How To Set Up A Process Within Your Business
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One of the most important skills to have as a business owner is to know how to set up a simple process, for yourself as well as others.
The first thing to do is get all the pieces and parts required to do the process together in one place, or at the very least listed on a piece of paper.
If I'm looking to figure how to use a new piece of equipment, the first thing I want to know is how to turn it on and off and how to adjust it. Most people don't read instructions or take tutorials, but I find that by taking the instructional tutorial for new software or new equipment I can use the equipment better and get more out of it.
If you are working with a new software program, write out step-by-step how to:
o Log in
o Create a new file
o Save a file
o Modify a file
If you lay this out initially and even have screenshots of what you'll see as you work through the program, you will save tons of time later when trying to outsource work with this software to someone else.
Yes, I know that there are tutorials available for the software, but that does not always means the way that you use it is fully documented in the standard software manual.
There are only so many things that you can do with any piece of software, any online program or equipment, so if you document the steps you will be in better shape later.
More importantly, you will care only about the things that you want to do with that software program and you need to lay them out step by step.
Here’s the key to this and why doing it earlier on is critical.
As you get better at doing something you will start to forget steps. You start to “know” what to do and not “think” about what to do.
When it becomes time for you to pass a task on to someone else, you'll have to rethink the whole thing because you will have mastered it and forgotten critical steps. So take the time now. It will be harder later.
Steps for creating a process:
Define the task that you're trying to complete.
Write down that name of the task so that you and others know what is wanted and needed to be accomplished.
Define the estimated time that you think it is going to take to complete the task. If it is taking the person longer than that, they may have missed a critical step of the process. You need to refine the process to include the steps that have been missed.
If you are outsourcing, this is a great quality control check. I learned when I was a maintenance supervisor that if I did not put a time constraint or time expectation on a job that job would take forever or never get done.
Ask yourself the question “what materials do I need to have to complete this task?” And I mean everything. Make that list.
Now physically go through the process step-by-step. Actually push the buttons and know what needs to happen to complete the task. This is where you will discover if you missed any steps.
You are going for completeness of the documentation, outlining exactly what you have to do from sitting down to completion of task. It might take an hour to document a five-minute task, but you will save many times that in the future when this documentation is complete.
Now I know some of you are saying, “Why should I document all this? So-and-so takes care of this for me.” Well, I have a question for you. What happens if so-and-so is not there one day, and you don’t know how to get the task done? You are up the creek without a paddle.
Once while a supervisor, I ran into a situation where all of my guys were specialists. Each could only work in one specific area. One day, two guys were out, and machines that only they could fix went down. Thousands of dollars in production time were lost because I did not have my team cross-trained. Because I had let the crew members become specialists, I had to call in overtime from others to get things done. Not having backup plans will cost you time and money every time. From that day forward, I made sure that everyone in my crew was at least knowledgeable about what the others could do. And I never had down day again.
A very smart man told me this one day…
“I would rather take an hour documenting a task well and making it a process then to take the five minutes doing the task over and over again. If I document it once and create a process once that I have gained that five minutes for a lifetime.”
You can use any tool you want to document your process. Some people use yellow pads, notepads, or Excel spreadsheets. I use a tool called SimpleFlowChart.com which creates neat process maps for me.
Documenting your process is a first step to outsourcing. Once you have a documented process, you can easily assign the task to someone else to handle.
A flow chart with a step-by-step list is all the documentation that you’ll need.
The faster you document, the faster you outsource, and the faster you pull your time out of a process.
One more thing, and this is important: you can automate with people or technology. The key is to document the technology so that you can automate with people as fast as possible.
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Filed under Planning by David Bullock
Comments on How To Set Up A Process Within Your Business »
David,
Always good to hear from you. I agree completely that building process is the key to building your business effectively and efficiently. It is a key to time management.
A few thoughts come to mind:
(1) In figuring out what MUST be done, do it first, once yourself. Then document that process so that it can be taught to others and so that you know what a good result is.
(2) Perfection is the enemy of the good. So figure out what "good enough" is, rather than what perfect is.
(3) Delete, Delay, Delegate, Do. Those are the four keys to time management. So by moving an item from Do to Delegate — by building good processes around that activity, you free up your time.
Great post, you are sooo right!
Invent it, and then keeping doing it over and over again for even more success.
We did that to great effect with customer service. Anticipate the places where there is going to be potential friction with your buyers or registrants to an email newsletter, for example, if you are offering a free digital download, and pre-write your customer emails before launch, queue them up in your email box, and then adapt them as needed.
So, plot out what paths you want your customer to follow, tell the customers how to use your site, and they will be able to do it. And support them with good customer service if they can't.
Then once you are sure you have seen a pretty full gamut of problems and solved them, and refined your process, you can let your customer service rep. handle it, (or farm it out to a part-timer if you have not got a rep!) and you can repeat the process over and over with multiple sites.
And by doing this, focus on what generates revenue rather than 'how do we do this'?
Hi David,
Your blog post is incredibly serendipitous! I'm in the process upgrading my virtual team with the help of some great mentors, and your process is a fabulous way to lay down the foundation.
I recall an exercise a few years where I looked at my hourly rate and compared it to what I could pay someone else to do it better (& cheaper!). What a real eye opener that was!
Enjoying your wisdom as always!
Carol "The Productivity Professor"
David,
This is an excellent post. I am such an advocate for getting the process down. In my job, I have my entire job process documented down to the letter. I could easily be gone for a month and I would know that as long as there was another body to fill in, my job would get done perfectly. It took two years to get the documentation done and it is updated as needed. This is the best way to move forward and save time and money in the process.
I have made process checklists for setting up my Wordpress and BANS web sites that ensure that I don't miss a step. Even though the training provided with the software helps, my checklists allow me to have a full running website in minutes rather than hours.
Great post!
Kelleys last blog post..Your Daily 15 Minutes - Starting The Paperless Process
David
Thanks for a great post. I've been looking for the right software to do process maps and it looks like you've provided the answer. I've been trying to do this with mind maps and it isn't the same thing, they're great for the initial brainstorm of a process, but I find they're too abstract for getting the thing into a join the dots process.
I'm off to download the 30 day trial and yes I will read the instructions first - honest!
Regards
Duncan
Excellent post. Thanks David.
Software tip: I've never used SimpleFlowChart - but I have used http://www.gliffy.com/ - a free online web app that allows you to make flow charts. Its pretty good.
Ankesh Kotharis last blog post..Smart Waiters & Dumb Burglars (How To Use Subtle Hints To Get Things Done)
@Michael: Doing the process first is so key. Only the business owner knows how the "whatever" fits into the grand plan. And, good enough to go is where the rubber meets the road adjusting and changing is always an optin. Good point. The question is how do you get folks to do it?
@Joan: Good to hear from you. Glad you are well. You said it so well "focus on what generates revenue rather than 'how do we do this'?" This is a key point. We are in business to make money not just collect names. And, try interesting things.
What kind of things will help us to stay on task with a project?
@Carol - Thanks Lady. I hope the upgrade will go well and that this document give you some framework.
@Kelly - You are one of the rare people who has taken the time to document themselves. How many people would love to have themselves documented but will not the time? Good on you.
@Duncan - Thanks for the comment. The software is great I have been using it for years for process documentation. Let me know how it works for you and how you are using it.
Great tutorial David.
Another tool I find very useful is mindjet http://www.mindjet.com/products/trials/default.aspx.
Please note that I am not an affilate of mindjet.
Oritseyemi - Thanks a bunch. I have been using MindJet for years. I have about 400 mindmaps on that platform.
David,
Great post. You summed it up well. I just did a seminar regarding this exact topic regarding a sales process. So many people thing that sales cannot be reduced to a process but to do it well, it must be.
I am going to email the attendees to read your post to since you spelled it out so well.
Thanks,
Phyllis
http://www.soundadvice4u.blogspot.com
Thank you Phyllis. As a process engineer, I thought that the idea of How to Setup a Process for Your Business was a boring topic but lo and behold. I guess this is something to think about and do.
So again, thanks a bunch.
David,
Thanks so much for taking time to put this post together and thanks for recommending SimpleFlowChart.com
I really benefited from your insights both here and I've now listened to your START presentation from Perry Marshall's Gladiator Club meeting back in January. I also have other material from you as well. In fact, my wife is listening to that START presentation today on her way to and from Dallas.
The way you think and what you teach is awesome especially your thoughts about simplicity, nothing new under the sun and more.
Please keep up the great work. I've learned so much from you. Thanks and God bless you and your family.
Drew
@Drew
Thank you much for the comment. I can only hope that these materials can help you move forward. I am busy these days packing up about 400 mindmaps, 50 interviews, 300 links, video - just stuff that I have been compiling over the years.
Just trying to get it all into a form and format that can work for those that want it.
Your post tells me alot and I thank you for it.
Take Care…