The Lean Six Sigma hiring knowledge base
Plain-English guides for hiring managers, HR teams and operations leaders building a Lean, Six Sigma or continuous improvement team. Written by the team at JIT Recruiting from 20+ years of search work.
Hiring Lean Six Sigma talent
Green Belt vs Black Belt vs Master Black Belt: Which Should You Hire?
What each Six Sigma belt level actually does, how they compare, and how to pick the right one before you write the…
Read the guide →How to Interview Lean Six Sigma Candidates: 12 Questions That Work
The questions, red flags and practical exercise we use to screen Lean and Six Sigma candidates for real results, not just certificates.
Read the guide →How to Write a Lean Six Sigma Job Description (Free Template)
A structure that attracts strong improvement candidates, common mistakes to avoid and a copy-ready Black Belt job description.
Read the guide →Working with a recruiter
Retained vs Contingency Search: Which Is Right for Your Role?
How retained and contingency recruiting work, how they compare, and when hourly or flat-rate help makes more sense.
Read the guide →Cost per Hire and Time to Fill: 2026 Benchmarks for Employers
The latest SHRM and BLS numbers on hiring cost, time to fill and pay, and why specialized improvement roles break from the…
Read the guide →Lean and Six Sigma terms every hiring manager should know
You’ll see these words in resumes and interviews. Knowing what they mean helps you ask better questions.
- Lean
- A way of running operations that focuses on delivering value to the customer and removing waste. It grew out of the Toyota Production System.
- Toyota Production System (TPS)
- Toyota’s production approach, built on two pillars: Just-in-Time and jidoka.
- Just-in-Time (JIT)
- Making only what is needed, when it is needed, in the amount needed. It’s also where our name comes from.
- Jidoka
- Often translated as “automation with a human touch”: stopping a process as soon as a problem appears, so defects don’t move forward.
- Kaizen
- Continuous, incremental improvement, often run as short, focused team events.
- Six Sigma
- A data-driven method for reducing variation and defects in a process.
- DMAIC
- Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control: the standard Six Sigma project roadmap.
- Green Belt
- Supports Black Belt projects by gathering and analyzing data, and may lead smaller projects.
- Black Belt
- Leads problem-solving projects and coaches project teams.
- Master Black Belt
- Mentors Black and Green Belts, sets program-level direction and acts as the internal expert.
- Champion
- The leader who turns company goals into a deployment plan, picks projects, secures resources and removes obstacles.
- Value stream map
- A diagram of every step, delay and hand-off needed to deliver a product or service, used to find waste.
- 5S
- Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain: a workplace organization method.
- Standard work
- The current best way to do a task, written down so it can be repeated and improved.
- Kanban
- A visual signal system that triggers replenishment only when material is used.
- Gemba
- “The real place”: where the work actually happens. A gemba walk means going to see it in person.
Sources: Toyota, Toyota Production System; ASQ, Six Sigma belts, executives and champions; Lean Enterprise Institute lexicon.
Rather talk it through?
Ann Sylvia has recruited Lean and Six Sigma talent for more than 20 years. Ask her anything about your role.
