Process improvement — A positive deviance approach

Corporate efforts to improve the bottom line traditionally focus on shortcoming and issues. A comprehensive set of analytical tools and methodologies (e.g., Lean Management, Six Sigma) have been developed and are deployed in attempts to fix identified problems. However, little guidance is available on how to actually come up with improved organisational and process designs. Organisations tend to rely on approaches such as brainstorming that do not lead to consistent and reliable outcomes. It is proposed to benefit from conducting a dedicated study on internal sources for business improvement. This so-called positive deviance approach utilises internal best practices and converts successful, but hidden best practices into widely deployed, corporate practices. The paper develops an approach to identify exceptional performers and map their behaviors and activities which made them successful. The objective was to identify practical quick wins which can be implemented through existing account auditing activities.