Manage The Cause Not The Result
Henry Ford one proclaimed that if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. If your enterprise is suffering from a similar fate, the seeds of anguish could be traced back to your process, or more specifically the lack of one. Further, if a semblance of a process exists, but only in the minds of some, trying to make sense of it, or making modifications will be a pointless undertaking. Usually the symptom of most business issues can be boiled down to a lack of clear direction or plan, even though it may be part of the mission statement or values, which by itself does not produce value. Good news is that if there is even a scant representation of a procedure, this can be used as the basis for a documented accounting of your operation, which is best represented by a visual process map. If your requirement is that of documenting the flow of your operations in Salesforce (from unqualified lead intake to a paying customer), the advantages go well beyond the mere inclusion of a dependable record of all inputs and outputs. Once defined, your process can be utilized for rapid change management, identification of software bugs or business issues and even as an onboarding tool, ensuring everyone has the same level of understanding of how the business functions. Activating The Main Components For those who have never initiated a documentation process for your enterprise, the good news is that you need not be proficient in a specific software package or process to get started. In fact, just documenting your process using words and simple drawings (where needed) is a good place to start, as this will form the basis for what can be an ever-expanded document. If the goal is to document your entire operation, the learning curve can be greatly reduced by starting with one element and then using that as the foundation stone for other components. As such, if you take your organization's onboarding routine for example, map out all of the 'inputs' as a starting point, which can then be propagated to include detailed sub-categories thereafter. By inputs, consider elements such as (i) Staff Member Start Date, (ii) Dissemination of Materials, (iii) Team-Member(s) Meeting Schedules and so on. Once the outline has been done, you can then add sub-tasks to round-out the 'detail' for each of the steps. For example, for item 'ii' (above), include the equipment (i.e. mobile phone, etc.) needed for the member, literature, welcome package and other materials to complete this portion of the onboarding routine. Once all high-level and detailed fundamentals have been thought-out, you can then use a similar process for the other areas of your business to document such as your Lead-to-Customer process or your Marketing Journey. At this stage, consider trialing process-flow / mapping applications to further expediate your documentation process. Many programs have a 'try-before-you-buy' option, allowing you to test-run the software over a set period, giving you the ability to add flowcharting options using simple drag-and-drop functions. Having these graphical elements at your disposal will speed up your documentation process, as well as being more visually appealing for your audience.. Initiate Once. Revise Many Once your document is in a beta-ready state, allowing your team-members in various departments to provide their feedback will give you clarity, and determine if anything was either missed, or could be explained differently. You need not wait for the entire processes for your enterprise to be completed, as getting insight from your initial process document (such as the Onboarding example) should suffice with future documents completed in similar fashion. While most of your time will be involved in the development of your initial documentation, future documents will be done much faster as most of what you learned occurred with the initial process. Just expect that your documentation, like your applications, will continually be modified over time, which is par for the course.
__________________________________________________________________________________________ Title image by Ward Shelley | Quote by W. Edwards Deming
