Why are we doing this?
Daniel (Dan) Bloom SPHR, SSBB
Empowering the transition to strategic HR operations in business
?Here is a question for you to start this week’s newsletter edition. If I asked you to tell me how long your talent acquisition process takes can you give me an accurate estimate of the timeframe from beginning to end?
In both this newsletter and its sister newsletter, the Change Maestro’s Roadmap we have talked about the importance of creating a process map of your processes. The purpose of the map is to provide you with an eagle’s eye view of how your organization operates. While this is critical for understanding where we can improve our organizations, we also have to come down to ground level. That is what we want to discuss this morning. Enter the process map on steroids.
Take a few moments, if you have not done so already, and create a process map of that talent acquisition process as it provides the foundation of for the next step. With the completed process map in front of you either on paper or on your computer screen follow me on the next step.
Start on the far left and ask yourself the following question.
From the time your management team asks you to hire a new human capital asset, how long does it take for management to get you the request?
At this point you should have two time frames created. The first is how long does it take the manager to create the job request. The second how long does it take to get the completed job request to HR to begin the talent acquisition process. Now enter these time frames in the first box and between the first and the second boxes on the process map. Next do the same thing which each step in the process.
The process of creating a value stream map is labor intensive and takes some use of critical thinking. By time we are referring to at a minimum at least an hour.
?The purpose of the value stream map is to bring your focus down to the office floor. Our actions do not operate in a vacuum but are interdependent on the rest of the organization. The act of creating the value stream map involves taking our process map and expanding it. Once we have determined the allotted time, we then need to look at all the other actions required to complete the review. This would include the writing of any documents; any phone conversations required any emails that need to be sent and responded to. The determination of the time allotment between steps needs to incorporate all these actions.
The expected outcome of the value stream map creation is to identify where the system is creating a constraint to the even flow of the talent acquisition process. By reviewing the time allotments, we should be able to see where a particular step is taking more time than what comes before the step and after the step. For example, if management gets the job request to you in two days but you sit on it for another week that added time contributes to the time to fill.
With the value stream map completed we then can go back and review the steps and the requirements of each step to understand why we operate the way we do. It also provides us the vehicle for asking why the organization has chosen to do things the way they do. Consider this scenario, which followed a team in one of our 2-day seminars discovered following their value stream map exercise:
During a presentation of our 2-day seminar on Achieving HR Excellence one of the teams had a strange look on their faces. When I walked back to their table the team members told me they discovered in the process of developing the VSM that when they hire a new middle level new hire, the job requisition is reviewed and approved three times by the same person.
The majorities of the members of the team were from the same organization and were amazed that this was going on. They knew that hiring decisions were delayed but were not aware of the reasons behind the delay. What they found was that while this has been a part of their process for as long as anyone could remember they had never questioned why?
As we continue along the Achieving HR Excellence roadmap, the value stream map provides us the ability to clearly see where the potential obstacles to meeting the voice of the customer lay within our processes. It provides insight into the reasons why the customer finds we are not delivering the value-added activities required to meet their specifications. At the same time the Value Stream Map provides us with the path to correct the obstacles that are holding up the successful service to the client.
An offer. Are you having a process improvement issue that has got you stuck? Drop us an email at [email protected] and lets set up a half an hour Teams meeting to see how we may be able to help resolve the issue.
An invite: We have created a new showcase page on LinkedIn focused on our service package. Follow us to stay up to date on what we have available to meet your organizational needs.? https://linkedin.com/shocase/tlscontinuumservices
?An invite: We have created a new showcase page on LinkedIn focused on our training opportunities. Follow us to stay up to date on what we have available to meet your training needs. https://www.dhirubhai.net/showcase/training-webinars
An Invite: We have started a new group on LinkedIn. It is the TLS Continuum - The Human Connection. We want to start a conversation regarding how we get around the ASSUMPTION that our human capital assets understand the improvement process and how we can bring them into the game. No selling allowed, just open dialogue. Join the dialogue, invite your network to become involved. https://www.dhirubhai.net/groups/13059813
An Invite: We have a Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc. company page visit and follow for the latest on our services to the business community to enhance the organizational change initiatives. https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/daniel-bloom-&-associates-inc./
An invite: Join us on Sub stack at https://danielbloomsphrssbb.substack.com . We will post our daily tips but additionally you will find posting that are unique to the sub stack platform and will not be seen anywhere else.
?Looking for the perfect model for improving your organizational processes? Order your copy of the TLS Continuum Field Guide - How the Theory of Constraints, Lean and Six Sigma will transform your operations and Program flow to be released in February of 2024
About the author: Daniel Bloom knows HR and Change Management. He’s a speaker on transformational HR, a strategic HR consultant and trainer. Thank you for subscribing to this newsletter.
The best strategy that I ever undertook was earning my SPHR and the Six Sigma Black Belt. You can take the same path with our Road to Operational Excellence - The Human Capital Edition
For more information visit https://dbaiconsulting.com/tls-continuum-master-seminars/
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