F074: Driving Performance: From Organizational Audits to Long-Term Continuous Improvement

When was the last time your team conducted an Organizational Audit? Many leaders are intimidated to conduct a full audit of their organization and are anxious to uncover what they might find. In this session, people expert Melissa Tipton will walk you through best practices when conducting an Organizational Audit. She will cover the steps of an audit, like locating the correct documents and analyzing the ten areas of the employee experience like Talent Acquisition, Training and Development, Compliance, and more through the stoplight approach.

The goal of a successful Organizational Audit is to get your organization to the desired future state of your employee experience by revealing your strengths and areas to improve. Doing the hard work now will ensure your team’s success for the future, and it can even be fun!

Most continuous improvement efforts are designed as if leaders will stay. In reality, executive tenure in manufacturing now often lasts just two to four years. This misalignment quietly undermines transformation, creating cycles of reset rather than sustained progress. In this session, Audie Penn examines how to drive measurable operational gains within compressed leadership timelines while building systems that remain stable after transition. Drawing on extensive multi-site manufacturing experience, he outlines a focused approach to establishing credibility quickly, protecting process discipline, and transferring ownership beyond the executive role. Participants will leave with practical guidance for accelerating performance without sacrificing durability. Sustainable improvement does not depend on heroic leadership — it depends on designing systems strong enough to outlast it.