We recently ran a PDCA cycle for a new customer service protocol. During the "Do" phase, our CSAT scores actually dropped significantly. We are now in the "Check" phase and feeling discouraged. How do you pivot the cycle when the pilot is a total failure without losing team morale?
3 answers
A "failure" in the Do phase is actually a success in the PDCA cycle if you catch it during the Check phase. This is exactly why we use the cycle—to prevent bad ideas from being rolled out company-wide. Tell your team that the system worked because it identified a flaw before it became a permanent part of the workflow. In the Check phase, dig deep into the "Why" using a 5-Whys analysis. Use those findings to fuel a new "Plan" phase. Failure is just data in a different form, and framing it that way helps keep the team's spirits high.
Was the scope of your "Do" phase small enough to contain the damage, or did the negative results impact a large enough customer base to cause long-term brand harm?
I find that the most valuable PDCA cycles are the ones that fail initially. They teach you more about your customers' true preferences than the "easy wins" ever do.
I completely agree, Jennifer. These "failures" often reveal underlying issues that we weren't even looking for, leading to much more robust solutions in the long run.
Andrew, fortunately, it was just a small pilot group of about 50 customers. This limited the impact, which is why I'm emphasizing to the team that the PDCA framework actually protected us from a much larger disaster. We caught the issue early enough to fix it.