Customer Experience: the Black Belt, Open Training
Minna Parkko, Lean Manager City of Kouvola, has participated in several of our training courses, most recently in our open Black Belt hybrid training course. Minna is now also a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. We asked her about her experiences with Black Belt training, project support and certification.
Tell us about yourself?
"I have a PhD in education. I work as a Lean change consultant in an educational organisation in development roles, as a degree advisor and as a study personalisation support officer. Working in education and development at the same time keeps my perspective on what needs to be improved realistic and diverse. I receive ideas and tasks for development from colleagues, management and I also identify them myself. I work with my colleagues."
Why did you choose Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training?
"My organisation selected two people as core process developers and the role involved using Lean methods. I was first trained as a Lean Change Leader, which met my expectations in terms of facilitating Lean Kaizen workshops and thus improving many processes. I then trained as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt because I wanted to develop my skills as an improvement project leader and obtain a prestigious certification."
What are your experiences with BB training?
"The training focused on the essentials, i.e. process improvement and the key methods used in it, but also on the soft skills that guide people's approach to life, work and other people. I participated in both face-to-face and distance learning. What I liked about the face-to-face sessions was that there was a lot of sharing with the students, using different methods. In both methods, time was used efficiently - not a minute was wasted. But the best thing was that the lessons were immediately put into practice. Good electronic materials make it possible to refer back to the material when necessary. My partner and I have improved eight key core training processes in our own organisation, which suggests that the employer has benefited from training me and my partner as Lean Six Sigma Black Belts to support quality management. Lean is also suitable for a specialist organisation."
What are your experiences of project coaching organised alongside the training?
"At the beginning of the training, a project was selected together with the employer, which I started to improve and through which I was coached. The things learned were transferred to my own project, and progress was carefully documented step by step from defining the measurement system to controlling the process. The final stages were particularly important to ensure that the good practices of improvement are integrated into everyday work, and to be able to move on to new projects oneself. The improvement work done for the certification was persistent and systematic. Now, the work done for the certification feels valuable."
Would you recommend this training to others and why?
"I would recommend the training to people who are interested in statistical methods, who have creativity and perseverance, and who are organized, problem-solving and collaborative. The training provides an opportunity to use these skills at work for the benefit of all parties. The training gives me the skills and courage to improve even the most challenging projects."