Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Six Sigma Black Belts Are Needed

By Craig Calvin

The importance of Six Sigma has been well understood by many companies. They undertake Six Sigma initiatives to make it a culture in their companies. These companies have accepted the need for a disciplined approach to problem solving and continuous improvement. This is possible only when they have trained employees who can undertake the responsibilities associated with such a Six Sigma initiative. There are various jobs available in the industry, based on the expertise and the experience achieved over a specific period of time. Some organizations employ various experts as permanent employees, while some seek the services of expert consultants.

Each company has its own set of jobs. Each company gives different names to different positions. The requirements differ for each organization, as each company has their own policies. Usually, companies provide training internally to existing employees that they see as future leaders. They may get help from outside experts, even though for some specialized positions they may feel the need to bring in someone with good expertise and experience in the field. There are senior level positions such as Master Black Belt that refers to the program manager level position for the organization. These Master Black Belts are highly trained professionals who have relevant experience to undertake improvement projects at different levels of the organization. They have a thorough knowledge of Six Sigma concepts and tools. They have to provide support and guidance to the Black Belts in their projects, as well as coordinate activities with management.

Black Belt certificate holders have received extensive training on Six Sigma methodologies like DMAIC and DFSS, and as such, they hold an important position in the company's organizational structure. These experts understand statistics and the indicators that the data provides. The organization may choose to hire them from the outside, or to train an existing employee in the Six Sigma discipline. Often if a company is growing and there is an ongoing need for more experienced people, the company may hire a Black Belt to come on board to train the upcoming leaders who are already on staff.

Organizations may not advertise Master Black Belts and Black Belts positions. They may name them differently - Program Manager, Six Sigma analyst, Functional Project Lead, Lead Analyst, Business Process manager and so on. These positions require the person selected to be certified as a Green Belt, Black Belt or Master Black Belt depending on the level of the position. It is the Six Sigma Black Belts' skills that will be considered as criteria for the different positions. Furthermore, they may have other requirements such as expertise in the same industry. They may be required to have management training and experience, when the role may be to have a project lead or Master Black Belts.

Candidates for any position need to have a deep understanding of Six Sigma tools and techniques, as well as the ability to apply their knowledge to organizational processes. They must be able to use their skills to use quality methodologies in a given domain and as initiators of different ideas, they should aim to improve the situation. People and creative skills are needed, which make them competent in conceptualizing strategic business issues and designing practical proposals. The Six Sigma jobs that exist in many industries require experts in Six Sigma tools and techniques that have the skills to transform companies into profitable ventures. - 16747

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