Recently, I made an appointment to see my doctor for a slight pain. It had been annoying me for awhile. But like most men, I put off doing anything about it.
I was amazed at how quickly my doctor diagnosed the root cause of the pain. He helped me make some changes in my activities so that the pain went away — for good. I feel like a new man! Why did I wait so long to get it checked out??
The experience made me think about “pain” in the workplace. How often do we experience the frustration of roadblocks, bottlenecks, costly delays and waste from inefficient work processes. Yet we put off asking the obvious question – “Why are we doing it this way??” Or we complain, but never take action.
What is the most annoying pain point for you at your workplace? If a process is a pain for you, it likely is for others too.
The good news is that you are uniquely positioned to bring relief! The best people to identify the pain points in a business process are the team members themselves. You and your colleagues experience the inputs, outputs, activities and decisions associated with the process every day. This is your opportunity to be a hero at work!
Take the next step.
- Pull together a group of co-workers who are intimately involved in accessing or running the process. (Buy pizza for lunch – they will come!)
- Map out how the process works (or doesn’t).
- Collect enough data to know how big the problem is.
- See what the data tell you; identify the root cause(s).
- Brainstorm solutions with the group.
- Develop and try an improvement idea.
- Gather more data.
- Adjust the process, as needed.
- Share the updated process with those who need to know.
- Celebrate — you just eliminated a major headache for your team!
If time is an issue, get help. Just as my doctor diagnosed and treated my physical pain, a process improvement expert can help you analyze and fix organizational “pain,” through the use of various tool sets, including Lean and Six Sigma. We can facilitate sessions for your team; help organize, collect and analyze data; and coach the team as you work through improvement ideas and sustainable implementation plans.
If you have a business process that needs a “check-up,” email me! I’d love to help you get back to a healthy, productive workplace!
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