I’ve seen many people who pride themselves on being process oriented, as I do, get stuck thinking the process is set in stone. The current process is not gospel. If the process isn’t working it’s usually not the people (unless they weren’t trained), it’s usually the process. Unless there is some constraint that cannot be adjusted, people should rarely be adjusted around the process. The process should be adjusted around the people.
Many managers have their head stuck in the sand, and can’t see the actual issue. The process is inefficient because the real world is never as nice as our flow charts, documentation, and PowerPoints. The real world is iterative, complicated, and ever-changing. We need to monitor the processes and adjust to match the real world.
Process Improvement Cycle
When designing a process, we have to use all the tools available to us, but the job doesn’t end when the new process is implemented. It’s a constant cycle of Problem > Adjustment > Stabilization > Problem > Adjustment… If we aren’t proactively adjusting and improving the process during this cycle, the process will begin to fall apart, we will lose buy-in and trust. A process is only as good as the people, make sure you don’t forget them.
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