Can Processes Shift Power?

I started my career with Hewlett-Packard (HP) and to this day, I'm a fan of their love for processes, SoPs, and guidelines. In fact, I briefly worked as a process modeler, redesigning some processes for HP's global printer supply chain. This role taught me to look at processes in a nuanced way and find improvements from multiple perspectives. (Side note: I highly recommend reading Chapter 3 of the book Semantic Business Process Modeling by Ivan Markovic.)

HP’s love for process design, improvement, and automation wasn't limited to business functions; it extended to internal functions like finance, HR, and beyond. One particular instance taught me a great deal about how processes can shape culture and shift power dynamics:

During my stint with HP India Sales, the first time I applied for a leave (note the word "applied," because corporate conditioning often makes us "apply" for benefits we’re already entitled to), I received an automated approval email within seconds. Initially, I thought something had gone wrong since I could see my reporting manager—who I assumed was the granter of leaves—chatting with a colleague across the office floor. Clearly, he wasn’t hitting the "approve" button on his phone under the table.

I marched over to HR to ask if everything was in order. They shared that leaves are auto-approved by the system as a default process, with an intimation sent to the manager. If the manager disagrees, they must go to the portal, provide a reason, and discuss it with the employee and HR. The budding process re-engineer in me appreciated how many minutes, hours, and days this process saved. But as I became wiser and joined organizations with varying leave approval processes, I realized how empowering an employee would feel through this system.

Since then, I’ve maintained this notion and often counsel my team members who "apply" or "request" PTOs, reminding them that this is part of their benefit package—they already have it. The only "request" I make is for them to inform their project team and log their leave in the portal for record purposes. Additionally, from my vantage point (as a manager), manually sending "approved" emails or approving leave "requests" in a system always felt like the least productive use of my time as a people manager.

And here’s where the rubber meets the road: An organization can boast the best people policies, but how these are communicated, implemented, configured, and process-coded defines how empowering they make the employees feel.

So, the next time you hit “apply” for leave, remember: you’re not asking for permission, just giving everyone a heads-up that you’ll be on a beach somewhere, sipping a mojito.