Japanese management offers a lot of principles and ideas on how to effectively manage your business. One important concept within it is the genba (現場). But what is the genba and are you close to it?

What is the genba?

Genba is “the actual place” or “the real place” and can be anything from the scene of a crime to the place where something is happening. In business, genba refers to the actual workplace where value creation takes place. In manufacturing that is the manufacturing floor or for service companies that is where the sales representatives interact with their customers. It could be any place where the employee comes into contact with the customer.

Why does genba matter?

From a Japanese management perspective, supporting the genba is paramount. Staying close to the genba allows managers to understand how the business can be improved and therefore made more successful. It also ties into kaizen – or continuous improvement – as it encourages managers to engage with people on the genba, understand the needs of the employees and listen to their suggestions for improvement. People on the ground are often the ones who understand best what the issues in the current processes are and managers speaking directly with their people is key. Another important aspect that is well understood by Japanese management is that any form of reports, KPI or measures reported up the ranks is only an abstraction of what is really happening on the genba. Staying close to the actual value creation helps managers stay grounded, connected with their people and it also drives engagement by avoiding the divide between “us on the ground” and “management”.

That is one of the reasons managers in Japanese companies do sit with their employees instead of a separate office. They are approachable, roll up their sleeves and get their own hands dirty whenever needed. It keeps them close to the customer and their team members so they understand their actual work on a daily basis.

How to implement a genba approach

In order to make the genba approach successful, it is important to follow these five steps:

1. Go to the genba and don’t try to fix issues remotely. Get into the trenches with your people.
2. Get as close to the actual problem as possible. Understand it, listen to your people and get their insights. When listening to your people, do so with empathy. Empathy will make all the difference.
3. Identify a provisional solution first to address the issue at hand. Stop the bleeding first, even if it is just with a temporary solution.
4. Together with your team on the ground identify the root cause. Set a goal, break down the issue and set clear KPI or measurements that will help you assess if the problem is fixed (or at least improved). You can get to the bottom of the issue by repeatedly asking why. Truly understand what caused the issue and how it can be prevented in the future.
5. As a last step, standardize the new process to prevent recurrence of the problem. This applies especially to structural and process related issues.

Even without any immediate problem that needs fixing, it is important to stay close to your people and the actual value creation process. That way you can keep your teams engaged and understand their points. They will also be a lot more comfortable opening up as they know you understand them because you go through what they are going through and you have a relationship built on mutual trust. It allows you to have constructive conflict that helps improve the process and ultimately leads to better business results.

What is your experience with the genba? Are you close enough? Leave a comment below or email me at [email protected]. I’m always keen on hearing about other people’s experience.