re doing against those factors.
• Don’t stop training and developing your leaders and key contributors.  Yes, budgets are tight, but invest in their skills, your organization’s capabilities, and your future.  You may have to get creative with development strategies, using concepts like mentoring, on-the-job training, job rotation, career paths, and so forth.
• Maintain (or build) a performance management process that aligns reward/recognition with performance.
• Don’t frivolously cut benefits.  I think all employees will understand the need to tighten some things, but as in the case of General Mills and Best Buy, not all employee benefits cost money.  And they go a long way in promoting satisfaction, connection, morale, and engagement.
• Show concern for employee well-being – focus on the work environment, on safety, on health, on security. 

Now, more than ever, organizations should focus on their employees.

Earlier this week, the American Society for Quality (ASQ) hosted its annual World Conference in Minneapolis.  The keynote speaker was Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks North America, who shared a quote that I think applies here.  He said that leaders – despite the common phrase – should NOT view their employees as assets, because assets imply that they are interchangeable parts that can be bought, sold, depreciated, and traded.  Rather, he suggested that companies view their employees for what they are: people.  They are precious resources that organizations use to create value for customers and other stakeholders.  They have skills, they have families, they have lives.  Treat them with respect and help them to remain committed and engaged with your organization during good times and bad.

After all, your customers will eventually let you know how well you treat your people.

Yours in Improvement,

Brian S. Lassiter

President, Minnesota Council for Quality

The Minnesota Council for Quality recently honored the eight recipients of the 2008 Quality Award, which recognizes local organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement and sustained superior results.  The Award is based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and is the culmination of a rigorous evaluation of an organization’s management system, including leadership, planning, customer related processes, measurement system, workforce, and core processes.

“This year’s recipients are outstanding role models,” said Brian Lassiter, president of the Minnesota Council for Quality. “Times are difficult for all organizations, and these organizations are committed to higher standards of performance that will lead to better outcomes for their organizations and contributions to Minnesota.”

All eight award recipients – including four health care organizations (complete list below) – were honored at a learning/recognition event April 30 in St. Paul.  Nearly 300 leaders and professionals from around the state attended.  Alan Willits, president of Cargill Corn Milling, and Javon Bea, CEO and president of Mercy Health System – two recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award – delivered remarks on reaching and sustaining performance excellence. 

“When the Academy of Holy Angels celebrated winning the Minnesota Quality Award, I told our students that, like their learning in the classroom, this award represents a learning process for faculty and staff,” says Dr. Jill Reilly, president of the Academy of Holy Angels, an Advancement Level recipient of the 2008 Minnesota Quality Award: “The Minnesota Quality Award is an endorsement of our ongoing efforts to learn to continually better serve our students to become confident and exceptionally well-prepared individuals. Like classroom learning, the Malcolm Baldrige process enriches our lives and enhances our professional excellence.”

The event also recognized the 2008 Minnesota Quality Award Board of Evaluators, a team of more than 120 volunteers supporting this program, giving a combined estimated 11,000 volunteer hours of service.

“Now more than ever, Minnesota leaders need to work together to focus on the economic and social challenges facing organizations,” said Lynn Willenbring, chair of the Minnesota Council for Quality board. “The Minnesota Council for Quality is focused on assisting organizations in advancing the improvement and performance excellence in our community. On behalf of the entire board, I congratulate the eight organizations being honored today for their commitment to our state.”

Says Dr. Peter Carryer, chair of the Mayo Health System: “The Baldrige framework has helped the Mayo Health System evaluate our performance from a systemic or holistic perspective.  “We believe that our clinical outcomes are among the best in the world.  But we’re finding that Baldrige and other quality tools are helping us improve other aspects of our system – our focus on patient requirements, our attention to workforce needs, our leadership system, our planning process, and so forth.  At Mayo, we strive for excellence in everything we do, and we believe that the Baldrige framework and MN Quality Award process helps us to reach higher levels of performance throughout our system.”

Established in 1991, the Minnesota Quality Awards are given to organizations that successfully complete a full assessment, using a narrative-based or survey-based approach. There are four award categories – commitment, advancement, achievement and excellence – to honor the appropriate stage of their improvement journey.  Since 1991, 105 Minnesota organizations have received an Award.

The complete listing of 2008 Minnesota Quality Award Winners includes:

• Academy of Holy Angles, Richfield (Advancement Level)
• Albert Lea Medical Center, Albert Lea (Achievement Level)
• Forthright, St. Louis Park (Commitment Level)
• Immanuel St. Joseph Medical Center, Mankato (Advancement Level)
• Mayo Cardiovascular Division, Rochester (Advancement Level)
• Mayo Health System, Rochester (Achievement Level)
• Memorial Blood Centers, St. Paul (Advancement Level)
• US Bank Client Services Group, St. Paul (Commitment Level)

The Minnesota Council for Quality, in cooperation with the Joseph M. Juran Quality Leadership Center at the Carlson School of Management and the U’s College of Continuing Education, is pleased to announce that the next Six Sigma Forum will be Wednesday, May 27.  The Forum will be hosted by the University of Minnesota, who will share how the University is advancing continuous improvement using a Transformational Leadership Program (which includes DMAIC and Lean).  The University will outline the tools it is using, but the session will focus on how they are changing culture, creating competencies, and accelerating change in the enterprise -- three concepts that can transfer to any organization. 

After the University shares its practices, we will invite the tables to work together to generate questions to ask of a University panel; the tables will also be asked to consider response to questions that the panel asks of the tables.  This "reverse panel" discussion will allow the University to share its thoughts on how to navigate through the challenges of deploying Lean Six Sigma, but will also allow participating organizations to offer their insights/solutions.

The Six Sigma Forum provides a means for leaders and practitioners from organizations using Lean and/or Six Sigma to share knowledge and best practices on using Lean Six Sigma.

Cost is $100 for members of the Council or $200 for non-members.

The Minnesota Council for Quality is pleased to offer three workshops in two locations that all feature the world class approaches of Toyota: 

South St. Paul

June 23: Toyota Way (Lean and Problem Solving) (full day)

June 24: Toyota Talent (morning)

Mankato

June 25: Toyota Way (Lean and Problem Solving) (full day)

June 26: Toyota Innovation (morning)

To register for any of the programs, email brian.lassiter@councilforquality.org.

Toyota Way (both locations)

In this workshop, David Meier will outline the process used by Toyota that guides their thinking and improvement activities. This process is greatly applicable to any organization, particularly in light of the current economic challenges. While the problem solving process appears simplistic, the true challenge is in guiding and facilitating work teams and helping them to maintain focus and to stay on track. Many problems involve cross-functional areas of the organization, and require an ability to guide interdisciplinary teams of people.

In the workshop, David will show how the first decision of identifying the problem clearly and concisely is the key to maintaining focus, and in achieving overall success. David will provide practical advice on how to avoid the most common mistakes, and how to achieve maximum results with minimal time and cost.

Participants will learn how to use the A3 process used by Toyota to facilitate communication and to logically organize the problem solving process.

Toyota Talent (South St. Paul  location)

In this seminar you will learn:

• How to define organizational needs and objectives
• Identify development needs
• How to create an organizational structure for developing people
• The four stages of organizational development
• To effectively educate non manufacturing employees and members of the staff
• Steps for implementing talent development in your organization

If your company is involved in a lean effort, or is considering implementing lean, this seminar is a must! Learn how to create a solid foundation for continuous improvement and avoid many of the mistakes commonly made.

Toyota Innovation (Mankato location)

Information forthcoming

Costs

Costs for Toyota Way (full day) is $900 for teams (of 6-8 employees from the same member organization); the workshop is designed to solve real problems at work, so teams are highly encouraged.  A limited number of individual seats are also available: $200 for Council members or $400 for non-members.

Costs for Toyota Talent and Toyota Innovation are $100 for Council members, $200 for non-members.

To register for any of the programs, email brian.lassiter@councilforquality.org.

About the Facilitator

The Minnesota Council for Quality is pleased to announce that it recently met all standards of the Charities Review Council’s “Accountability Wizard.” 

“As a non-profit, the Council for Quality needs to be accountable to our members and donors,” says Brian Lassiter, president of the Council.  “The Accountability Wizard will help us to ensure transparency with our stakeholders, while advancing our mission of excellence throughout the state.”

The Wizard is an on-line self-assessment that also includes a review of organizational documents, policies, and procedures regarding public disclosure, governance and ethics, financial activity, and fundraising practices.  About 400 Minnesota non-profits have met all standards.

“We believe this certification serves as a symbol to our members that we using their financial contributions to advance our mission in an ethical, transparent way,” continues Lassiter.  “Given one of our core values is integrity, it was only fitting that we subject ourselves to the rigor of this evaluation to ensure that our processes promote transparency and accountability.”

Just like any other organization, Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) is not insulated from external environment and that the speed of change outside will continue to challenge RPU and other public utilities. Those public utilities that can adapt to changing conditions will continue to serve their communities.

The Minnesota Council for Quality is pleased to welcome Sue Parker, director of Corporate Services with RPU, to our June 4 program "Implementing a Culture of Performance Improvement at Rochester Public Utilities." The session is supported by our sponsor Vision Consulting.

The journey of improvement for RPU started long before the current economic crisis. With impending deregulation, the risk of being sold to investor-run utilities was the real case for change for RPU. Therefore, RPU decided to embark on a course of action to decrease costs, increase operational efficiency, improve customer service, improve employee satisfaction and create sustainable advantage in the organization through a focus and discipline around performance improvement.

The discussion is from 8:00-9:00 a.m. on June 4 (networking and continental breakfast begin at 7:30 a.m.) at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC), 1501 Hennepin (15th and Hennepin), downtown Minneapolis, Room L3000 (Wheelock-Whitney Library). 

Admission to PIN is FREE for Council members; $10 for partner organizations; $20 for the public.

The Minneapolis VA Medical Center has been on a journey to excellence for several years.  It is now using Six Sigma, Lean, and other tools to improve process performance.  But it has been using the Baldrige framework as its overall management system for several years…and it has compelling results to show for it.

The Minnesota Council for Quality is pleased to welcome Steven Kleinglass, director (CEO) of the Minneapolis VA, to our June 10 PIN meeting.  Mr. Kleinglass will discuss how the Minneapolis VA has been using the Baldrige framework and what results it has achieved, leading it to receive the 2008 Robert W. Carey Performance Excellence Award – the Veteran Administration’s highest honor.  The Carey Award was established to recognize organizations with exemplary approaches to systems management that achieve excellent results for America’s veterans.  Steve will share how the VA has improved its service to veterans and their families through effective communication and management of people, technology, business processes, and financial resources.

The discussion is from 8:00-9:00 a.m. on June 10 (networking and continental breakfast begin at 7:30 a.m.) at Metro State University, 700 E 7th Street, downtown St. Paul. 

Admission to PIN is FREE for Council members; $10 for partner organizations; $20 for the public.

Corporations across the country, from Starbucks to Dell, are using social media -- free online sites where users connect with thousands of others -- to reach customers. But hospitals have always been conservative in marketing to patients. And Mayo, more than 100 years old, may be the most conservative of all.

The Rochester Area Quality Council, an affiliate of the Minnesota Council for Quality, is pleased to announce their June 2 program “Engaging Your Customers & Finding New Ones through Social Media." The session will be led by Lee Aase of Mayo Clinic.

A few years ago, Lee Aase was just another flack for the Mayo Clinic, issuing press releases on cue and calling news conferences for doctors to present carefully scripted messages.  These days, Aase is a walking, talking, blogging, Twittering, Facebooking, YouTubing force who's blasting Mayo into the social networking world faster than you can say "Mayo Brothers."  Yet out of Mayo has come Aase. Officially Mayo's manager for syndication and social media, he has emerged a rock star in that space where social media and health care marketing overlap.

A grandfather from Austin, Minn., Aase now travels the country to speak at conferences and runs his own virtual Social Media University, Global (SMUG), a website with courses such as Blogging101. Allina Hospitals and Clinics in the Twin Cities invited him in to show them how it's done. He was interviewed by Shel Israel, a Silicon Valley media guru, for the upcoming book "Twitterville."

"Mayo Clinic is definitely a leader in this," said Ed Bennett, director of Web strategy at the University of Maryland Medical System. "What they've decided is that social media is nothing more than word-of-mouth extended into the electronic world.“

The Minnesota Council for Quality is pleased to announce its next two Twin Ports Performance Excellence Network sessions:

June 16: topic and location TBD

July 14 (note second Tuesday): “Self Defeating Habits of Otherwise Brilliant People” – Managing conflict, led by Anna Maravelas, clinical psychologist and founder of Thera Rising.

Use code MCQ for deep discounts on these webinars – read on!

Rising expectations, new technologies and seismic changes in the economic, environmental and social world offer significant rewards to customer-centered innovators.  Unfortunately, successful innovation can be very hard to achieve because the enterprise and would-be innovators have the tendency to:

• Assume the literal voice of the customer (VOC) is really what they want (think Edsel, New Coke)
• Pursue technology as “the solution”, only to experience customer rejection
• Impose artificial constraints on what is possible
• Make something better when it shouldn’t be done at all (better mousetraps, slide rules)
• Base new product/service development on flawed, outdated or unchallenged assumptions
• Drive speed to market at the expense of completeness and ease of use
• Define competitive advantage by current competitors or past customer behavior

The Minnesota council for Quality is pleased to partner with Rob Lawton and IMT on another series of very interactive, highly practical webinars that give you a clear path, tools, and a framework to strengthen your innovation pursuits.  The three sessions include (all 11AM-1PM CT):

June 12: CALCULATE THE VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER WITH WORD FORMULAS: Uncover, translate & deliver what customers want

June 19: GOING FROM VOC TO WOW!

The Innovation Roadmap to Excite Customers

June 26: MEASURING SATISFACTION

With and Without Surveys

You will see how to apply innovation to the service and knowledge work the vast majority of us do. You will leave this fast paced and content rich session with many takeaways, including:

• The 7 Principles for successful innovations that meet the WOW! test
• Tools to anticipate (and test) what customers want
• The key concept that makes innovation for service as easy as for widgets
• The #1 attribute every successful innovation has
• What drives customers to say, “That sucks!”
• The Innovation Roadmap to customer love and competitor envy
• How to encourage divergent thinking of outcomes versus just convergent thinking about processes and product features

Robin Lawton, president of International Management Technologies, Inc. (IMT), is a best-selling author and internationally recognized expert in creating rapid strategic alignment between enterprise objectives and customer priorities. His easy-to-understand principles and tools are outlined in his first book (5-star rated on Amazon), Creating a Customer-Centered Culture: Leadership in Quality, Innovation and Speed. Some of his other books and articles are described at www.imtC3.com .

Rob is repeatedly ranked “Best Speaker” at international and national conferences sponsored by organizations such as the Federal Executive Board, American Society for Quality, Association for Manufacturing Excellence, Minnesota Hospital Association, Japan Management Association, Chamber of Commerce, International Standards Organization, Baldrige-based state award organizations from Arizona to Wisconsin and other leadership development societies.  His corporate clients include award-winning organizations such as AT&T, Honda, Mayo Clinic, Motorola, Siemens, General Mills, American Express, Ford, Eastman Kodak, Blue Cross Blue Shield, U.S. Department of Defense and many others. Clients from government include agencies representing Alaska, Alberta, California, Missouri, Kentucky, Texas, Minnesota, Florida and elsewhere.

For more information visit http://www.councilforquality.org/specialevent3.cfm or call 941-907-0666.  To register, visit www.imtc3.com/events/UpcomingEvents.cfm by June 12 for Early Bird Discounts as low as $49/person.

The Minnesota Chapter of Project Management Institute (PMI), an alliance partner of the Council, is pleased to announced its next breakfast session: “Holding Team Members Accountable.”  The session will be held June 9, and will be facilitated by John G. Shulman, president of Alignor. 

Tired of hidden agendas, dealing with difficult people, or politics derailing projects?  John Schulman will share a process-driven approach to negotiation and persuasion that you can use to keep projects on track and keep difficult people in check.  The presentation will share proven tools and methodologies for:

• Front end needs analysis on projects to get buy-in and neutralize hidden agendas
• Brainstorming options to solve problems and resolve differences
• Handling difficult people and situations without personal conflict

The Minnesota Section of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) is pleased to announce a special structured networking event Wednesday, May 27.  Registration is 5:15-5:30 and networking is 5:30-7:00 (light snacks will be provided).  The event will be at the Hennepin County Southdale Library Meeting Room.  There is no cost to attend this event but space is limited. Register early by calling the MN-ASQ office at 651-779-9820 or email mnasq@aol.com.

Non-members are welcome to attend this event, but please identify yourself as a “guest.”  Don’t forget to bring plenty of business cards and bring a gently-used quality or business book, CD or DVD to exchange in the Swap Meet.

The MN OD Network, an alliance partner of the MN Council for Quality, is please to announce is June 2 program: “Innovation Now: Panel of Experts and Innovators.”  The panelists and details will be announced soon.

The Carlson School of Management is pleased to announce a Lean Educator Conference May 28-30.  Designed for academic and industry leaders who teach (or want to teach) and deploy lean principles in the classroom, plant, office, or clinic.  This conference brings together the leading lean thinkers and educators for sharing best practices with a highly interactive format with keynote speakers, breakouts, and networking.

Enterprise Minnesota, formerly Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI) and a partner of the MN Council for Quality, is pleased to announce several events, all focused on using Lean or other methods to improve organizational performance:

Jun 24: New Safety Solutions to Boost Company Performance, Minneapolis

Jul 22: The Next Generation of Lean, St. Cloud

Aug 19: Finding New Revenue Streams in Sales, Marketing, and Prod Development, Twin Cities

Sept 23: The Business Case for Going Green, Elk River

Oct 21: Practical Innovation for Growth and Profitability

The Universty of Minnesota’s College of Continuing Education, an alliance partner of the Council, is pleased to announce their summer/fall improvement and business courses.  Council members receive a 10% discount on all CCE courses.

05/22, Project Management for IT Professionals, $395

05/29, Project Management and Chaos Theory, $395

06/02, Writing Business Reports, $395

06/02, Creative Training Techniques, $1,485

06/03, Legal Issues for Managers and Supervisors, $395

06/03, Small Group Professional Communication, $750

06/04, Applied Project Management, $395

06/04, Enterprise Process Management, $995

06/09, Successfully Dealing with Conflict at Work, $395

06/09, Organizational Training and Development, $395

06/10, Coaching for Excellence, $395

06/11, Human Resource Management, $395

06/12, Project Management Foundations, $395

06/16, Business Acumen for Human Resource Professionals, $395

06/19, Project Initiation, $395

06/19, Writing for the Web, $395

06/23, Strategic Human Resource Planning, $395

06/24, Building Teamwork and Commitment, $395

06/25, Project Planning, $750

06/25, Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Skills, $395

07/14, Human Resource Management, $395

07/14, Introduction to HR Practices, $395

07/14, Principles of Supervision, $995

07/14, Accelerated Essential Supervision Certificate Program, $3,500

07/14, Accelerated Daytime Human Resource Generalist Certificate Program, $3,500

07/16, Negotiating for Agreement, $395

07/16, Accelerated Daytime Interpersonal Effectiveness Certificate Program, $1,850

07/23, Introduction to E-Learning and Webinars, $495

07/23, Succession Planning: Building the Leadership Pipeline, $395

07/28, The Human Resource Audit, $395

07/28, Working Assertively, $395

07/29, Managing Virtual and Remote Teams, $395

07/29, Improving Work Processes, $395

07/29, Accelerated Daytime Essential Management Certificate Program, $3,500

08/06, High Impact Presentations, $395

08/11, Staffing: Recruitment and Selection, $395

08/11, Performance Consulting, $495

08/12, Delegating to Enhance Job Performance, $395

08/13, Workforce Development Planning, $395

08/18, Foundations in Business Writing, $395

08/18, Accelerated Daytime Business Writing Certificate Program, $1,850

08/19, Creativity and Innovation, $395

08/19, Investigations and Documentation, $395

09/11, Project Management Foundations, $395

09/11, Accelerated Daytime Essential Project Management Certificate Program, $3,500

09/15, Introduction to Business Analysis, $395

09/15, Designing Employee Orientation Programs, $395

09/15, Process Mapping and Analysis, $995

09/15, Accelerated Daytime Business Analysis Certificate Program, $1,850

09/16, Foundations in Business Writing, $395

09/16, Introduction to HR Practices, $395

09/16, Writing Correspondence for Internal and External Audiences, $395

09/16, Certified Internal Auditors (CIA) Test Preparation – Part 1, $750

09/16, Building Teamwork and Commitment, $395

09/16, Creative Training Techniques, $1485

09/17, Successfully Dealing with Conflict at Work, $395

09/18, Project Initiation, $395

09/22, Successful Manager’s Leadership Program, $2995

09/22, Legal Issues in Human Resources and Management, $395

09/29, Managing Business Requirements, $750

09/24, Mastering New Marketing Practices, $395

09/24, Talent Acquisition: Recruiter as Talent Advisor, $395

09/25, Project Leadership, $395

09/29, How to Deal with Difficult People, $395

09/29, Employee Benefits Practices and Trends, $395

09/30, American Accent Improvement or Modification, $750

09/30, Interviewing and Selection Processes for Supervisors, $395

09/30, Management Fundamentals, $750

10/01, Fundamentals of Leading Organization Development, $750

10/02, Project Management for IT Professionals, $395

10/06, Documenting Employee Performance, $395

10/07, Integrated Management, $395

10/07, Certified Internal Auditors (CIA) Test Preparation – Part 2, $750

10/09, Project Planning, $750

10/13, Principles of Employee Compensation, $395

10/13, Problem Solving and Decision Making, $395

10/13, Strategic Planning and Measurement, $750

10/13, Business Process Management and the Balanced Scorecard, $995

10/13, Data and Process Modeling, $750

10/20, Advanced Editing and Proofreading Strategies, $395

10/21, Legal Issues for Managers and Supervisors, $395

10/21, Handling People with Tact and Diplomacy, $395

10/21, Successfully Dealing with Conflict at Work, $395

10/23, Project Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, $395

10/27, Performance Management Process, $395

10/28, Certified Internal Auditors (CIA) Test Preparation- Part 3, $995

10/29, Leading Through Change, $395

10/29, Personal Influence and Leadership, $395

10/30, Project Risk Management, $395

11/03, Successful Manager’s Leadership Program, $2995

11/05, Handling People with Tact and Diplomacy, $395

11/05, Advanced Creative Training Techniques, $495

11/05, Financial Intelligence, $395

11/06, Project Execution, $395

11/10, Technical Writing, $395

11/10, Organizational Training and Development, $395

11/10, Measuring and Improving Work Processes, $995

11/11, Managing Performance and Developing Talent, $395

11/11, Professional Writing, $750

11/13, Applied Project Management, $395

11/17, Writing Correspondence for Internal and External Audiences, $395

11/18, Developing Leadership Skills, $750

11/19, Increasing Power and Influence through Listening, $395

11/20, Project Control and Closure, $395

12/01, Writing for the Web, $395

12/01, Technology for HR Management, $395

12/02, Coaching for Excellence, $395

12/03, Exercising Organizational Influence, $395

12/08, Process Innovation, $995

12/09, Project Management Foundations, $395

12/09, Certified Internal Auditors (CIA) Test Preparation – Part 4, $395

12/10, In-depth Coaching: Leading Individual Change Intervention, $750

12/15, Writing Business Reports, $395

12/15, Capstone in Supervision, $750

12/15, Capstone in Management, $750

12/15, Verbal and Nonverbal Communication, $395

12/15, Business Acumen for HR Professionals, $395

South Central College is pleased to announce their spring quality and performance improvement curriculum.  Council members are entitled to a 10% discount.

The following courses will be held at the Faribault campus (prices before member discount):

4/29: Certified Quality Auditor (CQA) Review, $250

4/30: Certified Quality Technician (CQT) Review, $300

5/5: Certified Quality Improvement Associate (CQIA) Review, $250

5/5: Understanding & Implementing ISO 9001:2000, $235

5/6: Internal Auditor Skills, $235

5/27: 8-Discipline Problem Solving Tools & Methods, $235

The following courses will be held at Mankato campus (prices before member discount):

5/13: Supplier Quality Management & Improvement, $235

Normandale Community College, an alliance partner of the Council, is pleased to announce upcoming spring programs.  Council members receive a 15% discount.  The programs are as follows:

5/4-5/5                  ScrumMaster Certification, $1260 (15% off for MCQ)

5/6-6/4                  Six Sigma for Healthcare (8 sessions), $3355 (15% off for MCQ)

Six Sigma is a customer-driven approach that provides an overall framework for quality improvement.  The methodology follows a disciplined problem solving approach.  The goal of a six sigma program is to improve customer satisfaction through reduction and elimination of nonconformities.  It is achieved, not through increased inspection activities which only add cost, but through breakthrough process improvement and the reduction in variation.  The results are increased customer satisfaction, product and service reliability, and improved company financial performance.

All Six Sigma sessions facilitated by Dale K. Mize, the lead Six Sigma Instructor and Program Coordinator for Six Sigma at Normandale.  He is also president of Advanced Quality Engineering, which co-markets Six Sigma classes with Normandale.  He has more than 19 years of consulting and training experience and 21 years of technical and managerial experience comprised of customer service, product engineering, and manufacturing as a quality engineer, quality manager, and corporate director of quality assurance, and 17 years teaching experience as an adjunct faculty member for a private university. Dale is the He is co-author of the SPC training workbook, “An Ounce of Prevention.”

The MN Healthcare Quality Professionals, an alliance partner of the MN Council for Quality, is pleased to host a (free) monthly webinar seminar series.  The series, hosted by MHQP and HealthForce Minnesota, is a monthly "quality in the trenches" brownbag education series.  The objective of these sessions is to provide a healthcare quality "survey course" using selected materials from the National Association of Healthcare Quality (NAHQ)'s Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) preparation materials. 

Upcoming webinars include (all over the lunch hour):

4/23        Lean & Six-Sigma

5/28        It’s Overwhelming !   Where/How do you start? (Panel Discussion)

The intended audience includes healthcare quality professionals who want a re-grounding in the breadth of their profession, and clinicians who want to learn more to become champions of change.  MHQP especially wants to reach out to healthcare professionals in rural/outstate Minnesota who don't get many quality education opportunities.

For more information (and previous slides) are posted at:   http://www.healthforceminnesota.org/pages/Programs/courses.html.

.