Iowa’s Easter Seals nonprofit organization recently adopted Six Sigma practices and it now expects to save thousands of dollars in ongoing Six Sigma projects. The organization partnered with Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. in 2000 to begin Six Sigma training, and to address production and supply management, sales, research and administrative process issues. A subsequent examination of Easter Seals’ chronic billing denial problem—in which bills submitted aren’t paid promptly—saved it $68,000 when a new billing process was implemented.

Pioneer Hi-Bred International provided funds so that Jason Nielsen, Easter Seals vice president of strategic management, could attend a five-week Six Sigma training course. Two Pioneer employees mentored him in the methodology.

Donna Elbrecht, Easter Seals Iowa president and CEO, says that the widespread use of Six Sigma would be beneficial to other nonprofit organizations, noting that it has helped her organization identify chronic problems, gather facts and evaluate processes statistically.

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