10 Things You’re Doing Wrong with your Processes

Last week we posted our first blog article. Our inaugural post was my thoughts on process in general. Check it out here. I’ll be the first to say, I’m new at writing articles but I do know processes very well. Simply ask anyone who has worked with me and they will tell you that I know my stuff. With that being said, thank you for coming back for round two!

As a leader in your company, you’ve worked hard to identify and implement solutions, in this case processes. Yet they’re not quite working. What exactly is going on? This post was created to help you troubleshoot the issue(s). Chances are you are suffering from one or more of the following:

#1 Over-Complicating

This list isn’t necessarily in order, with the exception of this one. Over-complication is the biggest culprit, especially with well-intentioned individuals. It slows down business workflow unlike anything else. Don’t get me wrong, as the overall process owner you definitely want to capture every step. However, before implementation, go through and trim the fat. Is it absolutely necessary to do step #14 if step #13 is accomplishing the same thing? What added value does step #14 have? Imagine that step #14 wasn’t a part of your process, would it still work?

I will also add that if the process takes too long, it’s probably too complicated. Hiring is a great example of this. If on average it takes your team 39 days to move from interview to final decision, there is a very good chance that your candidate has accepted another offer. This is especially the case in markets like Silicon Valley and other tech hubs including my home town (which is becoming known as Silicon Slopes). Best in class organizations have much shorter hiring cycles because their processes are simple and effective. When in doubt, KISS (Keep it simple, stupid).

#2 No Clear Owner(s)

Who is responsible for what? When? Why? Of course not everyone involved in any given process is an “owner”. However, I would strongly encourage you to include these owners when mapping out and implementing new processes (and when reviewing your current processes as well). Ensure there is one overall owner, one single person who is responsible for the process as a whole and can make the final call, regardless of how many sub owners or stakeholders are involved.

I’ll also add that although the idea of sharing the workload may sound great, try to avoid having too many cooks in the kitchen. People will always have opinions and ideas (both good and bad) on how to structure process. Stakeholders should give counsel and advice but the end goal shouldn’t be to try and make everyone happy by entertaining their opinions and implementing their ideas. I’ve been part of teams where decisions aren’t made and workflows are messy because the aim is to please everyone which in return also creates confusion around who really owns the process. Please don’t do this. Make it clear as to who the owner(s), sub owners and stakeholders are to everyone involved.

#3 No Support from Leadership/Executives

It doesn’t matter if you’ve mapped out the perfect process, if your VP of Sales (or insert other executive here) isn’t aware or doesn’t support it then it will likely fail. I’ve seen this happen time and time again. Your team will be much less likely to follow a process that the CEO and other executives don’t respect or follow.

If you’re at the stage where you need processes in place (remember stage can be determined by revenue, employee count, number of customers, startup, vs. growth, etc.) it would be ideal if leadership truly understood what processes are in play and why. However, even if leadership isn’t involved, they can and should still act as your champions. Make your executives your influencers. Get them to buy in and adoption will be much higher.

#4 Not Sticky (upon Implementation)

I almost didn’t include this one because it’s painfully obvious. It’s probably why you’re reading this post in the first place. But man do I love this word and it applies to so much in your business, from processes and workflows to your entire product line.

This is a common scenario I’ve seen too many times. A processes is created and a meeting is scheduled to train on that process. A powerpoint is put together and emailed to attendees after the training. So much to pick apart here but we’re going to touch on implementation. The key to creating a sticky process it to communicate the “why” to the intended process-followers. Understanding the current state of the workflow before the new process was introduced will show users the “why” behind the new process vs. just the “what.” Stickiness really manifests itself upon implementation.

#5 Gaps for Human Error

Humans are the worst. All my introverted friends are agreeing with me right now, especially all of you in IT, huh? For the record, I don’t actually think humans are the worst but human error is inevitable in business. It’s typically caused by employees’ misunderstanding of their role(s). Human error is often overlooked and underestimated. Ensure your processes are human proof and avoid gaps. For example, if your process is too high level, you’ll naturally have gaps where people make assumptions or take “short cuts.”

#6 Lack Visibility (and Reportability)

A process is almost pointless if you can’t return and report. Think paper trail to avoid the “he said, she said” and audit trail when it comes to compliance. All companies will need to go through a compliance check of some sort and process documentation is key. Being proactive and creating processes that allow for visibility and reportability will make your compliance checks go quicker and cost much less.

#7 Not Asking for Feedback

As the creator of a process, chances are you aren’t involved in every step and perhaps don’t even spend much time within the workflow. Just like product needs to be in tune with users, their usage and overall experience to build better products, you should aim to do the same with the individual contributors affected by the workflow you created/own.. Ask for detailed feedback by asking open ended questions like: “What do you feel is beneficial about this process?” and “if you could change anything about this process, what would it be and why?” The feedback loop is powerful in process management and can help provide necessary buy in.

#8 Not Repeatable

Let’s use sales for this example. At a high level, selling is essentially just a process. Think about it for a second. Good selling has a good repeatable process. Generally speaking you’re looking at: Generating leads → Qualifying leads → Demonstrating value → Objection handling → Closing → Delivery and support. Repeat. If it’s too complex or can’t be replicated easily by a new rep or better yet, if someone comes back from vacation and they need a crash course just to get back in the saddle, you have a problem.

One idea that has worked for several teams I’ve consulted is to create an acronym or mnemonic device to remember the basic steps. For reference, I can’t always remember my parents anniversary but I will always remember the Order of Operations. Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (PEMDAS) → parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction. That one is stuck with me forever.

#9 Unable to Track Employee Performance

You may be thinking “why is this on here?” Normally processes aren’t put in place to track performance but to ensure certain actions and approvals are happening. However, a great process will do you one better and give you insight into performance. Especially tasks that are usually difficult to track.

#10 Too Many Systems

Chances are your current software doesn’t capture all the components that need to be approved. For example, your system can only approve on dollar amounts but not other details like contract length. Chances are you also have multiple systems in place for workflows, specifically around approvals and decision-making.

We’re not saying to get rid of SalesForce or your favorite ATS, but imagine if you had one system to rule them all Lord of the Rings style? I’m just kidding - sort of. Imagine having one system that manages decisions and approvals among all of your systems? Processes that require multiple tools and duplicate work really do slow down business (not to mention get the most eye rolls.) Want to avoid it? Get a sneak peek of Streemly here.

Bonus! Since it’s the holiday season, here is a bonus action item to help you create better processes.

Create an SLA

Go above and beyond and create an SLA (Service Level Agreements) with stakeholders. We did this on a team I managed a few years ago and it worked wonderfully. After mapping and implementing a brand new process, which included a few members of the executive team, we created a basic SLA and asked that everyone involved signed off before beginning our new workflow. The SLA included wait times and a failure to comply section. One example: The executives agreed that they would approve or deny a request within 48 hours or we could move forward with just my final approval. It worked wonderfully because we all knew what was expected of us and we agreed on the level of “service” we would provide one another. Holding each other to high standards also allows teams to develop mutual respect and work better and faster.

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Let me ask the question again, why aren’t your process working? Start by using this list to pinpoint the issue(s). Since we are self diagnosing, I’d love to know which of the 11 stood out to you. What else would you add to this list? You’ve spent time and effort mapping, implementing and managing your processes so you owe it to yourself and your team to make it work. More on process to come!

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