"Kaizen" Culture
Kaizen, a Japanese word meaning “continuous improvement”, is a principle that originates in manufacturing. Continuous improvement was introduced in World War II when U.S. factories, newly repurposed for wartime, needed to find creative ways to improve efficiency. Instead of wholesale changes that would take a lot of time and capital to implement, they looked for small tweaks that could help eliminate waste.
Assembly line employees, used to focusing exclusively on execution, were now encouraged to ‘stop the line’ if they had a suggestion that could improve the efficiency of the overall process. The new principle proved so successful that American business advisors introduced it to newly reborn Japanese auto factories after the war, where it was christened “kaizen.”
Like traditional manufacturing organizations, many outsourcing companies have been focused for decades almost exclusively either on execution or top-down innovation. Call centers, for instance, are notorious for emphasizing “total dials” or “talk time” at the expense of employee-driven innovation that can help improve efficiency.
By contrast, at Bandalier, we’ve placed our Kaizen value system at the core of everything we do, from recruiting new employees to executing outbound campaigns. Our interviews are designed to select for “innovators”, or folks who think critically about processes they are executing and methods of improving their team's performance. And once our team members are onboarded, they are asked to come to biweekly team meetings with a “kaizen”, or a suggestion for a process improvement that can save the company time or money. Successful kaizens thus far have included a new process for scripting calls as well as a new framework for setting company goals. In promotions, we consider not just total output (e.g. results generated) but improvement in results over time.
We believe “the new American workplace” will prioritize long-term efficiency over short-term output. For more on kaizen in practice, check out this clip from Top Gear.
Assembly line employees, used to focusing exclusively on execution, were now encouraged to ‘stop the line’ if they had a suggestion that could improve the efficiency of the overall process. The new principle proved so successful that American business advisors introduced it to newly reborn Japanese auto factories after the war, where it was christened “kaizen.”
Like traditional manufacturing organizations, many outsourcing companies have been focused for decades almost exclusively either on execution or top-down innovation. Call centers, for instance, are notorious for emphasizing “total dials” or “talk time” at the expense of employee-driven innovation that can help improve efficiency.
By contrast, at Bandalier, we’ve placed our Kaizen value system at the core of everything we do, from recruiting new employees to executing outbound campaigns. Our interviews are designed to select for “innovators”, or folks who think critically about processes they are executing and methods of improving their team's performance. And once our team members are onboarded, they are asked to come to biweekly team meetings with a “kaizen”, or a suggestion for a process improvement that can save the company time or money. Successful kaizens thus far have included a new process for scripting calls as well as a new framework for setting company goals. In promotions, we consider not just total output (e.g. results generated) but improvement in results over time.
We believe “the new American workplace” will prioritize long-term efficiency over short-term output. For more on kaizen in practice, check out this clip from Top Gear.
Features of our workplace
Our 21st century workplace is designed to make our team members happy and productive - and keep our clients satisfied.
Flexibility
Every Bandalier team member is accorded several work-from-home days each month, along with flexible schedules where it doesn't interfere with client obligations. We instruct our managers to err on the side of flexibility wherever possible - and avoid creating unnecessary or onerous rules.
Feedback
We're big believers in constant feedback. Team members are asked to consider providing constant feedback to peers, managers, and their own direct reports a part of their job description.
Fun
We try not to take ourselves too seriously. Follow our team's stories and office shananigans here.
Every Bandalier team member is accorded several work-from-home days each month, along with flexible schedules where it doesn't interfere with client obligations. We instruct our managers to err on the side of flexibility wherever possible - and avoid creating unnecessary or onerous rules.
Feedback
We're big believers in constant feedback. Team members are asked to consider providing constant feedback to peers, managers, and their own direct reports a part of their job description.
Fun
We try not to take ourselves too seriously. Follow our team's stories and office shananigans here.