Untangle Ineffective Processes
Stop Feeding Your Competition
It’s October and the holiday season is fast approaching. That means I have to submit my request for vacation time. Why so early? Well, my request has to be submitted to the Holiday Administrator, who is overwhelmed with requests, and I know it’s going to be a very long time before I know if my request is accepted. Besides, it’s our process to request time off at least five weeks in advance because everyone plans that far ahead — of course they do.
It’s now November and I still am waiting to hear about my vacation request. Why? Because my request had to go to the Holiday Administrator to three different layers of management who check back with my team leader each time to ensure we have 27 employees with my skillset available (during a time when we only need five according to the reports). Of course, the Operations Manager sent me an email during all this cacophony asking why I’ve not requested to use my remaining vacation time by the end of the year.
It’s now mid November and I finally received an email notification that I need to reconsider a couple of my requested days and resubmit my request. At this rate it will be February before anything is resolved so it’s probably easier to just call in sick. This is ridiculous.
Often, by the time an organization decides to look at one of their business processes something is going significantly wrong.
These are just a few of the recent process downfalls I have seen with organizations.
- Customers may be complaining about how difficult it is to get a hold of customer service
- Time to deliver products or services become longer
- Production costs are increasing due to duplication and rework,
- Great job candidates are lost and have now been picked up by the competition
While all this is concerning, the real concern is that these tangled processes are driving customers, clients, and even employees to the competition.
For companies who are wanting to establish or preserve competitive advantage, or even maintain solvency in this ever-changing business environment, processes must be constantly reviewed for efficiency and effectiveness. Generally, this does not require significant time and effort if the right structure is put in place, but if your processes have not been properly revised in a while, it could be a good time to start untangling.
Untangling is a term I use to describe an issue that occurs to many processes over time. A company begins by establishing a process because at the time it seems to fit the business. After a short time, some process steps don’t work so an action or task gets inserted to fix that step (Band-aid #1). A customer wants a change in the service or product so the process gets altered to appease that customer (Band-aid #2). A new manager is employed who “knows a much better process from their former company” modifying the process yet again (Band-aid #3), and so on.
Over time these processes get so tangled that they become dysfunctional for customers and employees alike.
So what’s the solution?
Achieve untangling by mapping out the current process. A process map or Value Stream Map are common tools used by Lean Six Sigma teams wanting to untangle, or take apart, processes. What is critical to untangling is that all relevant stakeholders (people who affect or are affected by the process) are present. This ensures all perspectives can be taken into account. The importance of inclusion cannot be understated and is well described by Sidney Yoshida’s “The Iceberg of Ignorance.” Therefore, those who are closest to the problem need to be present.
Process and Value Stream mapping will reveal holes, gaps, duplications, rework, inconsistencies, and non-value added activities. You have to get rid of the Muda (Japanese word for waste) to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your processes.
By involving the right stakeholders in process reviews, you can begin to engage the right employees to create an understanding, collaborative, and accountable workplace.
Need help?
At Engagement Academy Partners, we partner with your organization to untangle broken, band-aid processes that affect your company, customers, employees, and bottom line.
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