GEMBAfication

When compliance failures lead to more checks and reminders, it’s easy to focus on getting people to follow the process rather than asking whether the process is helping them succeed.

That was the challenge facing Anca Palade and the team at St Andrew’s Healthcare when recurring issues with medical emergency bags weren’t being resolved by the existing interventions. But stepping back to understand how the process worked in practice changed how the team understood the problem and where they looked for the answer.

“You cannot solve what you cannot describe.”

In this episode: 

00:00 Introduction
02:20 When previous fixes still leave emergency bags failing compliance checks
03:11 Why more reminders weren’t getting to the heart of the issue
04:06 Using process mapping to resist the rush to solutions
05:22 Making it easier for busy stakeholders to contribute
06:09 Rethinking ownership to simplify the process
08:11 Looking back: earlier engagement and stronger sponsorship
09:02 The reality of continuing improvement work without a dedicated role
12:29 Making 1% improvements part of everyday work
15:04 Why different problems need different approaches
16:45 Three key lessons for your next improvement project
17:57 Outro

Look Beyond the Symptoms
When familiar interventions aren’t shifting performance, a fresh perspective can help uncover what’s really happening. Get to the root of process challenges and focus improvement effort where it can make a difference, with the help of our performance improvement consultancy services.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/ 

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Bringing teams, products, and systems together at Informa TechTarget created opportunities to simplify ways of working. It also created pressure to move quickly.

Karen Winter, Chief Transformation Officer, reflects on the realities of leading transformation through complexity, the role of process in shaping better decisions, and the risks of starting with the solution before fully understanding the problem.

"We should have spent more time understanding the process problems first."

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction
01:03 Preparing Informa TechTarget for a major merger
03:39 Bringing sales teams, systems and products together
06:11 Building trust through clear governance and decision-making
09:47 Why process mapping became a catalyst for change
11:42 Measuring performance through the customer's eyes
13:49 Taking a practical approach to AI adoption
15:52 Solving business problems before choosing the technology
17:14 Lessons from moving too quickly on transformation
19:15 Managing expectations when change takes longer than planned
21:24 The impact of culture on successful change
23:05 Why continuous learning matters for leaders
25:57 Outro

Understanding Before Change
The success of a transformation depends on understanding the work before redesigning it. Create clarity around priorities and ensure solutions are grounded in real operational challenges, with the help of our performance improvement consultancy services.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

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The results of improvement work at Comrod were significant, with sites doubling turnover while reducing team stress and increasing operational productivity. 

Yet Lean Manager, Frode Steinsland, reveals that 90% of the effort went into helping people see what was really happening and recognise that change was needed, because when teams are already working hard, simply being told things need to change isn't always enough.

“People were working hard. A lot of effort was not creating value.”

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction and why performance problems are often visibility problems
02:46 When the numbers don't reflect what's happening in reality
05:44 Why seeing the data still wasn't enough
06:40 Getting leaders out of the office and onto the Gemba
08:30 Uncovering capacity that was always there
10:00 Why 90% of the effort went into helping people want to change
13:25 A different site, a different challenge, and the same underlying problem
15:37 Making time for leadership, problem solving, and support
17:05 Why people have to see the problem for themselves
18:20 Working harder without creating more value
20:29 Applying the same thinking to AI, risk, and governance
24:15 Creating the conditions that allow change to stick
25:29 Outro

When Hard Work Isn't the Problem
Most organisations don't suffer from a lack of effort. The challenge is understanding where effort is being lost. Our performance improvement consultancy helps organisations create the visibility, leadership focus and operating rhythms needed to turn effort into value.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

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What happens when the ability to build solutions starts to outpace understanding of the problem?

That tension is very real at BCN. Fraser Dear, experienced improvement practitioner and Head of AI and Data Innovation, reflects on the highs and lows of introducing AI into environments already built on structured, trusted ways of working, and the growing gap between doing more and doing what adds value.
 

“Stop thinking ‘I have this tool - how can I ram the tool into the problem?’”
 

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction and the shift from structured improvement work
01:15 Plenty of data, but still no clear answers
03:29 Trying to introduce something new into systems people already trust
05:47 Three very different reactions, and no obvious way forward
06:43 Moving the conversation away from decisions, and back to understanding
09:09 When people don’t trust the tool because they don’t understand it
10:52 The pressure to move faster, even when things aren’t fully clear
14:14 Building something impressive but not useful
16:08 Going back to the work before building anything else
18:53 When language creates confusion instead of clarity
20:55 Moving too fast and leaving stakeholders behind
22:56 Outro

Make new capability work in practice

Having the capability to build quickly is only part of the challenge. Our performance improvement consultancy helps organisations build the clarity and confidence to make sure new approaches deliver value where it’s needed.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/ 

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

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When everyone is working towards the same goal, it’s easy to assume everyone can see the same picture.

Carla Smith, Innovation, Strategy and Planning Programme Manager at the Midlands Cancer Alliances Life Science Hub, reflects on what it took to bring more structure and visibility to a complex mix of stakeholders, priorities and communication styles across NHS and industry partners, and what she learned about data, ownership, and different ways of working along the way.

“There are completely different levels of digital readiness, and that changes how people work, how they communicate, and what they need.”

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction and the challenge of visibility across complex teams
02:01 Why shared goals don’t guarantee a shared view of progress
06:13 Bridging different ways of working across stakeholders
07:16 Building alignment at pace through sprints
09:20 The uncomfortable discovery: the solution already existed
11:31 Making work visible through data and challenging perception
13:53 When too much openness slows progress and the need for clear scope
20:11 Advice for first-time improvers: start with scope, then get the data
21:13 Outro

Help Your Teams See the Full Picture

When progress lives in different places, decisions slow down. Our performance improvement consultancy helps organisations bring clarity to complex work, align teams, and create the visibility needed to keep improvement moving.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/ 

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

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As improvement activity grew at Currys, so did the number of ideas.

Phil Knowles shares what happened when that pipeline became harder to manage, and how focusing on specific operational challenges, with clearer governance and faster feedback, helped create the conditions for improvement to work across the business.

“If colleagues only see the polished success stories, then they assume that failure is unacceptable.”

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction and the challenge of scaling improvement
01:57 Why improvement was inconsistent and reactive
05:23 Building a bottom-up framework across 2,500 colleagues
08:12 The metrics that proved it was working
11:22 The gaps in the sustain model and early rollout
14:41 When the ideas pipeline becomes the problem
19:14 Moving from generic ideas to targeted challenges
22:38 Keeping change relevant across different teams
25:11 Outro

Making improvement work across the business

Building momentum is a significant step. Our performance improvement consultancy supports organisations to put the structure, clarity, and capability in place to sustain improvement at scale.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/

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An honest conversation with Fraser Cowe about readiness for change, bottom-up improvement, and why success in one part of the business doesn’t guarantee success everywhere else.

“We assumed the capability was there. It wasn’t. And that was on us.”
 

In this episode:
 
 00:00 Introducing Continuous Improvement at scale in Tesco’s contact centres
 03:21 From hearts and minds to boot camps: building frontline capability
 08:47 Why facilitation skills matter as much as CI tools
 10:27 Making performance visible through PQCD dashboards
 11:54 What success actually looked like
 14:49 Getting it wrong first time and why
 18:55 Leadership alignment as the missing piece
 20:30 Readiness for change and avoiding fatigue
 24:07 Outro

Make Continuous Improvement stick in your organisation

Rolling out CI tools is one thing. Embedding the capability, building trust, and sustaining change at scale is another. Our performance improvement consultancy supports organisations to assess readiness for change, build real problem‑solving capability, and create improvement systems that last.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/ 

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

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Alannah Martin shares what really happened when her team replaced a traditional Interactive Voice Response telephone system with natural language technology in a live contact centre.

“We knew that understanding our customers’ needs and why they were contacting us was fundamental to being able to improve anything.”

 In this episode:
 
 00:00 Introduction and the problem with call transfers  
 02:08 Why traditional phone menus fail customers  
 05:23 Testing change safely with a phased rollout  
 08:55 Unlocking self‑service without forcing it  
 13:58 What success actually looked like  
 16:19 What didn’t go to plan  
 20:22 Lessons on stakeholder trust and leading change  
 27:01 Outro

How to unlock your full potential with expert performance improvement consultancy

If you’re serious about improving your organisation’s performance, then you need to get serious about process improvement. Our consultancy services can help you achieve your goals.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/ 

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

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Most organisations set out with clear goals and good intentions.
But change is rarely simple. It’s often messy, non‑linear, and full of surprises.

GEMBAfication is PMI’s new podcast for improvement professionals looking for an honest view of what improvement really looks like in practice. Because in our world, every experience is valuable.

Hosted by Susannah Clarke, Managing Partner at PMI, the series goes behind the scenes with leaders and practitioners who’ve driven change in their organisations. Sometimes with great success, sometimes with unexpected setbacks. You’ll hear about the methods that helped them mobilise, measure, and deliver results, and what they learned when things didn’t go to plan. These are candid conversations about what it really takes to improve, adapt, and lead when change meets the realities of day-to-day work.

Launching on 18th March, GEMBAfication explores change as it really happens.
Subscribe now so you never miss an episode.

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

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