Operational Excellence Simplified

Process improvement is either an expected capability or can make a material difference in 99.5% of the world’s occupational categories.

That is the finding from an analysis of all 436 occupational unit groups in the International Labour Organization’s International Standard Classification of Occupations, or ISCO-08. ISCO is designed to classify jobs internationally and organises its 436 unit groups into 10 major occupational groups.

How the Analysis Was Conducted

Each of the 436 ISCO occupational groups was assessed against three simple ratings:

1. Process improvement is mandatory
The occupation normally expects people to continuously improve how work is performed, including its efficiency, quality, safety, cost, service or outcomes.

2. Process improvement can make a material difference
Continuous improvement is not necessarily an explicit expectation of the occupation, but the ability to analyse and improve work processes could materially improve performance.

3. Process improvement is largely irrelevant
There is little meaningful opportunity for process improvement capability to affect performance.

These ratings are an independent analysis of the occupations contained within ISCO-08; they are not classifications made by the ILO.

The Overall Result

Of the 436 occupational groups analysed:

Rating	Occupations	Share
Process improvement is mandatory	203	46.6%
Can make a material difference	231	53.0%
Largely irrelevant	2	0.5%

In other words, 434 of the 436 occupational groups can materially benefit from process improvement capability.

What It Looks Like Across the 10 Major Occupational Groups

ISCO Major Group	Mandatory	Material Difference	Irrelevant
1. Managers	31	0	0
2. Professionals	80	12	0
3. Technicians and Associate Professionals	45	39	0
4. Clerical Support Workers	8	21	0
5. Services and Sales Workers	10	30	0
6. Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Workers	8	10	0
7. Craft and Related Trades Workers	15	51	0
8. Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers	4	36	0
9. Elementary Occupations	1	30	2
0. Armed Forces Occupations	1	2	0

The pattern is striking. Process improvement is not simply a specialist capability for Lean, Six Sigma or Operational Excellence professionals. For managers and many professional occupations, improving how work is performed is already part of doing the job well. For most other occupations, it represents a capability that can materially improve performance.