Armin Cruz introduces
the
Community of Practice
(CoP)
Armin Cruz is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt that specializes
in LEAN methodologies in the financial transactional industry. Armin Cruz received his MBB while serving as
a Vice President at Bank of America’s Process Excellence division. Armin currently serves as Director and Head
of Continuous Improvement for a public firm in the financial real estate and
property management industry. Armin Cruz earned his MBA from the University of
Phoenix, and his BA from the University of Texas at Dallas. Armin Cruz lives in north Texas with his
wife, three dogs and is anxiously awaiting his first baby boy in December.
Many of you have heard of and probably have operated within
a Circle of Excellence (CoE). However, we
would like to take a moment to discuss the thread that weaves different CoEs
together within an organization. As a
brief recap, a CoE is a formal organizational with a hierarchal structure by
function. Typically this can be a tactic
used to shorten cycle times, and flatten a highly vertical or siloed
organization. A Community of Practice
(CoP) on the other hand is a very loose and informal organization. There is no hierarchical structure, to the
contrary, it is beneficial to have a ‘coalition of the willing’ rather than a mandate
that anyone take part.
This brings us to the first point on the formation of the CoP. There are two common approaches you can take. First, approach your human resources business partner to conduct a search using their talent software. Many such as PeopleSoft, and Taleo have the search component based on skill, competency, or other critical factors. We highly advise you to conduct a focus group session for the CoP you are sourcing. For instance, if you are seeking a process-centric CoP you may want to do a search on the following skill based certifications: Agile, Six Sigma, Business Process Management, and Operational Excellence. Also, consider searching by job code and/or title such as process design consultant, process re-engineer, operational excellence, or business support and optimization.
The second way is to conduct an interview with each CoE
executive and ask for their recommendation.
This inevitably possesses an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage is the increased likelihood of
participation. However, there is also a
decrease in the ability to avoid bias.
The person selected could have the executives agenda in mind, and may
not be as transparent as others. One
would be prudent to try the HR route first, and this route as a backup.
Regardless of the path you select, the most important factor
is to set up regular routines. As this
is the thread between CoEs you must meet regularly to ensure transparency, eliminate
duplication, and share thoughts and ideas.
This thought leadership may serve as an innovation center within the
organization and spark pride of ownership.
For more information about this topic, please review and
follow me on twitter with @arminjcruz, or search About.Me for Armin Cruz. Additionally, I am on SlideShare; please
search Slide Share for a presentation titled “4 Steps to Solving Business
Problems” by Armin Cruz. You may also reach out to me on my personal website and request more
detailed information.
Point of Contact:
Name: Armin Cruz
Phone: (972) 333 – 9502
Email: armin.j.cruz@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.armincruz.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/arminjcruz/
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