8 Fresh Ideas to Kickstart Your Fall Process Improvements

If your life looks a little like mine, then you've probably just gotten through the whirlwind that is back to school. And you've got to admit, there's something about the back-to-school energy that hits in the fall – that natural motivation to get organized, start fresh, and tackle projects we've been putting off. Even those of us long past our school days feel it. September arrives with crisp air and shorter days, and suddenly we're inspired to clean up our cluttered workspace, take on something new or finally follow through on an idea we've been thinking about.

There's real psychology behind this feeling. People naturally latch onto periods of transition and new beginnings and similar to January, September offers that “fresh start” effect. This makes fall the perfect time to reinvigorate your continuous improvement efforts. Your team is already primed for change. They're mentally ready to tackle what isn't working and try something different.

Here are some ideas for getting back on track and building sustainable momentum.

Assess Where You Stand

MoreSteam’s President, Peg Pennington, often tells me, “Go slow to go fast.” That’s a valuable lesson here. Before throwing a new approach at your team, first take the time to evaluate your current state and reflect deeply on the work accomplished over the last several months as well as the “temperature” of your team and organization as it relates to adopting a continuous improvement mindset.

Think about these as you reflect:

• Progress Check: What improvements have we made in the last six months? What efforts have stalled?
• Alignment: Are our current projects tied to the organization’s biggest strategic priorities, or have we drifted toward “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”?
• Team Energy: How motivated is my team right now? Do they feel energized by our work or drained by it?
• Adoption: Is continuous improvement seen as “extra work,” or is it beginning to feel like the natural way we operate?
• Learning: What lessons have we captured from recent successes and failures? Are we re-using that learning effectively?
• Barriers: What obstacles (think organizational, cultural, or structural) are slowing down momentum?
• Readiness: If we were to launch a new initiative tomorrow, how confident am I that the team has the bandwidth, support, and enthusiasm to take it on?

Remember not to focus solely on what didn’t happen. Consciously acknowledge and celebrate what has gone well like shifts in attitude or behavior, improvement projects with tangible benefits, or even small wins that signal progress. Recognizing these successes reinforces momentum and helps your team see that their efforts are making a difference.

Reconnect Your Team with the "Why"

Any time you want to build momentum you should recenter on the “Why”. Help people connect the daily work to organizational goals and objectives. How does this look? Try hosting process improvement huddles. Bring your teams together to discuss how process improvements directly impact their work experience and the value they deliver to customers. Share success stories from prior projects and remind everyone of the positive changes they've already achieved together.

Start Small and Build Momentum

When energy is low, the best way to regain momentum is to focus on quick wins. These don’t have to be big, resource-heavy projects — in fact, they shouldn’t be. Instead, aim for changes that can be completed in 30 days or less, require minimal approvals, and have a visible impact on daily work. A handful of well-chosen wins can rebuild confidence and spark enthusiasm that carries over into larger efforts.

Think of the 30-day quick win strategy as a way to reset the tone of improvement. Maybe it’s streamlining a daily reporting process so the team gets 15 minutes back every morning. Or it could be creating a simple template that eliminates endless back-and-forth emails, or organizing a shared folder so people stop wasting time hunting for documents. Even introducing a short weekly check-in that prevents small issues from snowballing into bigger problems can be a powerful signal that improvement is alive and well.

The point is not the size of the improvement, but the signal it sends. Quick, visible progress reminds everyone that process improvement isn’t about theory — it’s about making work easier, faster, and better right now. Once the team feels that, they’ll be ready to tackle bigger challenges with renewed confidence.

Leverage Fresh Perspectives

As you look for opportunities, don’t overlook the unique value of fresh eyes. Summer often brings new team members, interns who’ve moved on, or colleagues returning from extended time away. These transitions create moments when processes are seen with a clarity that long-time team members might no longer have.

Try hosting “fresh eyes” sessions where newer team members share what feels inefficient or confusing. Their outsider perspective can highlight opportunities for improvement that others overlook. Likewise, if interns or temporary staff have rotated out, use exit interviews to gather process feedback. Their honest, unfiltered impressions often reveal pain points no one else has voiced.

By intentionally seeking out these perspectives, you not only surface hidden opportunities but also send a signal that everyone’s voice matters in shaping how work gets done.

Create New Routines

September’s “fresh start” energy does not just apply to mindset changes, it’s also a chance to reset routines. Use that to your advantage! What new rhythms and routines can you incorporate to help recenter your teams and build momentum around improvement efforts?

Here are a few to try:

• Weekly huddles: 15 minutes to surface and resolve small friction points
• Monthly “process spotlight” sessions: focus on optimizing one workflow at a time
• Quarterly reviews: ensure initiatives are still delivering value and haven’t drifted

The key is consistency. Choose routines you know can sustain momentum even during busy seasons or chaotic periods, so improvement becomes a natural rhythm of work rather than something that fades when attention is pulled elsewhere.

Focus on System Thinking

Use this restart as an opportunity to look at your processes through a systems lens rather than tackling isolated problems. Improvement is rarely about perfecting a single task; it’s about how the pieces fit together.

Start by mapping how the processes you want to improve connect to other parts of the organization. Often, the biggest gains come not from tweaking one workflow but from strengthening the handoffs between teams. And before making changes, take time to consider ripple effects. How might this improvement impact upstream or downstream processes? Thinking systematically helps you choose changes that strengthen the whole operation, not just one corner of it.

Measure and Communicate Progress

Momentum grows when people can see their efforts paying off. That means tracking progress in a way that’s simple, visible, and motivating.

Pick one or two key metrics — time saved, errors reduced, or customer satisfaction improved — and update them regularly where everyone can see. But don’t stop at numbers. Stories often resonate more deeply than charts. Share examples of how an improvement made someone’s day easier or helped a customer get better service. When people hear both the data and the human impact, they’re more likely to stay engaged.

A recent example of this comes from Greif’s global Lean Six Sigma program. By showcasing early wins, celebrating certifications across the organization, and sharing impact stories widely, Greif was able to turn initial momentum into an enterprise-wide culture of problem-solving. Their approach proves that metrics matter, but it’s the combination of data and human stories that truly sustains engagement.

Plan for the Long Game

Finally, use this restart moment to build for staying power. After all, the goal isn’t just to reignite improvement for the fall; it’s to ensure your efforts endure through many seasons, shifting priorities, and new challenges.

Create accountability by assigning specific people to champion different improvement areas. Schedule recurring check-ins so improvement stays on the calendar rather than falling off the radar. And make learning part of the process: capture what worked, what didn’t, and why. Those lessons become the building blocks for stronger initiatives in the future.

Here are a few ways to set yourself up for sustained success:

• Create accountability: Assign specific people to champion different improvement areas. When someone owns an initiative, it’s more likely to survive competing priorities.
• Schedule recurring check-ins: Put regular process improvement discussions on the calendar. If it’s not scheduled, it often doesn’t happen.
• Build learning into the process: Capture lessons learned from both successful and unsuccessful initiatives. These insights become the foundation for stronger efforts moving forward.
• Build in regular reflection time for yourself: Step back periodically to assess your own perspective, energy, and leadership approach. Your clarity sets the tone for your team.

Wrapping It Up

Getting your process improvement momentum back doesn't require a complete overhaul. What it does require is thoughtful attention to what's working, what isn't, and what small steps can create positive momentum moving forward. After all, improvement work is never about one big push; it’s about consistent, intentional steps that add up over time. So use this moment of transition to recommit, reframe, and build rhythms your team can sustain.

Start this week by choosing one small process improvement that can be completed in the next 30 days. Get your team involved in identifying it, implementing it, and celebrating when it's done. That success will provide the energy and credibility you need to tackle bigger improvements as the momentum builds.

Remember, the goal isn't perfection – it's progress! Every small improvement makes your organization more effective and your team's work more satisfying. The best time to start rebuilding that momentum is right now.