Why Six Sigma Needs Yellow Belts

Six Sigma methodology has its own terminology, tools and unique view of the production process. This makes it much easier for project teams to communicate and understand each other, but might also act as an obstacle for those who are unfamiliar with Six Sigma.

Six Sigma Yellow Belt training can help prevent employees from being excluded from quality improvement efforts while helping organizations avoid a culture of quality haves and have-nots. When organizations have more employees who possess a Six Sigma certification, speak the language of Six Sigma and understand how it works they can increase the odds of successful process improvement.

General Electric (GE), one of the earliest and most enthusiastic proponents of Six Sigma, required anyone seeking a promotion to management level obtain a Six Sigma Green Belt. Jack Welch, GE’s CEO at the time said, “Six Sigma is the most important management training we’ve ever had. It’s better than going to Harvard Business School; it teaches you how to think differently.”

Upper management’s immersion in Six Sigma can be critical for helping its principles become a permanent part of business operations, but it is a mistake to assume that Six Sigma is the sole domain of leadership. If the lower ranks of the organization don’t understand Six Sigma and the tools that it uses, they might see Six Sigma as some sort of a threat.

Company-wide participation and support for quality initiatives requires that leadership bring as many rank-and-file employees as possible into the Six Sigma fold. The best way to do this is to provide extensive Six Sigma white belt or yellow belt training throughout the organization.

What is a Yellow Belt?

The Six Sigma structure encompasses several different roles that employees need to fill to make the quality improvement process work. The roles typically filled by executives and the highly trained specialists are champions, Black Belts and Master Black Belts.

The Yellow Belt role plays its own critical part in an organization’s quality improvement process by giving employees enough basic Six Sigma training to help them participate meaningfully in Six Sigma project teams.

While this fundamental training does not make participants heavy-duty experts, it will acquaint them with Six Sigma tools and give them a working knowledge of the language.  When enough employees obtain Yellow Belt training, Six Sigma is apt to become part of the organization’s DNA.

Likely Candidates for Yellow Belt Training

Unlike Black Belts, Yellow Belts typically practice Six Sigma on a part-time basis. But what Yellow Belts may lack in Six Sigma expertise is made up for in proficient local process knowledge. They bring a deep understanding of their processes to their project teams. This process knowledge comes from the ranks of line supervisors, clerical staff, or anyone who has the useful knowledge to contribute to a project team.

By providing Yellow Belt or White Belt training to employees, organizations can help ensure that the language of Six Sigma is spoken and understood at all levels of the company, and begin to develop a flourishing Six Sigma culture.