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Reader
of this piece will know that each of us sees the world in a
slightly different way.
We
all carry on doing what we do and many of us have at the back
of our minds the fact that the way we see the world isn't
necessarily how the person sitting next to you on the train,
in a traffic jam or at work sees it.
If
we put this in the context of the workplace, colleagues seeing
the world in slightly different ways present risks to the way
an organisation operates. If the people we work with see the
purpose of their role, the purpose of the organisation or the
way a task should be carried out in different ways, there will
be confusion. A symptom of this is that service provision to
external and internal customers will be inconsistent as the
quality and level of service will depend on the provider's
point of view of what constitutes "good service".
Establish the business objectives
The only way to prevent individuals’ points of view driving
the business instead of business objectives and customers’
requirements is to ensure that the way things must be done, by
whom, with what and by when is written down and distributed to
all those involved in the activities in question.
Document what is done
The way activities should be done and criteria for successful
completion must be written down in an easily understandable
format and distributed or shared via network drives intranet
sites or knowledge libraries.
In other words, document and publish your business
processes.
Document who does what
As the “what” is documented as described above, this must
also include who does what.
“Who” might be a person, a team, a business
function or an external provider.
They key is to state who is responsible for completing the
tasks described in “document
what is done”, including which aspects of success
criteria rests with them.
Document
what with
In addition to documenting “what” and “whom”, always
include the tools, systems, policies and legislation used or
referred to in order to complete the “what”.
This ensures that everyone who uses the process does so
consistently and accurately
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and customers who are recipients of the outcome of the
process receive the same level of service regardless of whom
they contact.
Note: That’s why it is essential that you
continually review and revise your processes to ensure that
the standard of service your customers receive is a level of
service which pleases them and ensures those customers keep
coming back.
By when
This will form part of your success criteria.
The output of all processes must be delivered in a
timely manner. In
your success criteria, state precisely what timely means. For example, “answer telephone within 2 rings”,
“respond to e-mail enquiries within 3 hours of receipt”,
or “have items ready for courier collection by 16.00 each
day”. You will need a method to record whether these targets
are met or else setting them is pointless.
These are simple examples which, hopefully, demonstrate the
importance of leaving nothing to someone else’s
interpretation.
Timeliness is only one possible success criterion.
The needs of your customers matched with the capability
within your organisation will help you to define other
meaningful measures for success.
Finally
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
I’m thinking: “I hope the points I’ve made in this
document are clear”.
What were you thinking?
What does your team think?
Contact us
If you would like further guidelines on how to set targets
against your business processes, please contact us by e-mail
at info@amosbutler.com
or by telephoning 0845 125 9612 (voicemail), where one of our
analysts will call you back before the end of the working day.
Disclaimer
The information provided above is not comprehensive and
should, therefore, only be used as a guide.
If you would like more detailed guidance or an initial
talk with one of our analyst, please call +44(0) 7960 588 834
or e-mail info@amosbutler.com.
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