At Eximious Alliance, we’ve seen how easily organisations get caught up in constant change. It’s a natural part of growth, but it’s important to understand the difference between change for the sake of it and genuine improvement. 

Change is often driven by external pressures – market shifts, new technology, or regulatory demands. While change is a given in today’s fast paced business world, it doesn’t always necessarily result in improvement. Without clear goals, a structured approach and the right expertise to manage the change it can lead to confusion and inefficiency. Improvement, however, is about making things better. It’s a focused, deliberate process that solves problems, streamlines systems, and delivers better outcomes, whether that’s reducing risks, cutting costs, speeding up processes, or boosting employee and customer satisfaction. 

Measuring progress is crucial to ensure that changes lead to improvement. Data can be used to help you see what’s working, where adjustments are needed, and whether your efforts are paying off. Clear objectives focus your improvement efforts, and continuous measurement allows you to monitor progress and make informed decisions. It creates accountability, ensuring everyone stays focused on the same goals. In the end, harnessing the power of measurement for improvement helps organisations prove the value of their efforts to stakeholders. 

Alison Sarmiento, whose expertise stems from her work with the NHS, focuses on creating effective measurement strategies for improvement. Alison draws on as the principles of the NHS’s measurement for improvement guide, and her experience of leading an organisation-wide lean implementation programme in a community NHS setting. She emphasises the need for organisations to clearly define what they want to achieve,   and she knows the importance of tracking both lead and lag measures to ensure improvement efforts are driving the right outcomes. Lead measures help organisations track the actions that predict success, while lag measures reveal the final results, but after the event, so it’s not possible to make correcting actions. Organisations tend to focus on lag measures because they are usually easier to measure.  To deliver real improvement it is vital to define the right lead measures so that you know whether what you have changed is an improvement…or just a change.  

Improvement is not a one-off task; it’s an ongoing mindset. As we like to say here at Eximious, ‘you can change without improving, but you can’t improve without change’. Organisations that encourage curiosity, innovation, and learning from mistakes whilst going through these changes are better positioned to continuously evolve – and to do it well. Engaging with employees, customers, and other stakeholders is essential, as their insights help identify areas that need attention and ensure that improvements have wide support.  

But before you start any improvement project, it’s essential to establish a baseline so you can understand where you are now and track your progress. Think about what you are aiming to improve, define what you’re going to measure and how often.. It’s also important to think about how you communicate the improvement measures, so that you can share your progress, agree and implement any tweaks to the plan, as well as keeping everyone aligned and engaged in the process. 

Using the right tools and methodologies, , and a creative techniques and frameworks backed by data, strengthens your approach to improvement. Equipping your teams with the right skills and knowledge through regular training will keep them capable and motivated. And while the process can be challenging, it’s important to recognise and celebrate even small successes along the way, as they build momentum for further improvement. 

The distinction between change and improvement is clear: change happens all the time, but improvement requires intention and attention. Organisations need to ask themselves whether they are simply reacting to external pressures or making thoughtful decisions that lead to better outcomes.