4 Things You Can Do to Better Your Workflow
By Clayton Fujimura - eGuide Senior Systems Analyst
Introduction
Workflow is everything for a scaling business. If you want to delegate anything… you need a clear understanding of where we were, where we are, and where we are going..
If you’re not sure how to grow your business from a solo entrepreneurship to a staffed and scalable business, the first question you should be asking yourself is:
Have I documented my processes from beginning to end?
And maybe you’re a bit further along in the journey, and you're wondering why one aspect of your business isn’t firing on all cylinders, be it accounting, sales, or a specific aspect of production. In this case, the question is:
How can I improve my workflow?
Either way, the steps to success are the same.
1. Clarify The Intention Behind the Process.
Before you make any changes to a workflow (or create one from scratch) you need to understand what the workflow is geared towards and why it matters for your business. Here are a few powerful questions that can help you get started:
What is the goal of this workflow? What tools are used for this workflow? How does this workflow fit into the rest of your business?
Why is this process an issue? What do you wish this process was doing that it isn't?
What happened that made you want to fix this workflow? What is your pie in the sky dream for this workflow?
2. Document Your Current Processes.
Your first instinct is going to be to write down how the process SHOULD go… don’t do that. Instead, document how the process ACTUALLY goes today. Be brave, be thorough, and be honest. How have you been getting this done to date? Try to be as specific as possible and write out every human action and correspondence needed to get to the goal of the workflow. (We highly recommend that you try out LucidSpark for this if you haven’t already!)
Seeing the reality of the workflow makes it easier to identify the area(s) for improvement. It’s also a great way to spark meaningful conversation within your team, and gain clarity on the overall “why” of the process and how it overlaps or fits within other departments/workflows.
3. Make Process Improvements.
Now that you’ve got it all on the page… what’s clear to you?
If you’ve done a good job of documenting the current process, it will be clear and obvious where the improvements can be made. Copy and paste your workflow to a fresh document/section and start making some adjustments. Working from the existing process will ensure that you aren’t adding unnecessary steps and that you aren’t losing something that was already working. Having a copy of the original gives you the ability to test any changes against the original.
Pro Tip: Be mindful of creating change for the sake of change during this step. There is such a thing as too many steps, too much documentation, and too many approvals. Be clear and be concise.
4. Training.
Now it’s time to slow down and think critically:
What training does my staff need to execute the workflow as desired?
The larger your team, the more time this is going to take. Humans do not like change. If they’ve been succeeding at this workflow (albeit in a flawed way) they are going to have trouble understanding why they need to do it differently. Old habits die hard, so leave a generous runway in your timeline for training and consulting with your team on the changes that need to occur.
Conclusion
The last thing I’ll say is this: Take this one step at a time. Making incremental changes effectively rather than sweeping changes aggressively, will yield to increased buy-in from your team and a higher likelihood of success
It’s exciting to dream that you might be able to change everything about your business in one fell swoop. The truth is, that doesn’t work. Your goal should be to iterate on the functioning business you have, making incremental changes to key areas as you go along.
Rather than seeing this as a one time project, see it as a lifestyle of constant and gradual improvement.
Excelsior!
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