I’ve lost count of the number of times people complain to me that others don’t follow the process that they’re supposed to. Do any of these sound familiar?
“Sorry I can’t, I’m too busy”
“No one told me I was supposed to do that!”
“Well I’ve found a much better way to do it!”
A process exists because a customer has a need for it. Processes are everywhere; we can’t get away from them. Yet so many people (and this includes not only employees, but also customers and suppliers) know that they are there and choose not to follow them anyway. Why does this keep happening?
Here are five reasons why:
1. They didn’t help to create it – arguably the most important reason of all, is the fact that processes are often developed in isolation of the people that actually use them. If you want people to follow the process, let them design it with you! This generates buy-in because they have co-authored the way it should work and it has their thumbprint all over it.
2. They don’t know what the process is – if your teams are saying things like ‘I didn’t know that I had to do that’ or ‘I didn’t know where to find that document’, then you have an education issue. Develop materials and create a communications plan that helps explain what the process is, why it exists and how to do it. Then make it your mission to ensure that everyone receives this same basic level of understanding.
Moreover, depending on where you are in the world and how conservative your company culture is, it’s important to note that some people are not comfortable saying ‘I don’t know’, and certain cultural practices can constrain the way we work often expecting people ‘to just know it’. One of the best methods that I have found to overcome this is to create a standard operating procedure for the process – explaining step by step how to follow the process, with an emphasis on visuals (according to 3M the brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text). This way, there are no excuses.
3. They don’t agree with it – and think they can do it better! – We’re all individuals with different personalities, backgrounds and experiences, but one thing we all have in common is a habit of thinking that our way is the best way! This ties into the first point – they didn’t help to create it. Involving them right from the start about what the process is trying to achieve and creating it together from the outset will ensure that they are more willing to follow it going forwards.
4. They don’t have time to do it properly – Ah this one… [sigh]. More often that not, people create shortcuts and workarounds to get to the end result without having to follow the process steps. Sometimes it could simply be that the process steps are non-value adding to the quality, delivery and cost of the end product / service. But oftentimes I have found that it’s the lack of understanding of the impact of not doing the process correctly, which causes the most problems. For example, if timesheets are always late, it could be explained that, not filling out timesheets on time, actually has a negative impact on invoicing and therefore cash flow, which in turn impacts the payment of salaries. Most likely their own.
Of course, sometimes “not having enough time” can simply be because time is managed so poorly. Yet somehow there is always time for a tea break.
5. They’re not measured on it – Peter Drucker once said “what gets measured gets managed”. If the process is important enough to exist (i.e. have a customer at the end of it), then it can be worth creating a Key Performance Indicator around this to monitor how well the process is being performed. You can be sure to see improvement in the uptake from then onwards!
One thing you may have noticed is that, all of the above reasons are people related symptoms. The phrase: “there are no bad people, only bad processes” seems appropriate to bring in here. If your processes were created 10 years ago, it’s no wonder that no one’s following them. Processes don’t live forever; they need to be kept up-to-date.
If people are genuinely not following the process for valid reasons, then a thorough review of the current state will help determine why, and help them design a process that works better to deliver to the customer what they really want.
So, just to recap:
· More Collaboration.
· Better Education.
· Clearer Explanation.
· Improved Measurement.
…should all increase the likelihood of the process being followed. Good luck!
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