Departmental optimisation is a key concern for many companies and organisations that want to improve their internal performance. As part of the KIROI model, step 6 - Ideas that work - plays a special role. It is precisely here that impulses are generated that support sustainable improvement. Targeted brainstorming makes it possible to systematically leverage potential and organise departments in such a way that they can work more efficiently and agilely. This article takes a practical look at how this step is used methodically and which examples from different industries can be used to effectively optimise departments.
Idea generation at the heart of departmental optimisation
The idea development phase follows a careful analysis and definition of objectives. Only when the current situation is clearly understood can suitable and practicable ideas for departmental optimisation emerge. In practice, creative methods such as brainstorming, mind mapping or design thinking have proven to be effective in generating a wide range of proposed solutions. In this way, new approaches become visible from several perspectives that illuminate traditional problems from a different angle.
This can be illustrated by the following scenarios:
- In a manufacturing company, the team brainstormed the idea of making workstations more flexible. This improved capacity utilisation and reduced changeover times for different products.
- An administrative department used design thinking to better tailor customer service to needs. This resulted in a pool of ideas that halved processing times thanks to digital forms and automated feedback.
- Process bottlenecks were identified at a service provider with the help of mind maps. This led to the idea of defining responsibilities more clearly and thus avoiding duplication of work.
These examples show how various tools can be used to generate ideas for successful departmental optimisation in order to initiate concrete improvements.
Methodical support for ideas that work
Methods such as Lean Six Sigma or Kaizen play an important role in departmental optimisation because they provide systematic principles for error elimination and continuous improvement. Lean management, for example, opens up ways to reduce waste in processes that can be found in many departments.
In addition, tools such as the Ishikawa diagram or the morphological box offer support in the structured identification of causes and solution approaches. These tools enable teams to validate their ideas and check their feasibility. The result is proposals that not only sound good, but also work in everyday life.
Further practical examples from different areas illustrate this:
- In a logistics department, the use of value stream analyses revealed a bottleneck in the tracking of goods. The team developed an idea to implement real-time data collection, which significantly increased transparency.
- A team in the finance department used the 5S method to improve workplace organisation. The simple but consistent organisation led to faster processing times and fewer errors.
- A marketing department opted for agile project management in order to implement campaigns more quickly and flexibly. The resulting ideas for short feedback cycles improved collaboration and increased creativity.
BEST PRACTICE with one customer (name hidden due to NDA contract)
A medium-sized industrial company used targeted interdisciplinary workshops in the „Ideas that work“ phase. Employees from various departments collected suggestions to reduce interface problems. By prioritising the suggestions in a structured manner, it was possible to initially test three simple measures, including the introduction of a digital communication board. This significantly increased the flow of information and reduced queries in day-to-day business.
Practical tips for a successful idea phase
A number of points are central to the implementation of step 6 in the KIROI process:
- Use creative techniques to bring as many ideas to the table as possible.
- Include different perspectives - employees from different hierarchical levels and areas often contribute important ideas.
- Create criteria to evaluate ideas in terms of feasibility and benefits.
- Carry out pilot projects to test solutions on a small scale and gain experience.
- Document the results and ensure transparent communication of progress.
For example, one IT company reported that simple feedback rounds after each test phase allowed ideas to be quickly improved or discarded. This meant that departmental optimisation was not an end in itself, but a dynamically evolving process.
My analysis
Departmental optimisation benefits significantly from targeted idea generation, which is step 6 in the KIROI model. The structured use of creative methods and proven optimisation tools results in proposals that are both innovative and practical. The involvement of various employees and the testing of measures support the sustainable improvement of processes. This step is therefore a key lever for making departments more efficient, flexible and targeted - factors that are indispensable in increasingly complex working environments.
Further links from the text above:
Process optimisation: definition, methods, examples
Optimising your own department - is that possible?
Process optimisation: definition, methods & implementation
Process optimisation: definition, objectives, phases, procedure
The 5 most important methods for process improvement
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