Get It Done Right - Every Time
One of the most common phrases we hear in
business these days is "best practice." But what truly constitutes
best practice and, if it can be achieved, how do you know that you're attaining
it?
According to BusinessDictionary.com best practice is "a
method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those
achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark."
All
too often, what we believe to be best practice is simply based on intuition or
tradition (e.g., "rules of thumb"). When Frederick Taylor developed
scientific management in the late 19th century, he set out to use studies of
workers and tasks to determine best practices that were based on fact, not
conjecture.
While
much of Taylor's philosophy fell out of favor by the
1930s, he did introduce a way of thinking about finding efficiencies in
business production - i.e., best practices - that live on today.
One
of the best ways to ensure that a business is engaging in best practice at
every level is through process documentation.
Most companies have a
number of processes that are needed - and must be executed correctly -
to deliver their product or service to market. But without documentation, these
processes are hard to quantify, control, and repeat successfully.
By documenting the
company's processes they become organized so as to make them useful to everyone
from top management to entry-level staff. Here are just a few reasons why every
company should document its processes:
It is not unusual for companies, upon completing the task of
documenting processes, to find that they can implement practices that are
better than those previously thought to be "best." (This would
undoubtedly make Frederick Taylor happy.)
Many
companies desire the benefits of process documentation but consider it to be
too time-consuming to implement. This is where visuals can be very effective.
Documenting business processes with visuals is easier, it can be done in real
time, and it is more complete. Visual business processes are easy to create and
inefficiencies or redundancies in the process are more readily apparent in a
visual than on a page of text.
Visual
Process Management (VPM), developed by SmartDraw, totally revolutionizes the way processes are
documented and managed. A VPM Collection is a
complete digital model of an organization's structure and business processes.
In a VPM Collection every process is linked with the
position responsible for executing and managing it. Information is presented
visually rather than in text alone.
So,
how do you get started? It's not as difficult as you might think. There are
only three visuals involved.
Here are some steps to help you hit the ground running.
The
first step to implementing VPM is creating a
comprehensive organization chart. This way, every person in the company can see
how their job or department relates to another. Further, it clearly shows the
hierarchy of the company, ensuring everyone knows who reports to whom.
If you have a large company with many departments, you may want
to consider adding photos to your org chart - for managers and department
heads. This is especially helpful to new hires or people in other divisions, as
it allows them to put faces with names.
Each
position in the company has a set of responsibilities. These should be
described in a job map, which is similar to mind map, but has more structure.
Each job map defines the job description and the processes executed. For each
job map, there should be a title block that identifies the job title, to whom this position reports and the date when information was
last updated. Here's an example of a job map for an insurance claims adjuster.
Once
the organization chart is complete, the next step is to document the master
process. This should be identified in collaboration with higher-level
management. The master process is the foundation on which a VPM
Collection is built. The master process is composed of a master production
process and auxiliary processes. The master production process is an outline of
the company's function (what it does to make a profit). The auxiliary processes
are the departments that support the master production process, such as
Marketing and Sales.
The
sub-processes should be identified and defined by drilling into the details of
each step within the master process. These should be systematically documented
down to the level of detail desired. This systematic approach not only ensures
that nothing is missed, but also provides context for every process in your
organization. Instead of a random collection of isolated processes, you can
instantly see how each process fits within the organization and how they
interact together.
Usually
the post-processing procedure is worked on once the VPM
processes are documented and the hierarchy is already made. This is where a
review of the VPM Collection is made to ensure that
the flowcharts are broken down into simple, single-page visuals for maximum
simplicity. We also want to make sure there is no missing information and all
hyperlinks connect properly.
For
maximum benefit, the VPM Collection should be saved
on your company's network in a central location. The VPM
Collection should be a living, breathing collection of business processes that
can be referenced and modified when appropriate.
SmartDraw manages the group of hyperlinked
documents that make up a VPM Collection by treating
the files in a folder and its subfolders as a single Collection. Collections
can be moved and printed as a single unit, while still maintaining the
hierarchy of the hyperlinks.
To
maximize the value of a VPM Collection all of the
people in the organization whose jobs are documented should have access to it.
This allows everyone to see what processes they are responsible for and how to
execute them. Because jobs are documented, getting new employees up to speed is
faster and they learn how to do the job right the first time!
The
Collection can be deployed on a file server. Users who manage processes should
have read/write access to the documents that describe them, so that they can
update the processes when changes occur. Other users should have read-only
access.
Studies
show that communicating visually is up to six times more effective than
communicating with words alone.
Document
your company's processes and make sure the job gets done right every time.