Workflows Should Be Logical – Friday Distraction
(Editor’s Note: Today’s article is brought to you by our friends at Kronos, a leading provider of workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions. Check out this podcast from The Workforce Institute at Kronos on howMillennial managers are changing the workforce. Enjoy the post!)
Last week, I shared a Time Well Spent from our friends at Kronos that focused on creating systems or processes that employees can use. One of the things that mentioned was that processes should be beneficial (versus cumbersome) even if they involve a few extra steps.
I feel like after seeing this Time Well Spent that I should clarify that a bit more. I’m sure you understand why. Processes and workflows should not be so lengthy that people forget what they’re doing or why their doing it. There should be some level of logic behind a process or system.
Ask stakeholders for their input. When it comes to creating and updating processes, seek feedback from the individuals using the system. The individuals who use the process everyday will have a unique perspective that the company wants to hear.
Be open to hearing another person’s logic. Just because something sounds logical to me doesn’t mean it will be logical to everyone. It’s important for organizations to be receptive to hearing employees explaining what seems logical. It’s also important – especially when talking about processes – to listen to what customer’s think is logical.
Train employees not only on the process but the why. Companies regularly share with employees the steps they need to do in a process. But make sure that the conversation also includes the reason that the step is necessary. Even if the answer is “the government requires us to do this…” Employees need to know “the why” to understand the logic.
Think like a computer program. Whenever I’m trying to put together a logical process that I believe everyone will find intuitive to use, I try to think like a computer. If I had to program a computer to do the steps, what would the steps look like? What’s the minimum number of steps necessary?
Businesses use systems and processes to make workflows easy. And by easy, I mean easy to remember and use. If employees forget workflows, there’s a risk that they will discard them. That’s not good for the company or the customer.
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