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How to Speed Up the Transfer of Best Practices
Best practices are typically adopted slowly. This is the case in every industry and field – whether technology, finance, healthcare, engineering, science, human resources, accounting, marketing, and even management, for example. Best practices refer to proven, successful procedures, processes, and methods. In spite of being acknowledged for their superior value, best practices are often painfully slow to transfer – not just across different companies, but also even within the same company.
Those companies that can speed up the transfer of best practices gain a distinct advantage in the areas of quality, service, overall efficiency, and effectiveness. Few would argue with the assertion that speedy transfer of best practices results in major competitive advantage. Yet many decry why the transfer of best practices takes so long or doesn’t happen at all. What can be done to speed up this transfer?
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A culture of ongoing improvement. Unless each person sees that their role is not only “to do the job” but also “to make improvements,” there is little incentive to look for or adopt best practices. A culture of ongoing improvement involves innovation, ferreting out waste, ongoing self-examination, fearless data transparency, a spirit of inquiry, and sharing learning and know-how about implementing change and measuring results. |
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The adaptation challenge. Best practice transfers fail for two seemingly contradictory reasons: partial adoption and complete adoption. This is a challenging dilemma. Partial adoption can lead to failure because crucial components may be left out (e.g. during preparation for the adoption or in adoption design) which made the best practice a success elsewhere. On the other hand, complete adoption can fail when crucial contextual factors (e.g. differences in the culture which require special attention, or differences in resources which call for creative modification to how the practice was implemented elsewhere) are overlooked. Either mistake can easily be made when attempting to adopt a best practice. Successful transfer requires a full and objective analysis of the best practice, as well as candor about your own particular situation. |
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Avoid snobbery. There are, again, two seeming contradictions here: best practices are often scorned if they were “not invented here” and likewise scorned if they were “invented here” (rather than coming from a “premier company”). The former finds naysayers complaining, “We’re different; that practice could not work at this company.” The latter faces those who say, “That best practice came out of that other division of our company, so it must not be as good as a best practice that comes from, say, GE or the Mayo Clinic.” The solution lies in an objective evidence-based approach—eliminating all snobbery or prejudice—as to what is truly a best practice. |
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Give exposure. Many companies have a successful best practice in one division or department that is simply not given the broad recognition that helps others become aware that it exists. Increase opportunities to hear what others are doing, e.g. positive results from a pilot project, experience with an implementation, or research results using a control group that show the added value evidenced by an experiment with a new practice. Use multiple sources for communicating the best practice including meetings, multimedia, the company intranet, and award events. |
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Don’t rely only upon “leaders.” Transfers often fail because the information about the best practice does not get exposure deep enough within the organization. Staff people below the executives, including front line personnel, are sometimes in a better position to see the value of a best practice and to implement it successfully. |
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Push & pull. “Push” refers to pushing known best practices on the organization from the top down. “Pull” refers to setting the expectation that departments will, on their own, continuously look for and draw in viable best practices. Push may include non-adopters being required to make a business case for why they are not adopting the best practice. Push also includes making results transparent across the organization so that different units see how well they are doing compared to others. Pull comes from creating a culture of ongoing improvement that supports and values involvement, empowerment, and listening to new ideas. Pull also comes from helping potential adoptees to understand how adopting the best practice is in their best interest. |
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Encourage risk-taking. People need to feel that they can try something new, fail at it, and yet be given credit if they made a commendable effort. |
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Evidenced-based. Evidence of best practice success must be made available and linked to a business case that demonstrates expected gains when adopting the practice, or losses or waste when not adopting it. Don’t ask others to simply rely on the reputation of a best practice; close examination of the evidence may show that its reputation exceeds its actual value. When justified by the evidence, help people see the best practice as either solving a problem they have or creating an opportunity. |
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Transferability. Ensure that the best practice is not unique to a certain set of circumstances, but that it is in fact transferable. Also ensure that the unit wishing to adopt the best practice has the right talent in place or develops the prerequisite competencies for making the adoption successful. |
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Address conflicting priorities. Some units may resist best practices because they have other priorities which make adopting a best practice a low priority. Examine the facts and issues behind the priority conflict. Determine whether there is a point at which putting off the best practice will make adopting it in the future even more difficult. Ensure that everyone understands the full value of the best practice as measured against the other priorities. |
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Provide toolkits and support. It is not enough to broadly explain a best practice. Develop toolkits—guides to help people to see how the best practice can enhance their situation, paired with tools and techniques for implementing the practice. Ask for support and guidance from those who have had direct success adopting the best practice. |
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Reward. Reward adopters of best practices. Include financial incentives as well as non-financial incentives such as public recognition. Give credit to the source of the best practice |
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