A person begins a root causes analysis after a problem or incident. Templates and documentation help disentangle the reasons an incident occurred and record factors, such as the location of the incident and who was involved. At the end of the analysis, you'll hopefully have a solution or procedure in place to prevent the same incident from occurring again.
A root cause analysis is a problem-solving method that aims to uncover the source of a fault or problem — in other words, the root cause. When a manager understands what the causes of a problem are, they are in a better position to develop effective solutions and hopefully stop the issue from recurring.
There is no one type of analysis. Instead, there are many techniques, principles, and methodologies to choose from. So, when solving an issue, it's essential to choose the most suitable technique to uncover the problem and ultimately fix it.
Lots of organisations want to improve engagement and productivity, and the only way to do this is to change the employee experience.
Employee experience encompasses everything your employees are exposed to and this includes, but is not limited to:
Because every organisation is different, the significance of these factors undoubtedly varies, and more importantly, what you focus on would be different from that of other companies.
To determine what factors affect your employees the most, you could use a root cause analysis, especially if productivity has been falling in one department over another.
A root cause analysis can help you uncover any drops in productivity. It does this by revealing factors that are affecting your employees. For example, if the workload is too high and employees are increasingly disengaged, rectifying the amount of work they have by hiring freelancers or scaling back some projects could alleviate stress. Offering employee wellbeing resources can support your teams' health too.
Moreover, if your workforce is now working from home and you've noticed a drop in productivity, then it's important to analyse why this is happening rather than making a snap decision to bring everyone back into the office. If, for example, your root cause analysis reveals remote employees feel disconnected and overwhelmed, consider introducing face-to-face contact and a scheduling system. Of course, these are just two ways to boost engagement, but there are many more.
A root cause analysis template (RCAT), often known as a root cause corrective action template, usually takes the following simple structure:
This template structure is adjustable, dependent on need. One method which can be used is the 6 Sigma DMAIC Methodology Root Cause Analysis report.
6 Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach that fixes many organisational problems.
The 6 Sigma methodology uses the five stages of the DMAIC approach.
The DMAIC approach template.
The Pareto analysis is a useful tool to determine what issues cause the top 80% of problems. if we look at the graph below, we can see turntables, blocker alignment, and foil dispensers are responsible for 80% of line stoppages.
A Pareto chart calculates the cumulative frequency of problems. A bar chart, on the other hand, only shows you the ordinal data, for example, what issues occur the most and least. Because a Pareto chart has an additional Y axis, you can see the cumulative frequency and consequently understand exactly how often issues occur in comparison to one another.
Of course, before taking any action, investigate these issues further before you settle on a solution.
Pareto graph chart of potential problems.
The five whys technique is an analysis that helps peel back the layers of a problem to hopefully reveal a solution.
However, before beginning the analysis, you need to be sure the problem you are trying to solve is the most relevant. Consider looking at a Pareto graph first, so you know you're spending your time and attention on the most significant issue.
To begin the analysis, ask why five times. This forces you to think about different causes and how they may all be connected — doing this helps illuminate the path to the root cause.
The benefits of using the five whys includes:
Begin with a statement of the problem, then ask why five times.
The Fishbone diagram is used at the analyse stage within the DMAIC approach. The purpose of this tool is to identify and organise possible causes of a specific problem or outcome.
The Fishbone comprises 4 key sections:
Here is an example of the Fishbone diagram.
Scatter graphs help you find the correlation between two variables.
A positive correlation is what this graph displays, which means as one variable increases, so does the other.
A negative correlation on the other hand, starts high and declines, this means as one variable increases the other decreases.
Don't forget that correlation doesn't imply causation. Other variables that you haven't considered could be influencing the relationship.
This scatter graph shows a positive correlation between lines picked and hours overtime.
Perkbox is an all-in-one employee experience solution. It includes an extensive perks package with thousands of discounts, deals, and freebies.
On top of this, though, there is also:
In other words, it has everything you need to overhaul or drastically improve your employees' experience.
Because it includes everything in one place, you can use the advanced reporting functionality to see what benefits your teams like the most and who receives recognition frequently. This data can significantly positively impact your ROI and show you who your real team players are.
We've put together this guide to give you the tools you need to plan, create and review your very own reward and recognition strategy.
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