The Value of a (Process Improvement) Minute
March 20, 2014
For so long, anyone exposed to commercials has heard the pitch, “15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.” Then a competitor came along less than a month ago and advertised, “15 minutes for a quote is crazy. See how 7½ minutes could save you on car insurance.” For car insurance consumers, cutting 15 minutes in half to get a quote isn’t that big of a deal. It’s really the savings that they are after. But for process improvement, cutting 15 minutes in half is a huge deal. Time savings like that can help a company process more applications more efficiently, which can theoretically help process more customers and help the company earn more income.
Credit unions should consider this idea from two angles:
1. Are we advertising a competitive advantage in the wrong way?
2. What can we do to save ourselves a minute?
The second angle is sometimes the hardest concept to grasp. A minute seems like such a small improvement, it’s almost not worth celebrating. A minute carries all the excitement of holding a penny in your hand—it’s not much!
But actually, a penny can amount to a lot. For instance, would you rather have a million dollars, or a penny doubled every day for thirty days? If you chose a million dollars—you’re missing out! Because a penny doubled every day for thirty days equals $5.4 million.
A process improvement minute is just like that penny; over time, the value of that minute increases exponentially and creates larger returns to your credit union. Never underestimate the value of a process improvement minute!