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HOW TO EFFICIENTLY PIVOT BUSINESS PROCESSES

Reading time: about 7 min

In business, you can always count on the following: current processes will be
changed in the future, and there will be resistance to proposed process changes.

Executives and managers are always looking for ways to improve processes to help
employees be more efficient, make fewer mistakes, increase output, and get
products to market faster. But you might find it difficult to implement the
improvements.

Why is it so hard to implement changes?

In this article we’ll discuss why implementing changes can be challenging, and
we’ll give you some tips to help you to identify areas where improvement is
needed and pivot your processes efficiently. 


WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO CONTINUALLY IMPROVE PROCESSES?

Companies use processes to design and build quality products that will satisfy
customer needs and expectations. Smart companies understand that improvements to
processes and procedures can always be made.

Of course, you should have a valid reason behind every proposed change. It
doesn’t make a lot of sense to change things in the name of improvement simply
because you haven’t made a change in a while. Changes should only be made if you
can show how they can help the company to achieve its goals.

At the same time, it doesn’t make any sense to continue using dated processes
because you’ve always done it that way. You’ll run the risk of falling behind
your competition as they find ways to streamline processes and get their
products to market more quickly. It’s a good idea to have an open mind about new
technologies and new ways of doing business to ensure that your company remains
competitive and relevant.

So you should continually monitor and manage your processes. This helps you to
understand what’s working and what needs to be tweaked. Planning and
implementing well-defined process improvements can help your business: 

 * Increase customer satisfaction
 * Improve employee morale and job satisfaction
 * Consistently produce high-quality products
 * Remain in compliance with industry standards
 * Work in collaborative and agile environments
 * Increase customer loyalty


WHY IS IT HARD TO IMPLEMENT PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS?

If process improvements are good for business, then why is it difficult to
implement changes and get people to follow those new processes?

Basically it’s because we don’t like being told what to do. It’s something
that’s hard-wired into our brains from an early age. Psychologists call it
“psychological reactance.” It’s your brain’s reaction to perceived threats to
your freedom or when you think your choices are limited. When rules or
guidelines are put into place, it can make you feel annoyed, anxious, or angry.
Even if you know that what you are asked to do will be beneficial, your
immediate reaction might be “don’t tell me what to do.”

Other factors that might explain resistance to change include:

 * Fear that it will impact current work and productivity
 * Belief that process improvement means more work
 * Lack of confidence in the people who communicate the changes
 * Doubting that process improvement is needed
 * Experience with previous, less-than-successful process implementations
 * Feeling like there is a loss of control over one’s are of ownership

Understanding the reasons for resistance to change is a good thing.
Understanding the root cause of resistance will help your team come up with a
process improvement plan that is more collaborative.


HOW TO IMPLEMENT PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

When planning to implement a new process, it’s a good idea to iInvolve everybody
who will be working with that process. This will help to reduce resistance. 

Here are some other suggestions that could help you to implement process
improvement more efficiently.


AUDIT PROCESSES FOR EFFECTIVENESS 

You are likely already using processes that help your company work at efficient
levels, but that doesn’t mean that there is no room for improvement. You need to
monitor current processes to see if there are any bottlenecks or areas that
might need to be updated.

You might want to create a process flow diagram of your current processes. This
will give you visual step-by-step documentation that makes it easy to see where
there might be problem areas and explain those problem areas to others. 

In addition, talk to the people who work with the process. This helps team
members to feel like their ideas are important and that they have a hand in
improving the process. Their feedback can be valuable and give you a more clear
picture of what needs to change. Plus, you’ll be less likely to overlook
important steps and substeps. 


IDENTIFY THE PROCESS GOALS 

You need to understand the outcome of the process—what you expect the process to
do. This means that you need to understand where you are starting from and where
you want to end up. 

Use the process in its current state as a baseline for defining the goals you
want to meet through process improvement. For example, your audit of the current
process might find that some steps are redundant or unnecessary. So your goal
might be to streamline and increase productivity by removing unnecessary steps.

Check out these tips from Alec Sharp, senior consultant at Clariteq, for taking
business processes from “as-is” to “to-be.”



Read more


IDENTIFY TEAM STRENGTHS

Because you want to efficiently and quickly implement process improvements, you
want to involve the people who have the skills to perform specific steps and
tasks. The team should be cross-functional so that the process can be seen from
more than one perspective. These different perspectives from people across
departments can help you to create a better plan for streamlining and
implementing changes. 


DETERMINE WHAT CAN BE AUTOMATED AND WHERE YOU CAN LEVERAGE SOFTWARE 

According to a McKinsey report, about 60% of all occupations have at least 30%
of activities that could be automated. Automation can increase productivity,
improve performance, and decrease human error. The right technology stack can
help you to automate some functions and give you a more streamlined process.


MAP AND DOCUMENT YOUR NEW PROCESS

Redesign your process, eliminate the problem areas, identify where automation
will go, and clearly define each step and substep. To do this, you’ll want to
bring together all of the key players. As a team you can collaborate and share
ideas as you build a process that will enhance productivity, produce
high-quality products and services, decrease time to market, and ultimately
increase your customer base and profits.

Use cloud-based software like Lucidspark and Lucidchart to bring together all
team members no matter where they are located to collaborate and plan. 

Use Lucidspark to brainstorm and capture ideas on a virtual whiteboard. Then
evaluate each idea and determine which can feasibly translate to a real-life
context.

After you have determined which ideas are the best for the improvements you want
to make, use Lucidchart to document the process using flowcharts, process maps,
and other visual aids.


SHARE THE NEW PROCESS WITH THE TEAM

As mentioned, you will probably get some pushback when you try to implement the
changes. Even the people who helped you plan and design the process improvements
might want to delay it to another date so their current work isn’t impacted.

Clear communication throughout the brainstorming, planning, and redesigning
process is essential to help alleviate any resistance or concerns that your team
members have. The most important thing is that they understand the purpose of
the change and how you plan to implement it without negatively impacting current
work. Make sure that there are no surprises so you get buy-in from everybody and
the transition runs smoothly.


ASK FOR FEEDBACK  

After implementing the new process, ask the team to give you feedback so that
you know how it’s going. Does the process produce the desired outcome? Does it
work as expected? Are there any areas that aren’t working like you thought they
would?

Clear communication is key at this stage as well. You want your team to
understand that this process is not set in stone and that you value their
feedback and are open to new ideas.

Start documenting your current processes with a process flow template.

 



Go now


START DOCUMENTING YOUR CURRENT PROCESSES WITH A PROCESS FLOW TEMPLATE.

Go now


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