Staffing Up Your CoPE

Establishing a Center of Production Excellence (CoPE) requires recruiting the right change agents who can adapt to the organization's needs and promote resilience, emphasizing both operational excellence and customer experience. A key challenge for CoPE members is proactively convincing the organization to change before issues arise, as they work within complex systems subject to constraints. Strategies for recruiting effective CoPE members include enlisting respected engineers who advocate for change and leveraging data from tools like Honeycomb to identify potential candidates. Diversity in team composition is crucial, as it brings varied backgrounds and skills that enhance problem-solving capabilities. Once recruited, members should regularly meet to develop a charter outlining objectives, problems to address, and strategies for change, ensuring alignment with organizational goals. Obtaining commitment from organizational stakeholders for this charter is essential for empowering the CoPE to initiate effective change.