Errol Allen Consulting / Process Mapping

Process Mapping

After years of working as a process mapping expert, I noticed that when problems arise within a business – unhappy customers, operations goals not being met, poor Google reviews, etc. – people are usually considered to be at fault. Typically, 85 % of organizational problems can be attributed to process, structure, and control mechanisms – with the majority of that being process-related.

When one identifies the processes connected to the problems, then conducts process mapping sessions, the opportunities for process improvement become clear. Blaming people before examining the process can lead to employee defensiveness, poor morale, and high employee turnover.

business process mapping

EA Consulting

Conducts process mapping sessions with the applicable team members to:
*Ensure all perspectives are taken into consideration.
*Identify/Address improvement opportunities.
* Develop measurement/monitoring requirements.

Top 4 Reasons for Broken Business Processes

During process mapping sessions, we usually discover four main reasons for broken business processes

Unmet Needs

It is important to know what is required by each person performing tasks within the process. Unmet needs create rework and delays in the process when team members are not provided with the proper elements (information, product, etc.) that allow them to complete their process tasks. The needs of each team member must be clearly defined to ensure process effectiveness. Process mapping help with identifying the needs of people performing the work within processes as well as people impacted by the process.

Poor process communication

Considering that most processes flow across departments – and even out to suppliers/vendors – communication within the process is critical to its success. When conducting process mapping, it is important to identify critical communication points in the process, the methods of communication utilized and communication content. Poor process communication creates unnecessary delays, employee and customer frustration – possibly leading to revenue decline as well as unnecessary employee turnover.

The process does not fit the current business status

When a company grows, the processes are often not updated to accommodate the additional volume created by the growth. Bottlenecks are often the result when consideration is not given to infrastructure requirements. Once again, delays appear in the process – which can lead to – you guessed it – employee and customer frustration . Process mapping allows one to identify adjustment opportunities required to meet the current business status.

Process results are not measured/monitored

Quite often, process performance is either not measured or not consistently monitored. It is a must to determine key performance indicators(KPIs) for critical processes – especially those connected to revenue generation and customer experience – then consistently monitor performance. A process mapping expert can assist in determining what is to be measured within the process.

How well are your people, processes and metrics connected?

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