When things go wrong, you could do this or that, or you could just watch today’s episode of “Mind Your Own Business.”
In today’s episode, I want to explore a little framework that you can use to ensure that when things go wrong, you use it as an opportunity to improve your business instead of getting frustrated at the people who might not be doing what they need to do. Often, businesses fail to get consistent results or have loads of challenges that come up because they aren’t following processes, or their processes aren’t working. So, the next time something goes wrong, ask yourself these five questions before getting someone into the office and giving them the old hairdryer treatment:
Do you have a documented process? “Documented” can be anything from a photo, a video, a flowchart, a checklist, whatever, but it has to be written down or documented somewhere.
If there is a documented process, is it actually fit for purpose? Does it actually give you the result that you want? Do you encounter any friction? Has something changed that makes this process a bit redundant? Does the process work?
Has the process been properly trained? Has the line manager actually sat down with this person and given them a proper, comprehensive training session on what the process is, why it’s important, how to use it properly? Has that person been shadowed using the process if it’s particularly complicated? Have they been given the proper training to follow that process the way it was intended to be followed? So many businesses fail at this point. They might create the flowchart but just hand it over to the person without giving them a proper training session on how to use it.
If it has been trained properly, then the next question is: Does that process have an owner? Is there a guardian in the business responsible for ensuring that that process is being followed? Someone who can raise the alarm when it’s not being followed, someone who can evolve the process as the business changes?
Has the process actually been used by the person?
As you go through all of these steps, you are bound to uncover plenty of opportunities to improve your business. So, make sure that your processes work and are fit for purpose. Make sure that you take people through proper training so they actually understand how to do the thing you need them to do. Make sure that there are process owners, especially for all of those key processes in your business. And then manage people properly to ensure that they do the things they need to do.
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