Aarti Thakur

Internal Lean Six Sigma Black Belt consultant & projects partner to operational teams in the pursuit of seamless delivery and improved processes.

Key Contributions:

Lean deployment support: provided guidance in using LSS (Lean Six Sigma) methods, concepts, tools, and techniques to drive continuous improvement and transformation

• Mentored a cohort of newly certified Yellow-Belt Project Leads in applying LSS concepts in their assigned projects
• These LSS projects covered a range of verticals, including human resources, governance, integrated facilities management, space management, communications, and client experience improvement
• Methods practiced: DMAIC, DFSS, PDCA, FMEA, Kaizen, 5S, big X, root cause analysis, prioritization, design thinking, auditing, collaboration (including workshops & facilitations), and other continuous improvement applications
• Benefits described: improved efficiency & service capability, standardized processes, risk mitigation, client satisfaction, employee satisfaction, knowledge management, and internal value-creating synergies

Supported periodic project reporting and presentations / resource development.

Set-up, scaled and supervised all aspects of operations, process excellence, strategy, and people management in assigned regions (Austin & Phoenix). Regional teams provide relocation consulting services under SLA with corporate mobility program guidelines and policies

Key Contributions:

• Track record of meeting regional targets: sound operations management and workforce forecasting, project/program management, team performance on VOC, client program compliance, people management processes, and localization. Escalation point for all regional issues and initiatives.
• Anticipated and managed stakeholder relationships with key partners and vendors to strengthen strategic offerings for clients
• Developed training on customizing the client experience and scaled my training models so that other regions could localize this material. Hosting international clients was challenging, and my training modules helped many teams learn to navigate the client journey

Led business-critical projects:

• Efficiency projects
• Research and development of new resources for new clients; planned pilot projects to meet our ever-evolving high-touch client needs
• Collaborated to help improve/develop the in-house Relocity application
• Actively led change management projects, especially during COVID: impacting client-facing processes and employee situations requiring collaboration with HR
• Responsible for authoring a specialized bi-monthly US national rental trends report, including analysis of the migration of people impacting Relocity key markets during and after the COVID pandemic.

Provided local expertise to support employee mobility programs at large corporations by hosting their relocating employees. Progressed 4 tiers in this position before being promoted to Area Ops Manager.

Key Contributions:

• Responsible for providing end-to-end customized guidance and project management support during employee relocations.
• Successfully created tools and resources that were piloted and then further developed into templates that enabled efficiency, better quality and more alignment with client needs
• Many tools were further developed into intellectual property even embedded into the Relocity application
• Attained and enabled excellent customer service levels.

Co-founding partner responsible for operations oversight to create robust processes for the provision of data insights and reporting solutions for niche Enterprise users. Diverse job description to get this start-up through its life cycle. Noesys LLC was dissolved in 2018.

Conducted onsite Lean Six Sigma training on methodology and tools, to a cohort of professionals, charged with championing a lean transformation across the San Mateo County

Key Contributions:

• Performed skills and organizational assessment to determine a baseline
• Trained cohort on lean six sigma methodology/mindset, determined next steps for skills training and supported the identification of suitable live projects
• Coached and mentored the cohort on five live, county-wide lean projects
• Led workshops for cross-functional collaboration including process mapping (as-is & future-state), guidance on methodology, lean culture, reporting during milestones, DMAIC, DMADV, A3 reports, measurement studies (e.g., time-spent, movement, work in progress), root-cause, risk assessments, interviewed stakeholders and supported analysis sessions to identify and quantify problems before planning solutions
• Supported teams in planning improvements and PDCA cycles
• Supported the cohort in mapping future-state processes that would allow live processes to transition with minimum risk
• Streamlined transition planning and execution
• Finally provided skills training recommendations for each member of the cohort to continue the lean transformation.

Provided guidance to processes as an internal consultant, utilizing operating model and domain expertise to monitor/manage a portfolio of Service Level Agreement (SLAs) and related Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and deliver periodic business reporting.

Key Contributions:

• Practiced lean methodology as a process mentor to operational improvement projects.
• Ensured forward progress for portfolio of projects in various stages of completion, including pitch, research, analysis, operational support, and representation of projects during leadership reviews.
• Managed process connections and interdependencies through collaboration with other teams and verticals.
• Conducted extensive discovery, using interviewing, various mapping techniques, and measurements of current-state processes, value-stream mapping to establish a baseline and assess gaps. Identified and received Champion sign-off on a very high-value project related to reducing time taken for stores to go-to-market. Early store openings were expected to bring in added sales/revenue
• Led innovative initiatives for idea generation focused on idea harvesting, screening, development, and pitching to process owners.

Led offshore retail store planning teams, focused on the delivery of 2D retail store plans for the annual store development program in TESCO UK. Managed operations, service delivery, store layout planning performance, equipment implementation across stores, design standards & store best practices for the program

Excelled at all people management responsibilities including recruitment, training, performance management, and employee recognition/rewards

Key Contributions:

• Managed the Store Format Planning team transition from UK to HSC.
• Then ramped-up the team to produce zero-defect plans in every publication under my watch.
• Assisted with developing store planning staff competency planning and delivered a roadmap for business scaling/resource planning as several programs transitioned to HSC.
• Provided management support for new business innovations and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Built business cases for implementation of new retail planning projects.

Accomplishments:

• Improved the drawing management process to reduce spending on re-survey costs (estimated benefit of £13million over 10 years). This project required cross-functional business processes to comply with the new process across the sizeable Tesco estate. I co-created training plans in conjunction with UK teams and implemented training and processes at TESCO HSC.
• Developed the first structured training programs for store and format planning teams at HSC to assist with scaling during transitions. New employees were able to ramp up faster and the training allowed cross-skilling which greatly improved team utilization and avoided headcount costs
• Competency Development Planning: The annual employee survey showed a drop in morale due to lack of clarity in promotion decisions. To find out why, I spoke with several employees and their supervisors. After an initial pitch, I received Leadership support to design, present and follow through on a staff competency development model. I piloted the model with a panel of collaborators who helped refine it and appreciated the transparency it provided. Managers were then trained in how to create their own skills dictionaries and rating scales for use in their departments. This model was primed for adoption across the business services vertical at HSC.

• Project Coordinator – Project Management, Cushman and Wakefield, Bengaluru, India
• Architect, Firm Terra Architects, Bengaluru, India
• Architect, Maroli Architects, Bengaluru, India