Establishing effective management systems and processes is essential in any business. One cannot create a company with many moving parts without building a structure and providing practical steps to keep things going.
What Are Systems and Processes?
Systems provide the overarching structure for your business. This would include the major elements involved in your company, which must be in place to reach the overall product.
For example, one system that most companies have in place is established management and hierarchy. This structure provides employees with an understanding of which person should tell them what to do so they can then accomplish the task and produce the product.
Processes go into the step-by-step procedures involved in accomplishing company goals. This would be the breakdown of how one actually gets from no product to a sold and delivered product. There are many elements along the way, such as the steps in manufacturing, the sales process, how the receptionist answers the phone, in what way is the customer invoiced, etc.
Both systems and processes need to be established and implemented to be effective.
Eight Tips for Implementation
Creating systems and processes that can be used by all staff can be difficult. Here are ten tips for supporting implementation.
1. Establish clear objectives at the outset
Before tackling implementation, draw up clear and defined objectives - along with a timeline for accomplishing each step. Often, process implementation gets shunted to the side because it has no end date and little accountability. This is the first step in creating such accountability.
2. Assign ownership
Ensure that the process implementation project, as well as the tasks leading up to it, have owners. This is another step in creating accountability and ensuring process implementation actually occurs.
3. Get cross-departmental input
Management systems and most processes will affect the whole company. So, be sure that a new process or system in one area won’t counter or duplicate another already in place.
4. Make each step measurable
Businesses use metrics to measure overall success. Metrics can also be used to make each step of process implementation measurable. Additionally, creating and keeping track of statistics during execution can provide you and your team with valuable information on the efficacy of your process or system.
5. Ensure the processes are repeatable
Processes are established so that one can do them again and again and get the same result every time. Be sure that the processes you set up are also repeatable.
6. Set up necessary training
Your staff will need to be trained on any new changes that you implement. Be sure to have a process set up to educate everyone on the systems and processes so that they can ensure the same result is gotten every time.
7. Have employees run through the processes several times, working out any bugs
Running through processes will allow you to recognize any slows or kinks and work through them. No process exists in a vacuum, so be sure to consider how each process affects other areas of the company.
8. Adjust the process as needed
If something isn’t working, it’s time to adjust and adapt. Be willing to change your process or system if it’s not effective.
Business Success Consulting Group specializes in establishing and implementing effective processes and systems in businesses large and small. Contact us today to get a free business evaluation.
