How can you use Gemba walks to improve customer satisfaction?

Gemba walks will not improve your value nor improve the customer satisfaction levels. It is only a means to understand what's really happening in your workplace apart from the data that you will receive in your office. If Gemba walks are to be effective , you need standards to be in place , other wise what are you observing and how do you know if it is the right way of doing or not ? Also, you should have a culture of continuous improvement where employees will take every deviations from the standards as an opportunity to learn and solve it quickly as a team to get back the standards , and then analyse the root cause of it to prevent it from happening again. Only this will help the customers to get products cheaper and faster!

A CEO told me a story. He was showing a potential customer around. The customer stopped at the corridor where the teams had their Activity Boards - notice boards the teams use to show what they have done and what they are doing. The customer asked why the company displayed their quality information in the corridors. He explained the improvements were done by the employees, supported by managers. Problems were found and the teams were empowered to find solutions. He explained the managers regularly "walked" the production lines and chatted with the operators about issues they had and what they could do to help. He told me that just explaining what they did, he knew the new account was theirs. And it was a big one. Steve

Sure Gemba walks will improve customer satisfaction.Its a byproduct of CS. Only thing was we need to fix the Gemba Schedule, adhere & take actions religiously for the abnormalities identified on day to day basis.It should be added in the DWM ( Daily Work Management) schedule.

A melhor forma de melhorar a qualidade das operações e identificar desperdícios é através da ferramenta Gemba, ver, entender, ouvir, discutir e acompanhar o dia a dia, parar em frente e observar, nos dá um leque enorme de opções, seja ela num movimento excessivo no processo que não agregue valor, pelo contrario, fadiga ainda mais o colaborador, a definição bem precisa de fluxo de valor, etapa e operações com seus kits já separados, conferidos e inspecionados , nos fornece mais qualidade, menos erros e muito mais segurança e credibilidade para o cliente final!!

In my early days as an R&D Engineer I would offer to work two 12hr shifts at a weekend on the process lines. This often highlighted inefficiencies not normally recognised by a walk through. Skill sets were often the problem to higher efficiencies such as waiting for supervisor or maintenance for a simple program change, to replenish feed stocks or simple breakdowns that may take an hours wait. Because I had the authority to bypass maintenance the outputs changed to a rediculous level. With training the operators were given more ownership and also increased their bonuses for output improvement (from 6 stillages of product per shift to 36 !)

Gemba provides a real connection of the manager to the floor and the workers know the manager is committed, not just involved. It also provides an understanding, at the worker level, that their problems are understood by top management, and that they, the workers, are not totally insulated by middle management. The workers can easily see that they have a conduit of communication to the top managers.

Las fábricas son un organismo VIVO, donde vibran cientos de personas en varios turnos! Cada una con sueños, metas, emociones, niveles de entrenamiento y eso hace que el dia sea DINÁMICO. La caminata GEMBA PERMITE conocer y reconocer esas dinámicas y actualizar /mejorar los diseños de procesos de manera orgánica y natural, haciendo los flujos más sostenibles a lo largo del tiempo

Com a aplicação do Gemba durante o processo de fabricação é possível identificar de forma técnica as oportunidades necessário para atingir o resultado esperado pelos clientes e a alta gestão das indústrias.

"Out of sight out of mind", GEMBA walks help to keep an eye on the things happening on the shopfloor or any working area. Any abnormal thing is realized and solved within a time frame, Gemba walk is not limited to manager only, but to any management level, it is powerful when combining with other lean tool to improve the workplace performance continuously.

Observe customer interactions: Observe customer interactions across various touchpoints, such as sales interactions, customer service calls, and product usage experiences. Pay attention to customer behavior, feedback, and pain points. Identify customer needs and expectations: Identify the specific needs and expectations of customers throughout their journey with the organization. Understand their desired outcomes, preferences, and potential frustrations. Identify root causes of customer dissatisfaction: Analyze customer feedback and observations to identify the root causes of customer dissatisfaction. Understand the underlying issues and contributing factors that lead to negative experiences.

Desde mi experiencia en el sector Automotriz, la Caminata GEMBA se asocia a la herramienta Layered Audit (Auditorias escalonadas) las cuales, tienen varios niveles de especificación, listados de chequeo y frecuencia, donde la Gerencia juega el papel fundamental de realizar y promover la ejecución de las mismas! Sobre todo para actuar inmediatamente. Si algo no esta bien en ese momento se debe ajustar ahi mismo en el campo de Juego y gestionar el feedback al sistema: Esos 2 puntos son valiosos pues se logra inmediatez de resultado y se genera conocimiento al proceso de porque no se cumple x ó y condición estimada

Quem não sente um mínimo de desconforto ao perceber que esta sendo observado em suas atividades? Por mais que os colaboradores, em muitas das vezes se conheçam, é importante para quem esta sendo observado, saber os motivos e como ele pode contribuir. Gosto de pensar, que neste momento, existe uma troca de conhecimentos, onde pratica e teoria se unem, para obter as melhorias.

In my experience, displaying the report or similar on the floor of the department the Gemba was conducted and having subsequent progress meetings there v. in a conference room promotes trust. Many places also put a misplaced focus on the number of Gembas completed instead of the quality of the actions from issues noted, especially when captured findings require the same resources to act on them. Consideration to drive accountability to the team towards timely implementation of corrective actions should be the priority. When implementation resources are thin, wait to schedule the next Gemba until the actions from the first are in place or dwindled down to where team capacity is able to take on the next.

Assess process effectiveness: Assess the effectiveness of processes from the customer's perspective. Identify any gaps or inconsistencies that may hinder customer satisfaction or lead to negative experiences. Collect employee feedback: Gather feedback from employees who interact directly with customers. Their insights can provide valuable perspectives on customer needs, process challenges, and opportunities for improvement. Track progress and measure impact: Track the progress of implemented improvements and measure their impact on customer satisfaction metrics, such as customer retention rates, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and customer satisfaction surveys.

Identifying Pain Points and Root Causes: By observing customer interactions and processes, managers can identify areas where customers are encountering difficulties or frustrations. This allows them to pinpoint the root causes of these issues and develop targeted solutions. Breaking Silos and Improving Collaboration: Gemba walks can break down silos between departments and foster collaboration around customer satisfaction. By observing how different teams interact with customers, managers can identify opportunities for better coordination and alignment. Building Trust and Transparency: Gemba walks demonstrate managements commitment ,transparency and focus on customer satisfaction builds trust with employees and customers alike.