Flying by the Seat of Your (Process) Pants…What’s the Cost?

May I ask you a question?  How do things get “done” in your office? Do you have established and well documented processes or is it more a case of “it just gets done.”  You’re not alone if this is the case.  When pushed, can you (or anyone) outline the action steps that must be taken in order to successfully execute a task? Is there a written document to which an employee can turn if and when there is a question?

If you answered yes to any or all of the above, then I would like to congratulate you! You’re ahead of the game and I dare say, you’re in the minority as well. Many companies cannot answer in the affirmative and trust me, having your procedures and processes documented is much more efficient and cost effective than flying by the seat of your pants.  Workflows alone may be what you need or taking a process and detailing the steps.

What can happen if there is no workflow process documentation? That’s easy.

1. Consistency and accuracy are less than optimal.
2. Ways of “doing things” become re-engineered over time and what was once smooth and efficient are no longer so.
3. Training new employees is incredibly difficult, time consuming and costly.
4. Efficiencies are often overlooked.
5. When an employee is out due to illness things fall through the cracks (or worse).

Bottom-line, creating comprehensive workflow process and detailed documentation can help you to sleep at night. Feel confident that:

1. Your critical business processes and procedures are safe and can be transferred to new employees at any time.
2. Mission critical best practices are in place.
3. Employee illness, retirement or leaving for any other reason will not disrupt your business negatively impacting your bottom line.
4. Having everyone on the same page is saving your company time and money.

Summer is slow for many companies. There’s no better time to start than now.

For further discussion or comments, please contact Gail L. Trugman Nikol, President Unique Business Solutions, gail@ubsassociates.com or call (516) 935-5641.