The Benefits of a Six Sigma Certificate to an Employee and Organization
Today, many large organizations in many parts of the world have adopted the Six Sigma strategy. This is a type of business management strategy that was developed by Motorola in 1986. Motorola began to experience a lot of positive changes in its bottom line after a short period of adopting this strategy. After seeing the huge benefits that Motorola reaped from using this strategy, many industry sectors adopted it. Most of the organizations that use this strategy today train their staff and offer them Six Sigma certificate after completion.
The Six Sigma strategy aims at improving the quality of the output of business processes; products or services. It does this by identifying the causes of errors and defects so that it can remove them. It also aims at minimizing the variability in business and manufacturing processes. The strategy uses various quality management methods that include some statistical methods.
For this strategy to work, the organization is expected to create a unique infrastructure of individuals within the company. These people later become experts in implementing the strategy. These special people are known as Green Belts, Black Belts, Sponsors or Master Black Belts depending on their qualifications. They are organized into what is known as a Six Sigma Hierarchy, and work in teams where everyone is aware of their own personal roles and responsibilities.
Every project in the organization carried out by these experts has a quantified financial target which could include profit increase and/or cost reduction. It also follows a sequence of steps that are well defined. This makes the products manufactured or services offered using this strategy almost 100% defect-free.
Many organizations train their employees before ensuring that they get certified by the relevant associations. The certification includes verifying the extent to which the person has mastered these methods at various skill levels such as Black Belt and Green Belt. The criteria for awarding Black Belt and Green Belt can vary from one organization to the other. For instance, to get a green belt, some organizations simply require the employee to participate in a Sigma Six project and a course.
Since there is no standard body that offers this type of certification, a number of quality associations offer certification at a fee. Some of them may require a black belt applicant to pass a written exam and also provide an affidavit stating that he has completed at least 2 projects. Some can also certify those who have completed one project plus 3 years of practical experience in their area of expertise.
There are also reputable associations that offer training and certification exams online. These exams may require the person to pass some written proficiency test and display hands-on competence. Many organizations use these online certification exams for their internal certification programs. This kind of certification shows that the person has attained the necessary requirements needed by the organization granting certification.
There are numerous benefits for an individual who earns a Six Sigma certificate. As the staff of the organization becomes more competent, customer loyalty is increased and this translates to an improved bottom line. This kind of certification also creates employee satisfaction which leads to employee loyalty. The demand for such employees by employers also increases and they are able to experience career growth and resume potential.
Comments are closed.