Opportunities and challenges with experienced employees in the journey towards a sustainable lean culture

Abstract

Global economic crises and the lack of proper resources provided opportunities for organizations to think of new concepts and models to enhance their capabilities. The Lean Culture (LC) has been a widely used concept for those requirements as it eliminates waste without additional resource requirements. Introducing the Lean Culture concept is simple, but sustaining the Lean Culture is challenging for any organization. The purpose of this study is to investigate the opportunities and challenges with employee experience for establishing a Sustainable Lean Culture (SLC) in a manufacturing organization. This study was based on a mixed-method research approach, focusing on a structured questionnaire, an interview, and focus groups. Data was collected through the selection of 110 employees, six interviews, and two focus groups within the organization. Relationships were analyzed with correlation analysis and regression analysis using SPSS software. The results showed that nine factors (respect for people, knowledge sharing, motivation, business environment, continuous improvements, value, perfection, empowerment, and engagement) positively correlate with employee experience to the perception of SLC. In addition, five factors (attracting and retaining talent, resistance to change, mentorship, skill utilization, and teamwork) were identified as challenges for the organization toward SLC. Future research is required in more organizations in the same industry to generalize the results, which may be extended to determine different factors influencing SLC with the employee experience. The results provided a useful indication and a better understanding of employee experience and factors towards SLC. This study sheds light on understanding the Lean culture of the organization and its influence on the employee’s experience and bridges the gap of research in understanding the impact of an employee experience on SLC in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.