Uniform Six Sigma Black Belt accreditation on the horizon?

Following recent attandance the Six Sigma Summit Awards in London, Well it is good to hear that the six sigma community at large is thinking of bringing standardisation as to what construes a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, a Green Belt.... Through having clearer guidelines on what it takes to be Six Sigma Black Belt and through ensuring their is uniformity in the skill levels attained by Black Belts whilst still upholding the distinctions between an operational and a transactional Black Belt the lives of both six sigma recruitment consultancies and potential employers will be made a whole lot easier.

Too often in six sigma recruitment we find their is a huge skills divide between candidates calling themselves Black Belts and furthermore Master Black Belts. Digging beneath the surface and asking a few pertinent questions, and utilising inhouse testing relating to DMAIC, Lean and practised methods and tools applied, addressed in a candidates cv or six sigma resume often results in the candidates true ability being highlighted before the six sigma or lean sigma "practitioner" is progressed to a client facing scenario.

In six sigma recruitment it is best to prevent any embarrassing client facing incidents through early application of questioning, testing and character analysis.

Coupled with a uniform and reliable certification also has to be a clear understanding of soft skills, every company requires a different and varied mix of personalities aswell as the technical skills of data analysis and choice application of tools, and it is important to note that people are at the heart of any successful bpr deployment.

Uniformity in the skill level of certified Black Belts and Green Belts per se will ensure that the people practising six sigma will be respected and can be relied upon to have an agreeable level of understanding so as to warrant the title which they uphold in an industry nearing maturity.

Six Sigma Recruitment in a boom bust cycle

It's been a while since our company first set about recruiting six sigma professionals from the early days of knocking on doors of companies when six sigma was in its infancy and being met with blank expressions, to being in a position where we now assist in practically every six sigma and BPR (Business Process Re-engineering) initiative in the UK, and more recently across Europe. The growth in Six Sigma, Lean Sigma and BPR has been incredible over the past few years as practically every blue chip looks to undertake some form of change program. In the world of finance is was almost a case of keeping up with the Jones's as every major finance house developed a BPR initiative often with the tag of six sigma though frequently and successfully embracing aspects of Lean in their service sector environment.

As recruiters of six sigma, lean sigma and BPR professionals we hear about economic downturns and take heed at the sound of the credit crunch as it can have far reaching implications, especially in finance where a lot of major six sigma/lean sigma initiatives are underway. Like accountants whose growth happens regardless of economic bust or boom, six sigma professionals in our opinion can look forward to a steady increase in demand for their services. What happens in the face of economic gloom? companies seek to reduce costs by implementing or expanding a six sigma/lean six sigma program to weed out unneccesary costs and ensure their offering is managed in the least wasteful way.

The removal of unnecessary costs, such as overusing paper can also have great benefit to the environment aswell giving the work of the lean sigma professional a eco friendly shine.

The work of the Black Belt and lean Sigma professional looks to continue in earnest and it is likely many more organisations will be adopting a quality change program in the face of economic gloom.