You put a good person into a bad process, and the bad process will win every time.

Or, as W. Edward Deming put it: “A bad system will beat a good person every time.”

It’s a fact.  You could hire the best, brightest, most talented employees in the world, place them into a bad process, and the bad processes will drive them out of the company forever. 

Of all the people that I have ever worked with, none of them want to do a bad job.  None of them came to get coffee with me and said “Rick, I want to be less-than-optimal this year!”.  Zero.  They are exceptional and want to exceed expectations.

It generally takes a bit of time for the new person to become accustomed to the process that they are expected do to contribute to the company and with the environment they are going to do it in.  This is normal.  If the process is clear, and direct, documented and optimized, it should be able to be performed efficiently, effectively, and of high quality.

What if there are several processes that the employee must memorize all at once?  Well, this makes it more challenging, and it may take even longer for the employee to become proficient at their job in the new environment.

Worse, none of the processes are documented.  There are no work instructions.  This is when it takes a long time for an employee to become productive, and there are likely many errors.  But prior to them becoming productive, they have had enough.  They move to another company with hopes and promises of a defined process with which they can become productive, efficient, and successful in a very short amount of time.

You may be thinking… I hired an HR professional (or insert your profession here), they should know what to do.  No.  They don’t.  Because they do know the process of being an HR professional, but they know Apple, Inc.’s process, or they know SC Johnson’s HR Process.  Every company is different.  Your company has its own processes.  It has its own process for accounting, for finance, for marketing and more. 

Are they optimized?  Are they even defined?  Are there work instructions?  If the answer to any of these is no, I must ask, how can you expect your employees to perform optimally?  How can you expect them to be satisfied?  How can you hold them accountable?

Yes, mistakes/errors happen even in well-defined processes, but, at a much lower frequency.  Processes that are optimized for the employees not only makes their job easier, but it also removes complexities that often cause the employees to make one or more decisions that based on their snap judgement. It may get the job done, but it may have adverse effects.

Optimized processes are generally not achieved without help from professionals.  The professionals will not only look at the process, but the metrics, the technology, Voice of the Customer, Voice of the Employee, and the Voice of the Business.  Absent any of these, and you may just be setting yourself up for more pain in the future.  Optimized processes will promote positive employees, positive corporate culture, enhanced customer satisfaction, and enhanced profitability.

Our tip is to invest in your employees.  It will start a chain-reaction that your customers and your bank account will notice.

Rick@NextLevelLSS.com