AS A BUSINESS SUPPORT COMPANY WE OFTEN TALK TO CLIENTS AND POSE THE QUESTION ‘HAVE YOU MAPPED YOUR INTERNAL PROCESSES?’. INEVITABLY WE GET THE ANSWER ‘YES’ BUT WHEN DELVING DEEPER IT SHOULD BE ‘WELL SORT OF, BUT NOT REALLY!’
Many organisations may map processes using Visio, Word or Excel and think that the job is done – but you are just at the beginning of your journey. The processes mapped are very ‘flat’ - pictures or words on a piece of paper. Whilst your staff may gain a view of the steps required to carry out their role there is no background information to give you that all important Management Information.
How long, on average, does your process take?
How much, on average, does a specific process cost your business to carry out?
If there are several roles involved in a process what is the average cost for each role?
If things were changed what would the benefits to the business be?
Processes are not static, they need to be reviewed on a regular basis. When new technology, new legislation or business changes are added in a process they should be re-visited to ensure the impact is recorded and a comparison run to show what the repercussions are – good or bad.
One of the phrases we like to hear least but is used in almost every process mapping workshop we run, when asking why something is done a particular way, we are told ‘because we’ve always done it that way’. It doesn’t mean it is right and it certainly doesn’t mean it’s the best way of operating. By mapping current processes and challenging them firms can begin to see a better way of working which will impact internal teams and the business for the better. If you would like to discuss how Jigsaw Tree can help map your processes and find your one best way of working contact us today.