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So business is going great, and things are happening quickly. As is often the case for growing businesses, once things pick up, we start implementing - and mostly improvising - when it comes to processes. It is a necessary aspect of doing business to adapt our response to challenges as they come, and there is no world where businesses are implementing neatly structured processes at all times. Although people and businesses need space outside rigid structures to move quickly and innovate, trouble often comes when too much of the work we do stays unstructured, and we spend too long working in the realm of inconsistencies and unpredictability. When too much of what we do is left to chance compared to what is set into standardised processes we can surely expect people to lose time, and patience - and maybe lose their minds too.
That is where processes come in: process management is a systematic approach to ensure that things are being done efficiently, with the least amount of time, effort, and resources, and effectively, delivering higher quality work.
Wondering how to increase business efficiency using process management? No matter your business or line of work, the approach to clean up and structure your work are largely the same;
Step 1 - Analyse the situation and talk with the relevant people
So the storm is behind you, you’ve delivered your big project, launched your new product, or closed another year of business and now you have a moment to look around and realise the aftermath of the battle: you’re now left with a series of scattered documents, emails, notes and ideas, and a bunch of inefficiencies that need to be addressed.
During this phase, you should review all information at hand, and understand what happened and what you want to happen in the future. A debriefing process would be helpful to organise the information you have gathered, and a simple approach is to elaborate on the following:
What we liked
What needs to be improved
What we need to discuss
Comments/Questions
This debriefing can be done with a team, with a client, or even by yourself. The important part is to let your thoughts out, write things out, and integrate all information as you move forward.
Step 2 - Prioritise: what needs to be automated, streamlined and/or standardised?
This is the fun part, now we get to dream about what life could be if everything worked out the way we wanted and everything got delivered well and on time. Start by looking at the biggest loss in time and money. Where do you struggle the most, and what causes the biggest headaches? At this stage, you may realise there is a lot to be improved, too much in fact, but we don’t want this process to be overwhelming. Be realistic in what you choose to address and when. It could help to identify the biggest culprits for resource waste and prioritise them using the system you prefer: from a roadmap - categorising each item into now, then, later, maybe - to an urgent/important matrix. Whatever system you use, the goal here is to help you focus on what needs to be done, depending on the size of your team(s) and the resources at your disposal.
Step 3 - Choose your weapons: the tools
Process building is one of those things that requires a bit of logic and a bit of magic, and choosing the right tool for your business can be more or less based on coincidence, word of mouth or meticulous research. There are so many solutions out there, and a quick 30-minutes research to compare pricing structures and tool features might be enough to make a decision and get started. Just don’t get stuck! An imperfect solution could still deliver benefits to your situation while you grow into better processes and tools. Choose to focus on the tools that would bring you the most value with the least amount of resources. So once again, prioritise, start as small as needed, and be realistic with your expectations. The beauty of this part is that you get to be creative with the solutions you choose to implement and that in 2023 we have access to extraordinarily affordable solutions that can make our lives much much easier.
** Stay tuned for our article diving into some of our favourite tools! **
Step 4 - Implementing
It should be noted that the implementation of new processes - even the beautiful ones that work perfectly well - will require care and support to ensure the sparkly solutions and technology available at your fingertips are actually being used. In a healthy work environment, people cannot be expected to become more efficient and implement it all right away. We are all busy actually doing the work, and adapting to new processes requires mind space and focus. Implementing new processes is akin to implementing new habits, you don’t go from walking 10 minutes a day to running a half marathon the next day. Processes need time and air to breathe, settle in, and be appreciated. Incremental changes where we can quickly feel the return in value (e.g. time and energy saved) should be the first to be implemented. Focus on making sure everyone can notice and enjoy the rewards of well-structured processes at every step of the way, especially to begin with.
Step 5 - Test and tweak: build with people in mind
One may think that nobody likes processes, but you and your team(s) need to love the processes.. so that everyone keeps following them(!). We cannot treat processes with a quick-fix, top-down approach, without taking into consideration people, their environment, skills, and preferences. To do this, ideally, we need a person or team in charge of process management. Implementation timelines should account for consistent follow-up, and time to address the questions and challenges that inevitably will come up as we implement changes. Processes need to be co-created as much as possible by looking at the way people work and live, and gathering precious feedback along the way. Structured work should make our life easier, and it is our job to make sure that everyone can see and feel that solutions are being put in place to safeguard their very precious time and health. So if processes are not being followed by the team - or even yourself! -, it’s time to look at what people are doing instead. It’s a game of finding solutions that work and are easy or adaptable enough so that we get the results we are looking for.
Step 6: The never-ending work (and never-ending benefits)
Just like taking care of your plants or your relationships, this is not a one-off activity. Process management requires having a holistic approach as you work, to make sure you keep capturing information and needs for improvement at every level of your organisation, and at all stages of your work. At different stages, it would require more or less time, but we will never be done with it. The good news is that benefits of implementing structured processes will also keep flowing through your day and between tasks and, if addressed well, general satisfaction should keep improving based on the increased efficiency alone - aka reduced friction, frustration and wasted time.
I realise that this is no easy process to embark on when there is so much happening in your day-to-day work. It is easier to address some of these challenges when you can afford to allocate internal resources specifically to this work, or when you can benefit from an outsider’s perspective. That is why at Nitalia we work with entrepreneurs and businesses of different sizes to expedite that process and take out some of the most challenging parts of process management.
Still, if there is one thing you to take away from this reading, is to believe in the power of processes and the incredible benefits it can bring to your work. Like many things in business and life, it’s a process of trial and error, so above all be kind and keep at it, and best of luck on your journey!
Have more questions? Schedule a consultation with us today to see what this process could look like for your business!
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