Tag Archive: process

How to Process Map When You Don’t Know What You’re Doing

August 1, 2014Blog, , , , ,

whiteboardconsulting.ca/staging: Peacocks and ProcessesThis week a friend emailed me to ask for some process improvement advice. He has been thinking about a business process in his office, and knows something isn’t working the way it should, but isn’t quite sure what it is.

In fact, he wasn’t even sure how to articulate what he was looking for.

“This is probably the kind of thing that you guys could do for me, but I don’t even know what I want yet. Do you have anything like a template or a document that lists your process for drawing out how a process is working?”

Funnily enough, we don’t. When Nicole and I facilitate process improvement sessions it comes to us naturally, based on a few key questions:

  1. What is the “pain point” that you want to fix? Or, what is that “one thing” that drives you bananas when you drive home on Friday evenings, thinking “if only we didn’t have to deal with “this thing”, everything would be better?
  2. What kicks off your process? What’s the first step? You might think this is an easy question, but we once spent 45 minutes with a client helping them answer it.
  3. When is your process finished? What’s the last step? Is it when something is produced? Or when the customer recieves it? Or when the cheque comes in?

And that’s enough to get us started. From there we interview the key people involved in a process, draw it on huge Post-It paper on the wall, and then review it with people to ensure it’s accurate.

At that point the opportunities to improve pretty much jump off the page.

My Response to Him

Assuming you know nothing about a process map (forgive me if you do):

  • square shapes represent a step in the process
  • circles/ovals are beginning and end points
  • diamonds are decision points
  • arrows direct the flow from one step to another
  • the rows, or swimlanes, represent each person or group or organization who “touch” the process
  • A completed process map a beginning and end (duh), has all the process steps in the appropriate row depending on who completes the step, has decision points where ever an approval is needed (e.g. Approved? Y/N) and then appropriate steps for both Yes and No possibilities, has numbered steps (makes it easier to refer to specific steps later if you’re talking to someone about it).

You can use a pencil to document your process directly on the page, or you can have a big piece of paper on the wall and use sticky-notes (one for each step). This makes it easy to move them around if you need to. Use the attached template to help you out. (Click here for the process map template: WBC Process Map Template.)

  1. Determine the swimlanes – who has some involvement (no matter if it’s only one step) in any aspect of the process?
  2. Determine the trigger point – what kicks the process off?
  3. Consider the end point – how will you know when the process is done?
  4. Put a circle shape in the swimlane for the person/group that starts things off. Write the word “START” in it.
  5. Put a square shape next to the circle and label it #1, and write the step.
  6. Proceed with each consecutive step.
  7. Add the arrows last (you almost always have to change them as you go).
  8. When you reach the end point, put a circle with the word “END” in it.

His Response to Me

Ever the clown, my friend responded with, “do you realize how ironic it is that you don’t have a process document for your process mapping process?”

Isn’t it though. So ironic. See if I help HIM out again… sheesh…

Until next time,

Ruth.

Women and Leadership

May 2, 2014Blog, ,

Woman-leadershipThis week at Whiteboard Worldwide Headquarters, Ruth and I have been thinking about Women and Leadership, particularly with respect to training.  I have to be honest that my first thoughts were, “Why would women need Leadership training that is any different than the training we would offer to men?” I hated the thought of saying that women needed something different or special – to us leadership meant building relationships, coaching your team, developing and executing in a “one-size-fits-all “strategy.

The literature and media I looked at seemed to emphasize that women need more training, whether it be in order to debunk  media’s presentation of “stereotypical” women and their roles, or to add some additional skill-sets that would make women more successful. I reached out to a few feminist women in my circle who hold leadership roles, and was overwhelmed with their excitement and passion on the topic – but I still wasn’t convinced.

“Part of the hesitance to embrace powerful women is embedded in feminism itself,” says Buzzfeed’s Anna North. “Feminism is a movement founded on women’s status as a marginalized group,” North writes, “and as a woman moves closer to the centers of corporate or government power, she can come to seem like, for lack of a better word, the Man.”

Could I agree with this? I’m not sure!

My government leadership experiences have all been peppered with a wide array of women leaders, many of whom were stellar strategists and coaches, and seemed to kibosh any and all barriers to women being successful in leadership.  I have been fortunate in my career to have these leaders to guide me to take on leadership roles and excel in them.  So my experience makes it hard for me to say that women are treated differently than men in the workplace.

But how do others feel?  Do women need to learn how to react, mitigate, and respond to situations where they are being treated differently? (Click to Tweet)

This week, Ruth and I delivered some “executing on strategy” training to a team of 30+ engineers (95% male) and my mindset changed a little.  Talk about a tough crowd. My inner-self was torn between being my best, teaching the material that I knew was great in the ways I know how – and running out of the room to have a nice cathartic cry.  Wow. I don’t think I had ever experienced that before, and it was alarming to me. Did I have to win over this crowd because I am a woman? Was it because I’m not an engineer? Were there other reasons? I don’t really know. To be honest, my biggest issue is that I cannot prove that any of those reasons was the culprit. So many questions, so few answers.

While I still have questions and a lot to learn about the topic, I’m going to start this series of blogs on Women and Leadership with the concept of like-ability.

Do women prefer to be likeable over successful?

Do I need to be affirmed to feel successful? Ruth and I had a retreat last winter – and we learned that we feel the most satisfied about our work when we receive positive affirmations – either from each other, our clients, or especially training participants.  It made us re-focus our strategic plan on training in 2014 – because we like that feeling and want more of it.

To quote Jessca Vallenti – to be driven by this like-ability – “means that your self-worth will always be tied to what someone else thinks about you, forever out of your control.”

I felt a little out of control in that session of engineers who were highly skeptical of the methodology we were trying to teach. Deep down inside, however, I knew that I could turn them around. More, I knew Ruth and I could turn them around.

So I actually knew things were in fact in my control.

My ability to relay the content to the participants and get them to “get it” (or “grock it” as Ruth would say), was completely in my power. My ability to comprehend their engineering examples and summarize and repeat them would improve my credibility, would get me to understand their world, and would ultimately get them on board.

But is that unique to me? Is that some skill that I have that other women don’t? And if so – WHY?

Now, I think we did turn the course around and reach the curious and open side of that group of engineers, and we saw success.  I’m still considering the concept of how much they liked me in my mind – and how that impacted me.

It’s still early in my research, and I  have a lot of work to do to solidify my views, however, I did learn a little about myself in that room.  Most importantly I wondered if I could harness that learning and help other women . Am I a feminist yet? Stay tuned for this series in Women and Leadership to find out more.

Do you have thoughts on women and leadership? What concepts do you think a leadership course on women should have?  Comment below or send us a Tweet @whiteboardcons with the hashtag #womenleaders.

To be continued……

Until next time,

Nicole

Processes Can Set You Free!

April 18, 2014Blog, , , , ,

70173
Oh I know what you’re probably thinking – “Ruth, who are you kidding? Processes are simply more bureaucracy. I get that they can make things more consistent and reduce errors, but they’re also a real pain.”

Fair enough. Let me rephrase then.

Good Processes Can Set You Free!

Better? Of course better! But why is that better?

One of my pet peeves is the notion that processes simply need to be documented (written down, mapped, whatever the format) in order for an organization to say, “we’ve done process improvement.” This is the very notion of poor process culture, and gives good process culture a bad rep. You can very easily map a bad, inefficient, bureaucratic process, and doing so does not make you a process improvement compliant organization or individual. (Click to Tweet)

Did that sound like a rant? Sorry. What I mean is, please don’t judge your processes at work by the mere fact that they’ve been documented.

Good Bad

How Can You Make Sure You Have Good Processes?

Ask yourself the following questions.

  1. Are our business processes documented and available for people to look at and refer to?
  2. Have our business processes been reviewed in the last 12 months?
  3. Do our business processes show roles & responsibilities (via swimlanes, for instance)?
  4. Do our business processes reflect reality? Or, if asked, would employees who are doing the work say “we haven’t done it that way for years”?
  5. Do our employees roll their eyes when they have to follow our business processes? Do they feel the processes are a waste of time and bureaucratic?
  6. Are there people in our organization who are negatively impacted by our business processes?

If you said “no” to any of these, then you have some work to do. Contact us. We’ll help set you free.

Until next time,

Ruth

 

A business model that works for you!

April 11, 2014Blog, , , , , , ,

After enjoying a sunny and fabulous yoga retreat at Anamaya Resort in Costa Rica I am now back to the daily grind. I spent 7 days enjoying the most fabulous organic food (grown on Anamaya’s own farm), getting my chakra on with the most amazing Yoga/Dance/Everything Instructor, Melissa-Jane Shaw, meeting a fabulous smart group of women (and one lovely man), Salsa dancing and busting a move to Beyonce, and above all, estro-bonding with my bestie, Yaryna.

While sometimes blog ideas elude me, this one was as clear as the Costa Rican sunrise over the Pacific Ocean: Things don’t have to be done the way they’ve always been done. Do them so that your customer is surprised and delighted. (Click to Tweet).

View

So I’ve been to a ton of resorts, spas, retreats, hotels, motels, all-inclusives, B&B’s, Inns, timeshares – you name it and I’ve probably been there.  What’s the first part of the process when arriving at your destination? Checking-In.  Whom do you likely deal with most during this transaction? The reception desk.  Some do it really well, others have trouble communicating, others are bombarded with clients. Now, Anamaya has this down pat:

You arrive, a delicious smoothie is placed in your hand, and you are directed to enjoy the most stunning view you have ever seen. There’s a little house where you do the check in – you are then introduced to your receptionist for the day.  She’s in the kitchen, helping prepare for communal meals in the main house, helping you at the boutique to buy fabulous yoga wear, arranging taxis, booking spa treatments, grabbing you a glass (or 3) of white wine.  You name it, she’s on it.  It worked so well, and created such an amazing family atmosphere, that tears are shed on the last day of every retreat without a doubt! The best part is she’s quietly and un-assumingly documenting your purchases, so that checkout (back in that little house) is a clear, transparent breeze! It was literally genius. Literally. I can’t even.  Those folks deserve the Whiteboard Process of the Year Award (wait – Ruth – we should do that!).

Nicole & Gretel

Me & Gretel one of the receptionists that I absolutely LOVED! Sorry for my yoga hair and crossed eyes (selfies –ugh).

So what’s the moral of the story? Don’t be afraid to try something new with your business model.  Here are a few tips on trying out a new business model for interacting with clients:

5 Tips to a business model that surprises and delights

  1. Seek unique business models from your industry competitors for interacting with clients. Try them. Use them. Figure out what works and what doesn’t.
  2. Take a leap of faith.  It’s not easy, but it doesn’t always have to be the way it’s always been.  Change is hard guys!
  3. Test and trial them out.   See what will work best for your environment. Clearly the model I described above won’t work at the Four Seasons in downtown Toronto.  Find out what works for you and your customer.
  4. Survey your customer.  Get their feedback, input, and suggestions for improvement. You’ll know you have it right when you have raving reviews.
  5. Process. Process. Process.  Think I forgot? I think not.  Document and standardize your processes so that you can continuously improve and monitor your progress.

Do you have any examples of a unique business model that worked?  Tell us about it @whiteboardcons!

Do you believe you should win the Whiteboard Process of the Year Award?  Let us know  – we’ll throw you a fancy party and celebrate your awesome process (whether we helped you with it or not!).

Until next time,

Nicole

The Genius of a Checkbox

April 4, 2014Blog, , ,

CheckBoxIf you’ve been following along our blog for a while, you know that we are fond of the mantra that everything is a process. Whether it’s understanding the voice of the customer, hiring a consultant, coaching, or managing alternative work arrangements, pretty much everything has its roots in process. Heck, Nicole even related having the flu to a process!

So, I have a challenge for you today – just to see if you’ve been paying attention.

I’d like you to look at your place of work and identify one process improvement that would make all the difference in the world to your job.

Samantha’s Checkbox

Last night I went for a walk with one of my bff’s, and conversation turned, as it often does, to work. My friend (I’ll call her Samantha) works as a physiotherapist in a major hospital, and no one is better suited to the job. I think it’s a calling, really. She loves it, she loves the patients, and most days everything is rainbows, puppies, and sunshine.

The conversation went something like this:

Samantha: So again today, I had to deal with referrals that weren’t legit.

Me: What does that mean?

Samantha: Well, in a hospital, physios only see patients if there is a mobility-related need that has been properly assessed by someone else like a nurse or a doctor.

Me: Why?

Samantha: Because not everything is a mobility issue. If you have a headache you aren’t referred to a neurologist right away, are you? No. You’re assessed and things are ruled out. The same goes for patients who don’t want to get out of bed – it may be related to their illness or some other cause. Physios only help with the mobility causes, and when we are referred incorrectly it’s a HUGE waste of time and is annoying to the patient.

Me: So what’s the process for a referral?

(That’s right. It took me, the process geek, 2 minutes to get to a process issue. Kind of scary. Fortunately Samantha doesn’t mind at all.)

Samantha: There’s a referral form that people fill out, or they might just verbally request it during rounds and then fill it out later.

Me: Is there something on the form that requires the mobility assessment is done?

Samantha: No. They just have to put it in the comments when they do charts.

Me: So there’s no checkbox on the form to ensure the assessment is done before the referral is passed?

Samantha: Genius!

What’s Your “Checkbox”?

Now to be fair, finding the improvement and getting it implemented are two different things. I’m sure that Samantha can’t just march up to administration and demand the form include a checkbox.

That doesn’t mean it’s not worth looking at potential improvements. Over time, Samantha will have the opportunity to influence and educate those around her, and this will likely lead to an improvement in the referral process. These things just take time and patience. (Click to Tweet)

So there’s my challenge to you. Look around your workspace. What are those annoying things that could be tweaked and improved with relatively little effort? What is your “checkbox” and how can you influence change?

Tell us about it in the comments below.

Until next time,

checkbox

Ruth

 

 

New Course! – The Process of Coaching

March 10, 2014News, , , , , ,

 

Please note location change: Verity Club, 111d Queen St E, Toronto

Process-of-Coaching---Verity

We have been teaching and writing about how to be an effective coach for a while now, and are truly excited to announce that we are offering a full-day session on the topic in June.

If you manage people and you’d like to know how to be a better coach at the office, become more engaged with and respected by your employees, and learn how to coach “across and up” as well as “down”, then this session is for you! You will learn some new and useful concepts, and then have a chance to practice it with an actor who will play different employee characters during our interactive afternoon. It’s fun and it’s so helpful – we can’t wait for you to join us!!

The details:

  • Your choice of either June 9 or June 10
  • 8:30am – 5pm
  • (Please note location change) Verity Club, 111d Queen St E, Toronto, ON M5C 1S2
  • $595 plus HST per person
  • Earlybird savings of 10% if you book by April 30th
  • Lunch is included

Click here to register today! And if you have any questions, please do contact us.

See you in June!

Some quotes from our session in Chicago at last September’s Quality Expo:

Nicole and Ruth put on an amazing session at the 2013 Quality Expo. They work together very well and come across like good friends talking to you in a relaxed setting, all while conveying concepts that are some of the hardest to master in business. I guess that’s why they’re so good at “Process Improvement by Osmosis”, because they make the mastering of coaching so painless. I highly recommend. Glen Young, Engineering Manager, Pequot Tool & Manufacturing

Your session “Create a Process Driven Culture Via Coaching” was listed time and time again as the favorite of the conference. I really wanted to share that piece with you because it’s always great to hear that your work is well received. Keep doing what you two are doing, it’s clearly working. Heather Townsend, Project Coordinator, UBM Canon Conferences

The Process Geek in All of Us

March 7, 2014Blog, , , , ,

Geek GlassesWikipedia says of the word “geek”: Although often considered as a pejorative, the term is also used self-referentially without malice or as a source of pride. Its meaning has evolved to connote “someone who is interested in a subject (usually intellectual or complex) for its own sake.”

I do not use the word “geek” pejoratively. No, I use it with fondness to describe those of us who have an aptitude for any subject that goes beyond the average person. You could be an astronomy geek, a food geek, a botany or gardening geek, a Shakespeare geek, a 70’s geek… anything!

I – I’m proud to say – am a process geek.

In our line of work Nicole and I run into many geeks of all kinds (you know who you are). Naturally we are drawn to those who are process-minded as we are, and we’ve come to realize the following truth: there are many people who have an inner process geek and don’t even know it. (Click to Tweet)

We love to see that side of people and let them know how awesome it is and how they can make it work for them. Wondering if you’re a process geek too? Wonder no more!

Process Geek

You Are a Bit of a Process Geek if:

  1. You’re reading this blog. Face it – if you’re on Whiteboard’s website, you’re interested in learning more about us and what we are up to. And what we do (be it training, facilitation, or strategic planning) always comes down to process.
  2. It pains you to know how long your proposal will be in the approvals process at work, and you’ve already thought of three ways to make it faster. If only anyone would listen.
  3. You stand in line at coffee shops and think of ways the line could move faster. Want to get Nicole ranting? Ask her about how she feels now that Starbucks has moved to individual coffee preparation vs. batching. I, on the other hand, am dying to revamp Tim Horton’s meal combo ordering process so that people don’t have to repeat Every. Single. Item. Separately. And. Slowly.
  4. Although the voice is annoying, you secretly think stores that employ the audible call to open cashiers (Cashier Number Four Please) are genius. Not only does it save the cashiers from shouting “I can help you down here”, but it also moves the line along just that little bit faster.
  5. At airports you wonder about people who don’t yet understand the effective processes for passing through security (jacket off, belt and shoes off, laptop out, all before you get to the bins) or boarding a plane (slide into the seat, check if people are waiting to get by, then slide out and throw your carry on up top).
  6. You kind of like doing your taxes. Even just a little. The feeling of organizing all the files and filling out the online apps is quite satisfying (especially if you’re getting a refund).
  7. You can’t believe how much manual paperwork is required at the bank. In 2014.
  8. You have developed routines for mundane things in order to make them as quick and painless as possible – at home: packing the car for a roadtrip, housecleaning, packing lunches. At work: preparing a monthly report, doing performance reviews, starting a new project.
  9. When you have a great idea for something, you grab a piece of paper or a napkin and you sketch out the steps and how it will work. You number things and use arrows to show the flow of the idea.
  10. You’ve already thought of ten other ways that you’re a process geek.

It’s not such a bad thing. Embrace the process geek in you and tell us about it! We’d love to help you make it work for you.

Until next time,

Ruth

 

Processes of Olympic Proportion

February 21, 2014Blog, , , , ,

Sochi Olympics When you are really and truly a process geek, as I am, you are fascinated by processes everywhere you go. Whether it’s standing in line at airport security or waiting for your latte at Starbucks, there are opportunities to make things Better, Faster, and Cheaper everywhere you look.

There are also great processes that catch your eye and cause you to geek out, just a little bit.

Case in point. The Olympics.

No, not the overall Sochi experience, which I’m sure would be an AWESOME process improvement case study. No, I mean the athletes’ approach to perfection.

Variation is evil!

If you’ve been watching any of the Olympic coverage and wondered, “how do these people DO these things”, then wonder no more. Everything they do is a process. And everything they do well, is an excellent process that they have mastered, and are able to do over, and over, and over again.

One of the important concepts that we teach when working with clients on process improvement projects is that of consistency. In fact, we go so far as to say “Variation is evil!” (Click to Tweet) (It’s a strong statement, but it’s easy to remember.)

I was watching the Ice Dancing earlier this week and was interested to hear the commentator speak about variation when referring to some of the skaters. Common phrases included “they struggle with consistency”, or, “she’s had trouble repeating this routine”.

Famed Canadian skater Brian Orser won both the short and long programmes in the ’84 Olympics, but did not take the gold because of his poor performance in the then-compulsory figures. Back then, consistency was a critical element of judging skill, because it showed the ability to consistently master the basics. (Side note: I find it odd that “figure” skating would eliminate the need to show skill in compulsory “figures”, but I’ve given up figuring out the judging components. Anyway.)

There’s a commercial on right now in which a skiier sits on the chairlift at night and as he travels up the slope you hear him reciting in his head what he has to do in order to have a good run on the course; “Turn one, knees down, cut the edge. Turn two…” You can believe that most athletes do the exact same thing every time they approach their event – consistency is key!

Eliminate the Variation. Then Focus on Improvement.

So how do you apply this to your processes at work? First, focus on improving consistency. When you can do the same thing, over and over again, it becomes much easier to then improve the performance.

Picture a bullseye with shots all over the place. Then picture one with shots clustered off centre, but all within a few centimetres of each other. It is much easier to teach the consistent biathalon athlete to shift her aim than it is to help the varied biathalon competitor understand what she’s doing wrong (and differently) each time.

You just know that the winning biathlete is saying the same things to herself every single time she takes aim. She has a process, and if she’s hoping to win gold, she’s following that process Every. Single. Time.

The same is true for you at work. Make your office the gold standard of efficiency by eliminating the variation and focusing on the process.

Until next time,

Ruth.

Guest Blog: Musings on Process & Social Media

January 31, 2014Blog,

Hi everyone! Please join us in welcoming David Keyes to the Whiteboard Consulting family. He joined us this month as Project Assistant, and is already bringing fresh eyes and a helping had to Nicole and me. We’re thrilled to have him, and of course immediately asked him to fill in as guest blogger this week while Nicole is sitting on a beach enjoying a well-deserved break.

This week David shares his thoughts on social media and processes… Enjoy!

Ruth.

Thoughts from a Process & Social Media Rookie

Hello, my name is David Keyes, I am the newest addition to the Whiteboard Consulting family and it’s a thrill and an honour to be here. My role is that of coordinator, the arranger of schedules and the booker of appointments, along with a bunch of other hats and roles when needed. As Nicole is on vacation they’ve asked me to step up and write a blog entry for this week.

I was given the task of looking at social media to see how best we can exploit this ever growing and not easily defined medium.

social-key

My first question was, “how do I translate Whiteboard Consulting, not to mention myself and my thoughts and my role here to a social media presence?”

When I went to college no one had a desktop computer, it was 1981 and a single computer still filled a room. All of my projects and promotions were done by hand, photocopying and pressing and distributing, so much work and time went into that – now a single sentence can reach millions and one needn’t get out of ones chair! Even our smallest thoughts or photos of our lunch can be beamed internationally and to enormous audiences in real time, it makes one a little careful about all those people seeing what you say/do/think! It gives a platform for everyone, everyone’s voice can be heard and it allows for connections previous generations have never been able to engage in! It’s miraculous and scary and inspiring.

While sitting in a facilitated process mapping session it dawned on me that this room full of invigorated participants furiously throwing ideas and thoughts out to be captured by a skilled facilitator on flip chart paper, was in fact an analogue version of Twitter. That perhaps all those cyber-voices and social medias were in fact like the voices in this room, brainstorming a concept.

I find I am a contradiction of naiveté and cynicism with the medium. Despite my hesitation to post online, I’m now looking forward to riding the social media trends and hopefully using it as a way to stimulate a dialogue about words and processes. Maybe rather than approaching it with hesitancy it will help us understand better who we are and what we are doing here. Perhaps it is worth sharing ideas, ideas worth reading twenty years from now.

David

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