Spotting Business Process Red Flags: Lessons from Nala the Lab's Quirky Behavior

Nala, our quirky Lab, is a total character! But during the rainy winter, we noticed something weird. She wouldn’t come into the house—just stood at the door, refusing to budge. Then we had an "Aha!" moment. There’s this tiny step she was struggling with, lifting her back legs and putting all her weight on the front ones, which would slip on the tiles. In her mind, she basically decided walking on tiles wasn’t an option anymore. Now, our house is a maze of floor mats so she can move around without freaking out!

This got me thinking—this kind of situation totally applies to managing business processes too. Just like Nala, when we noticed something wasn’t working, we had to dig in, find the issue, fix it, and get things moving smoothly again (though, to be honest, we might still need Cesar Millan’s help for the long-term fix!).

When it comes to spotting problems in business processes, what are the easiest things to keep an eye out for? Here are three big ones:

Frequent Delays: Delays are super easy to notice. They mess with timelines, upset customers, and can slow down the whole operation, causing issues everywhere.

Employee Frustration: If your team’s always grumbling, it’s a red flag that something’s broken. Frustration kills morale and productivity, and frustrated employees tend to make mistakes—or worse, quit. Definitely something you want to fix fast.

High Error Rates: Errors are a clear sign that something’s off. They can cost time, money, and resources, and usually point to bigger issues in the process design or execution. It’s one of those things everyone feels, from the ground floor to management.

I’ll drop more red flags in a follow-up post, but feel free to share your own experiences or thoughts in the comments!