Help! I own a process, now what?

Does your job involve managing a business process? It can be challenging to get your arms around an unfamiliar process, especially if you’re also taking on a new role. However, your life will be much easier if you fully understand the process and how well it’s working. Here are some steps to help you get started:

• Identify key stakeholders – who are the customers of the process (internal or external)? Who is involved in each step of the process? Are others involved with providing data, expertise or other inputs? Who else should be consulted, for example if the process changes?

• Define process scope and timing – where does the process start and end? What are the key inputs (e.g. from other groups or suppliers) and outputs (e.g. information, products or services provided to customers)? Does the process have a regular cadence, or is it triggered by an event?

• Determine current performance – based on stakeholder feedback, how well is the process working today? What do customers value (or not) in the current output? Are customer needs being met? If not, why not? Is the process difficult to execute consistently?

• Establish process metrics – do you have access to existing metrics and historical data? Based on stakeholder feedback, are these the right metrics to use going forward? Do they align with organizational goals? How can you reliably measure process performance going forward?

• Find areas for improvement – do your customers, team members and other stakeholders have suggestions for improvement? Can you identify common themes? Is there anything you can fix right away? If not, can you work with others to develop a business case for change?

As you can see, customer input is critical to understand your current process performance and identify gaps. Team members involved in the process understand the details, like why the process works the way it does and specific issues that they confront. Other stakeholders will have a different viewpoint, and may be able to help you advocate for change.

A process improvement consultant can help your team document processes, interview stakeholders, and develop an improvement plan. An outside perspective can help your team identify gaps and recommend different solutions. If you’d like to schedule an initial consultation about your process, please book a slot on my calendar.