Do you want your people to be able to focus on the more important aspects of your business? The best way to do this is to have a process improvement plan. This plan will standardize the processes and produce documentation so the process can be followed even if the key stakeholders are MIA (missing in action).
Your process improvement plan needs to contain the following:
1. What are the processes that can be standardized?
Make a list of the processes that are utilized in your organization. If you are a consulting business, you might have a process for new clients, a process for when clients add a service, a process for when clients delete a service, and a process for when a client is no longer a client. Don’t forget the marketing processes you use.
Any process that you do more than once can be standardized. No matter what your business is, there are processes that can be standardized to better utilize the personnel and resources in your organization.
2. Who are the stakeholders?
Many people start standardizing processes without key stakeholders. This is a disaster. You need to have the correct stakeholders in the room when you are standardizing a process. When defining stakeholders, think through the process. Anyone that touches a piece of the process (or that you would like to touch the process) needs to have their input and be present in the room. If you don’t have all the stakeholders in the room, the process is doomed to fail before it even starts.
3. Which processes should you start with?
This question can only be answered by the organization. Some people start with the smaller processes that can be delegated to someone so the leaders can concentrate on moving the organization forward. Some people start with the processes that will help move the organization forward quicker.
The goal is to choose a process that can improve something and show momentum so the people are willing and eager to continue standardizing the other processes. If a process is standardized and there is no seen benefit, the momentum could slow down and the rest of the processes could never be standardized.
4. What is the project scope and timeline?
Define the scope and timeline so everyone is on the same page. You need to define what process is being worked on and what that process entails. It is so easy to morph processes together. Do not be tempted to do that. You need to work on one process at a time so the process will get standardized. If you keep adding scope to the project, the processes will never get standardized.
A timeline is also good as it shows that this project will not go on forever and that there is an end date. People work better with a timeline. If there is no timeline, people will keep putting off the project as there is no hard end date.
5. How do you standardize processes?
The best way to standardize processes is by mapping. You bring all the stakeholders into a room and have them walk through the process, writing the steps on sticky notes that are then hung around the room in the correct sequence.
If different departments are involved, you could color code the sticky notes to show the different departments as the processes are unfolding. Each department could have a different row on the wall to show how the steps move from one department to another. You can also do this using a computer program instead of sticky notes. It might be good to physically walk through the process to ensure that no step is hidden. All the steps need to be collected and written down in order for the process to achieve standardization. Once the process is complete, the process is written down and given to the stakeholders (or put in a communal binder) so all people can now use the correct process.
Allow people time to get used to the new process. Depending on how long the old process was in place, people might resort back to the old process when things get busy due to muscle memory. The people need time for the new process to get put into muscle memory. Be encouraging and allow people time to learn the new process.
6. How will your organization manage process change?
Now that you have your new processes in place, you are done, right? Not quite. What if something changes? What if you get new software or there is a change in the legislature that changes your businesses practices? You need to have a change management process in place.
Some popular continuous improvement processes are PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act), PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act), or PIE (Plan, Implement, Evaluate). Some don’t have fancy names but still have the same ideas like: Identify, Plan, Execute, Review, or Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control.
Whichever continuous improvement processes you choose, make sure you choose one and share it with all the stakeholders. This way, anyone has the ability to offer a continuous improvement idea. Things change so fast in businesses that it is absurd to think that your processes will always stay the same. Make sure that you choose a continuous improvement process that works best for your organization.
Following these six steps can enable you to have standardized processes so things get done while your people can focus their attention on the more important aspects of the business. Having a continuous process improvement plan can enable your organization to continually move forward and to be a leader in your industry.