Many companies have processes that they have already documented or established. In some cases, those processes are utilized, and in many others, the systems live in a binder or a document on the intranet until they fade from view.
The last thing you want to do is spend time and money on building and documenting processes only to have them languish and fall out of date.
So, how do you get your team to apply the processes on which your company is built?
How To Get Company Processes Applied By All
Here is a step-by-step guide that you can use to get the processes you have built and documented into use:
1. Perform a process review.
The first step is to review the processes you have documented. Are they over a year old? Do the business systems involve older software, or have they been superseded by something that works better?
Reviewing the processes themselves will help you get a good idea of what your team is encountering.
2. Gather the team.
Once you have reviewed the processes you have documented, gather the team of people who should be using them. During this meeting, find out why the processes aren’t in use.
Employees have many reasons for not using processes. The majority of these reasons can be resolved. Here are a few common ones:
a. I have my own way of doing things.
You can solve this by determining if the employee’s way of doing things should be built into the existing process. You hired employees because they had specialized skills in an area, and they may use those skills to improve the processes and resolve issues more effectively. So, find out what they’ve been doing and collaborate to see if their methodology can be incorporated into the systems.
b. I can’t access the processes.
This is a pervasive issue. Many companies keep their processes in binders or a folder on the intranet. They aren’t easy to find or access when they are needed. The solution here is to find a program that all can access and utilize – even when they need a quick refresher to remember the next step of the process or procedure.
c. Putting my work into a process makes me easy to replace.
This may be true. However, building a process around an employee’s routine makes it easier for them to go on vacation or delegate specific aspects of their job so they can move up the ladder in the company. You can likely solve this concern by:
1. Providing a valued employee with someone to whom they can delegate and/or
2. Showing them the possibilities for growth within the company.
d. The process doesn’t fit with how we are doing things.
If a process is older or was created by someone who isn’t in the trenches doing the work, it may have missing steps. If this is the case, the solution is to review the process with the team who will be using it, modify it, and perform a run-through to see if you are missing anything else. Having a complete process is vital in getting it implemented.
3. Train the team.
Now that you have the processes perfected and the team is on board with applying them, you must give them time to learn them. Give your team training time to refresh their knowledge, create checklists that work for them, and generally understand how the processes fit with the company’s overall function.
4. Have the team perform periodic process reviews.
Processes are dynamic. They must be modified periodically to keep up with changing software, market forces, and metrics. Get your next review meeting on the calendar about six months from the final training.
Are you ready to implement business systems but need support along the way? Get in touch with the team at Business Success Consulting Group. We are here to help.
