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Business Growth 1
Business Growth 2
Business
Growth 3
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Business Growth 3
Building a Framework to Explain Why and How Things Happen
By Edith E. Bell
Do you remember when
you started your business? You developed a plan, created mission and
vision statements, and listed business goals to achieve. Just as
these things did and do direct where you are going, your people need
to know why, what, and how you want them to accomplish the desired
business results. How do you make sure everyone understands your
reasons for doing things a certain way? You build a framework of
information to support these reasons.
This framework includes
the why (the policy), what (the process), and how (the procedure or
guideline) of the business. It clearly communicates the information
your people need to do their best work; in turn, this communicated
information contributes to your company functioning properly. Let us
look at each component of the framework briefly.
One of framework
components involves policies, the why of the business. A policy is a
guideline that controls the conduct of people and system activities,
explains an organization’s stand on a subject, and indicates why a
rule is necessary. The policy tells how the organization intends to
operate based on its own standards and principles of operation.
Examples of policy subjects are hours of operation, recruitment and
hiring, expense reimbursement, holidays, and vacation eligibility.
It is not enough to
say, “It is our policy to do such and such” and say nothing else.
People need to know what “such and such” means, why “such and such”
is the policy, and how “such and such” is implemented. This is where
procedures or guidelines come into play.
A procedure or
guideline, the how of your business, is the normal method of
handling things; it is the set of implementation rules. It
supplements the policy by outlining the steps you expect people to
take and the sequence in which to perform those steps every time.
Generally, a procedure also points out the consequences
noncompliance, such as damage, loss, injury, or discipline. As a
result, people understand the seriousness of and responsibility for
following a procedure. Examples of procedures are steps for
onboarding new hires, or steps for sequentially rebooting a computer
system.
The final component in
the framework is the process, the what of your business. This
process mechanism creates and delivers value to a customer. All
companies want to improve the way they do business, to produce
things more efficiently, and to make greater profits. Processes are
the means by which you achieve these things. They are a mixture of
input, action, and output—the classic definition of process. In many
organizations, however, people blame coworkers when something goes
wrong because of the belief that most issues are people-related
(lack of skills, training, motivation, capability, job fit). On the
contrary, the root cause of most organizational problems is issues
with processes, not people. Therefore, the most effective plan of
action to improve the what of your business is to examine processes
closely and document them in detail.
This article introduces
the importance of telling those involved in the running of your
business the why, what, and how of your business. Without policies,
procedures, and processes, people do not know what you want done,
why you want it done, and how you want it done. Having these
components in place as part of your company’s information framework,
influence your ability to achieve desired outcomes. They reduce
frustration, save tremendous amounts of time, eliminate mistakes,
increase efficiency, and save money. Finally, they help you serve
your customers more effectively as you add value to their
experiences with your company.
Edith
E. Bell
is principal
consultant at Bell Design Technologies, Inc. She can be reached at
ebell@belldesigntech.com.
Where do you
want to go next?
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Join Paul
R. Lloyd for a business casual conversation at a coffee shop near
you. Call 630-393-6516 or send an
email.
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