In any process-oriented organization, people are a waste of valuable resources, right? So, just either cut them off outright or outsource them. The dream is to have a people-free organization, no hassles, no problems. Well, this is the worst possible dream you can have, right along the ERP “will do it all, magical solution” dream. The trick is not to do it without people, is to do the right things with outstanding performing people to achieve sustainable process efficiency. Let’s dig in the five fundamental things you need to do to get this going.
There is a common misbelief that people in an organization are a necessary evil. They are a significant resource drain, they most notably focus on finding problems rather than delivering solutions and they tend to be very slow to adopt and promote change.
Well, if you put people to do repetitive, unchallenging, meaningless tasks, then yes, people become a burden and a problem. And the issue is precisely that. People are just not good at doing repetitive tasks. They become bored, they become unreliable as time goes by and they lose the ability to accept the benefit of change because they become comfortable with the status quo. It’s even worse when they are reduced to a given area or sector. They rapidly become narrow minded about the specifics of the environment where they have been placed and start defending it against their peers, losing sight of the actual target which is the improvement of the organization as a whole.
So, what can you do to change this typical behavior and reap the colossal benefits trapped within your people?
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Take people out of repetitive tasks, either by automating those tasks or by redesigning the process flow so that those repetitive tasks can be performed as a byproduct of other relevant tasks. Things like multiple, repeated data entry to satisfy ERP requirements, data collection to satisfy traceability and quality requirements, large variable dataset optimization or data crushing to satisfy reporting needs are just waste of time and a source for errors. All of those tasks can be automated and used to improve efficiency and accuracy. You need to design your process and map it on a platform that allows people to be taken out of these meaningless activities.
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Give people the right tools, people need to have the appropriate interfaces to perform well. And those interfaces have to be designed specifically for the activities they must perform, giving them the right information they need to conclude an activity efficiently. You don’t need multiple complex ERP transactions, filled with superfluous information, to do a super job. You need the right information, for the right process at the right time. This will allow them to be effective and efficient, focusing on the exception and problem resolution.
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Provide people with accurate, real time information, so they can use their decision making skills to prevent problems from happening. People excel at taking complex decisions if they are given the correct information in the right timeframe. By giving them accurate and real time information about a given process, people are able to anticipate exceptions, take measures and keep the process flowing smoothly.
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Create multi-functional teams and roles, where responsibility is shared and visibility is high. A multi-functional team supersedes the rigid structure imposed by the corporation and copied by the traditional ERPs module structure, combining the multiple competences required to make a process reach its target. By deregulating that structure, you will be able to break the defensive stance taken by people in each area and promote cooperation to achieve a complex goal, where multiple different activities are required to achieve the final result. You must provide process oriented dashboards where multi-functional teams are able to monitor and make the process flow, with constant knowledge of the specific pending issues. This kind of visibility will lead to stronger cooperation, active responsibility and greater efficiency.
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Assure accountability, by keeping extensive traceability on every process event and by exposing efficiency data. People do take responsibility and they actually want to display better results when solid, transparent accountability based on consistent data is in place. Traceability information is a powerful tool to make people become aware of their responsibility in any process and, when properly setup, accountability triggers a cascaded responsibility stream, where each individual becomes an enforcer for strict quality and rigorous process execution within his group.
By focusing on these 5 key issues while seeking to improve the reliability and efficiency of your people, you will get an added bonus: Your people will naturally become the agents of change that promote continuous process improvement. Why? Because they will have the ability to propose better tools and more structured information to perform better, since they understand the organization has provided a starting point designed to help them achieve better results. And because their efficiency is reliably, accurately exposed they will strive to be better.
At Processware we believe in People. And we strive very hard to deliver process-oriented, people-focused solutions that make them excel and reach unparalleled results. Our costumers have achieved these goals, with proven efficiency gains and people effectiveness, by applying precisely these same principles. Check out how our customers have been improving their people performance by using this approach on our stories.
