Gruppo Ethos:
Why be a Lean Lifestyle Company
"I could not go too far from the company for fear that something would go wrong, or simply that the improvement activities would stop being such in my absence. It seemed that everything could only work with my presence or that of my brother. Then I met the model of Lean Lifestyle Company. If at the beginning the process of change was seen with mistrust, now new proposals are constantly coming from those who were a little more resistant. And I think it was possible thanks to this individual and corporate path, which initially terrorized. Now people feel directly involved and experience the corporate pyramid as 'upside down' compared to before: the diffusion of the new concept of centrality of the core staff has been key."
Beppe Scotti - Ceo Gruppo Ethos
Ethics and passion. The Ethos Group was founded thirty years ago in the world of food and catering and represents the first application of the Lean Lifestyle Company model in the sector in Italy. Streamlining processes, promoting efficiency in work and personal life, stimulating problem solving from the bottom up, involving all employees in a process of continuous improvement: these are the pillars on which the company has grown, now counting 9 restaurants, 3 food-delivery services, 2 farms, a brewery, a roasting plant, a beverage line and a range of services ranging from events/incentives to consultancy for start-ups in the restaurant industry, through sector training and the production of semi-finished products for the Horeca channel.
The path to achieve these results has had a strong impulse since 2010, when the need to eliminate waste in the main processes emerged, coupled with great concern in the two brothers, Beppe and Antonio Scotti, owners of the company, they cannot rely on the full autonomy of their employees.
The Ethos Group has thus embarked on a path of progressive involvement of operators, reversing the traditional top-down approach. In this perspective, the senior management does not "decide", but promotes involvement, setting clear and precise objectives. The operators identify problems and form a team to solve them. The team is heterogeneous: runners’ waiters, dishwashers, cooks and help cooks are involved, sometimes even office employees. This has triggered a self-sustaining improvement process throughout the group, thanks to the empowerment of each operator.
Great attention has also been given to the training, development and growth of talents in the company to fill positions of responsibility, rather than resorting to external. Much emphasis has been placed on the development of delegation skills at all levels, as the main tool for achieving business growth. The path of development and growth of skills, from 2014 to today, has finally provided for all the first and second levels of the organization participation in the Executive Master’s program Lean Lifestyle.
In this improvement project, the application of Lean logic played a key role, particularly through the creation of simple and visual standards at critical points in processes. Another determined element was the full involvement of all employees in problem solving activities: improvement groups of 2/3 people who are activated for the resolution of operational problems that arise during daily activity, Applying the "A3" methodology.
All this has allowed entrepreneurs to disconnect from operations and focus their time on strategic activities, allowing the Ethos Group to expand its reach in new business and new alliances.
