How to Make Improvements Stick in Your Organization

Why Sustaining Improvements Is So Hard

If we were to interview leaders in different organizations and ask them to describe one thing that is hard to do at work, most would likely say that sustaining improvements is a struggle.

Perhaps you are a Lean practitioner who has heard that making improvements is fun, but sustaining them is far more challenging.

We hear the same sentiment from people conducting a 5S (workplace organization) event. Many will agree that the last “S”, sustaining, is the hardest step in the entire process.

Ten Tips for Making Improvements Last

1. Put a System in Place
Sustaining requires more than good intentions. You need a system that not only ensures continuation but also alerts you if the process begins shifting in the wrong direction.

2. Stay Disciplined
Even the best-designed system will fail without consistent discipline in following it. Sticking to the process is essential for achieving the desired results.

3. Engage Your Staff
Involve your team in designing systems for sustainment. Encourage them to help develop, test, and adjust the process so it works in real-world conditions.

4. Consider the People
Think about both those who will maintain the system and those who will use it daily. Their needs and feedback matter for long-term success.

5. Integrate Sustainment into Daily Work
Make sustainment part of routine responsibilities rather than a separate “extra” task. This keeps improvements alive without feeling like added work.

6. Celebrate Small Wins and Keep Improving
Recognize progress, no matter how small. Learn from opportunities to improve the system, and coach people on how to continuously refine the process you created and implemented.

7. Audit, and Audit the Audit
Build an audit process to track sustainment. Periodically review whether the audit itself is effective, and make adjustments when needed. In Lean, nothing is ever perfect, and everything can be improved.

8. Be Willing to Shift Culture
Before taking any of these steps, be prepared to influence organizational culture. Culture change is not inherently negative, although some may see it that way.

9. Involve Everyone
Sustaining improvements is not just management’s job. Everyone in the organization, regardless of position or title, should participate in auditing and continuous improvement efforts.

10. Avoid Blame, Take Responsibility
If improvements fail to sustain, resist the urge to point fingers. Instead, ask what changes you can make to help the team reach the desired goal.

Final Thoughts
Of course, there is much more to sustaining improvements, enough to fill an entire book. But if we reflect on these ten recommendations and act on them, we will see positive results. Those results will lead to new ideas, stronger systems, and more sustained success over time.

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