SOLUTIONS

Ready for performance that truly engages your teams?

In a nutshell

The Engaged Operational Excellence™ method reconciles process excellence with collective intelligence.

Operational excellence is too often seen as a cost-cutting machine—forgetting the human factor.

Why? Because Lean or Six Sigma tools, however powerful, are often imposed top-down. The result: processes optimized on paper, but teams disengaged, complexity returning, and sustainable performance never achieved.

Our difference does not lie in the tools, but in the philosophy. We don’t sell optimized processes—we sell ownership. We don’t impose excellence—we build the engagement that makes it happen. Our method reverses the traditional approach: improvement is driven by field experts—your teams—to guarantee real, adopted, and sustainable performance.

Proof through impact: our method in action

Groupe de personnes

The challenge:

A production site had implemented a very strict Lean optimization program. The result: demotivated teams who felt “robotized” and an increase in turnover.

Our action (regenerative approach):

We replaced multiple anxiety-inducing KPIs with 5 key indicators co-designed with operators. More importantly, we gave them autonomy and the tools to solve problems in their own scope.

The result:

In 6 months, teams themselves reduced non-conformities by 40% in their area. Absenteeism was simultaneously cut in half—proving that engagement and performance are linked.

Methodology

Our 4-phase method: Excellence by teams, for performance

Observe & align

Simplify & co-construct

Experiment & improve

Standardize & sustain

Phase 1 : Observe & align

Understand the reality of work before trying to optimize it.
We begin with a shared diagnosis that reveals real problems and aligns everyone around a common “why.”
• Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to visualize the journey from customer demand to satisfaction.
• Identification of waste (Muda) frustrating teams and harming customers (waiting times, unnecessary tasks, complexity, etc.)
• Alignment on priorities: Defining together the few performance indicators that truly matter for both customers AND employees

→ Deliverable: Shared diagnosis of flows and pain points, and a common vision of improvement objectives.

Phase 2 : Simplify & co-construct

Solve problems with those who live them every day.
We don’t provide “off-the-shelf” solutions. We facilitate problem-solving by field experts—your teams.
• Problem-solving workshops (A3-type) equipping teams to tackle root causes of pain points themselves
• Co-construction of simplified processes: teams redesign how they work, we provide method and critical perspective
• Formalization of new standards defined by the teams to ensure clarity, consistency, and relevance

→ Deliverable: Simplified target processes and work standards co-designed and validated by teams.

Phase 3 : Experiment & improve

Test, measure, and learn to spark continuous improvement.
We pilot new practices to prove effectiveness and empower teams in improvement.
• Short experimentation cycles (PDCA) on pilot scopes to test new standards in real conditions
• Measuring impact on performance (lead times, quality) AND team satisfaction.
• Celebrating learnings and adjusting standards based on field feedback

→ Deliverable: Proof of the effectiveness of new standards and teams capable of running their own improvement cycles.

Phase 4 : Standardize & sustain

Anchor best practices so improvement becomes a culture.
We ensure new ways of working become the norm and that the organization has the means to keep progressing.
• Formalizing validated standards as living, accessible references
• Establishing performance rituals (gemba walks, daily stand-ups) led by managers
• Coaching managers to shift from “controllers” to “facilitators” of continuous improvement

→ Deliverable: A sustainable performance management system, driven by teams and their managers.

What sets us apart

Ce qui nous distingue

Classic Operational Excellence	Engaged operational excellence™
Processes imposed by experts	Standards co-designed by teams
Managers as “controllers”	Managers as “facilitators”
Rigid processes	Framed autonomy
Disengagement & resistance	Ownership & accountability
One-off optimization	Culture of continuous improvement
Endured performance	Chosen & sustainable performance

The questions your peers are asking

You use classic tools like VSM or PDCA. How is your approach really different?

Our difference does not lie in the tools, but in the philosophy. We don’t sell optimized processes, we sell ownership. We don’t impose excellence, we create the engagement that brings it to life. Our method reverses the traditional approach: improvement is driven by field experts – your teams – to ensure real, adopted, and sustainable performance.

Letting teams define their own standards – isn’t that a risk for overall consistency and performance?

On the contrary, it’s a guarantee of relevance. Our role as facilitators is to make sure that the standards co-built by the teams are fully aligned with the global performance objectives defined in phase 1. A standard designed by those who apply it will always be smarter and better respected than one that is imposed. It’s a shift from a logic of control to a logic of responsibility.

How do you deal with managers who have a “control” mindset and might slow down this participative approach?

This is a key point of our support. We involve managers from the very beginning – not as supervisors, but as sponsors of their teams. Phase 4 is largely dedicated to them, with specific coaching to help them evolve their role towards that of a facilitator. By showing them that this method increases both engagement and performance within their teams, we turn their concerns into commitment.

This method seems longer than a classic top-down approach. How do you justify this time investment?

It is more intensive at the start, but much faster in the end. A traditional approach spends 20% of the time designing a solution and 80% trying to force adoption while fighting resistance. Our method flips this ratio: we spend more time co-building a solution that, because it is already owned by the teams, rolls out with minimal resistance. The initial investment in time is largely offset by the speed and durability of adoption.

How do you make sure continuous improvement doesn’t stop when your mission ends?

That’s the core objective of phase 4. By formalizing the new standards, setting up simple performance routines (daily check-ins, gemba walks), and coaching managers to lead them, we don’t deliver a “finished project.” We leave behind a learning organization, with teams and managers who have both the tools and the culture to keep improving autonomously.

Direct contact

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