Beyond the Toolkit: How Tesco Built a Sustainable Continuous Improvement Culture

From Suggestions to Solutions: How Currys Made Colleague-Led Improvement Manageable at Scale

As improvement activity grew at Currys, so did the number of ideas. Phil Knowles shares what happened when that pipeline became harder to manage, and how focusing on specific operational challenges, with clearer governance and faster feedback, helped create the conditions for improvement to work across the business. “If colleagues only see the polished success stories, then they assume that failure is unacceptable.” In this episode: 00:00 Introduction and the challenge of scaling improvement 01:57 Why improvement was inconsistent and reactive 05:23 Building a bottom-up framework across 2,500 colleagues 08:12 The metrics that proved it was working 11:22 The gaps in the sustain model and early rollout 14:41 When the ideas pipeline becomes the problem 19:14 Moving from generic ideas to targeted challenges 22:38 Keeping change relevant across different teams 25:11 Outro Making improvement work across the business Building momentum is a significant step. Our performance improvement consultancy supports organisations to put the structure, clarity, and capability in place to sustain improvement at scale. Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/ [https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/] Visit us at pmi.co.uk [https://pmi.co.uk/] for more: * Dive into our Knowledge Hub for more tools, videos, and infographics [https://pmi.co.uk/pmi-knowledge-hub/] * Join us for a PMI LIVE Webinar [https://pmi.co.uk/webinars/] * Explore Lean Six Sigma Certifications [https://pmi.co.uk/training/] * Follow us on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/processmanagementinternational]

Beyond the Toolkit: How Tesco Built a Sustainable Continuous Improvement Culture

An honest conversation with Fraser Cowe about readiness for change, bottom-up improvement, and why success in one part of the business doesn’t guarantee success everywhere else. “We assumed the capability was there. It wasn’t. And that was on us.”   In this episode:    00:00 Introducing Continuous Improvement at scale in Tesco’s contact centres  03:21 From hearts and minds to boot camps: building frontline capability  08:47 Why facilitation skills matter as much as CI tools  10:27 Making performance visible through PQCD dashboards  11:54 What success actually looked like  14:49 Getting it wrong first time and why  18:55 Leadership alignment as the missing piece  20:30 Readiness for change and avoiding fatigue  24:07 Outro Make Continuous Improvement stick in your organisation Rolling out CI tools is one thing. Embedding the capability, building trust, and sustaining change at scale is another. Our performance improvement consultancy supports organisations to assess readiness for change, build real problem‑solving capability, and create improvement systems that last. Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/ [https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/]  Visit us at pmi.co.uk [https://pmi.co.uk/] for more: * Dive into our Knowledge Hub for more tools, videos, and infographics [https://pmi.co.uk/pmi-knowledge-hub/] * Join us for a PMI LIVE Webinar [https://pmi.co.uk/webinars/] * Explore Lean Six Sigma Certifications [https://pmi.co.uk/training/] * Follow us on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/processmanagementinternational]

Fixing Call Transfers in the Contact Centre: How OVO Energy redesigned the customer experience

Alannah Martin shares what really happened when her team replaced a traditional Interactive Voice Response telephone system with natural language technology in a live contact centre. “We knew that understanding our customers’ needs and why they were contacting us was fundamental to being able to improve anything.”  In this episode:    00:00 Introduction and the problem with call transfers    02:08 Why traditional phone menus fail customers    05:23 Testing change safely with a phased rollout    08:55 Unlocking self‑service without forcing it    13:58 What success actually looked like    16:19 What didn’t go to plan    20:22 Lessons on stakeholder trust and leading change    27:01 Outro   How to unlock your full potential with expert performance improvement consultancy If you’re serious about improving your organisation’s performance, then you need to get serious about process improvement. Our consultancy services can help you achieve your goals. Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/ [https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/]  Visit us at pmi.co.uk [https://pmi.co.uk/] for more: * Dive into our Knowledge Hub for more tools, videos, and infographics [https://pmi.co.uk/pmi-knowledge-hub/] * Join us for a PMI LIVE Webinar [https://pmi.co.uk/webinars/] * Explore Lean Six Sigma Certifications [https://pmi.co.uk/training/] * Follow us on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/processmanagementinternational]

Introducing GEMBAfication

Most organisations set out with clear goals and good intentions. But change is rarely simple. It’s often messy, non‑linear, and full of surprises. GEMBAfication is PMI’s new podcast for improvement professionals looking for an honest view of what improvement really looks like in practice. Because in our world, every experience is valuable. Hosted by Susannah Clarke, Managing Partner at PMI, the series goes behind the scenes with leaders and practitioners who’ve driven change in their organisations. Sometimes with great success, sometimes with unexpected setbacks. You’ll hear about the methods that helped them mobilise, measure, and deliver results, and what they learned when things didn’t go to plan. These are candid conversations about what it really takes to improve, adapt, and lead when change meets the realities of day-to-day work. Launching on 18th March, GEMBAfication explores change as it really happens. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Visit us at pmi.co.uk [https://pmi.co.uk/] for more: * Dive into our Knowledge Hub for more tools, videos, and infographics [https://pmi.co.uk/pmi-knowledge-hub/] * Join us for a PMI LIVE Webinar [https://pmi.co.uk/webinars/] * Explore Lean Six Sigma Certifications [https://pmi.co.uk/training/] * Follow us on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/processmanagementinternational]