Process Mapping

  • Errol Allen Consulting / Process Mapping

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 maps out the processes that are connected to the problems, the opportunities for process improvement become clear. Blaming people before examining the process can lead to employee defensiveness, poor morale and high employee turnover.

Top 4 Reasons for Broken Business Processes

During process mapping sessions, several situations often become known:

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.

Poor process communication

Considering most processes flow across departments – and even out to suppliers/vendors – communication within the process is critical to its success. It is important to identify critical communication points in the process, 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, quite often the processes are not updated to accommodate additional volume such growth may create. 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 that reflect new growth unnecessary employee turnover.

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. Process mapping assists in the ability to determine what is to be measured within the process.

EA Consulting

maps your processes step by step with the applicable team members to ensure all perspectives are taken into consideration, improvement opportunities are identified/addressed and measurement/monitoring requirements developed.

How well are your people, processes and metrics connected?

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