You can use productivity software to create graphs, charts or other visuals that may help everyone better understand project transitions. Consider creating a flowchart for each project to show how each step progresses, who is responsible for each task and what tools or steps are necessary to complete the project. Visual tools can be excellent resources when you're optimizing work processes because they help provide context for written or verbal information. Related: 7 Ways To Collaborate With Your Team 2. Offer each team member an opportunity to speak on their personal experience with company processes. Explore any specific challenges with previous processes, like slow points or obstacles created by a lack of tools, resources or organization. Encourage the team to answer questions about processes they feel aren't optimal or might need significant change. You can also offer answers to previous questions as you progress, closing conversations and addressing any issues that work processes might cause. Ask and answer questionsĪs you form new work processes or optimize old ones, it's important to ask questions to encourage communication and collaboration. Here are some steps you can take to optimize work processes: 1. Optimizing work processes can help with team productivity and efficiency.
How to optimize work processes for your team Supporting information: This includes information on tools, documents, procedures or necessary forms for each step to occur.ĭecision points: This details the place in each step where team members or stakeholders make important decisions. Step transitions: This explains where transitions occur during the process, including who initiates a transition phase between project steps.Ĭommunication: This describes how the team communicates about project details and steps. Step ownership: This describes which of the project's team members are responsible for the ownership of each step in the process. A detailed work process typically comprises the following information about a project or task: Detailed-level work processesĭetailed-level work processes include the highest amount of detail. Related: 20 Skills Every Project Manager Should Have 3. Intermediate work processes are typically best for projects with minor complexities or that depend on collaborative efforts. For example, if the marketing and accounting team are working together to create a marketing budget, an intermediate-level work process helps organize and describe the tasks to complete that budget, who handles which parts of the project and what decisions each department makes about the budget. They typically include any communications or collaborations between departments and describe some details about significant decisions in the work process. The intermediate-level work processes contain more detail than high-level processes. High-level work processes can work best with simple projects, though they are a crucial component for more complex projects as well. The submittal is the input, while the approval is the process output. For example, an employee submits a project approval form, the manager approves it and the project begins. The work process depends on a simple formula of a single input and a single output.
These processes are simplistic and accessible and help with the completion of basic or minor tasks and projects. High-level work processes are any actions or procedures that exist at the most basic level of understanding for employees. There are three types of work processes to consider: 1. Related: How To Engage Project Stakeholders Types of work processes You can include almost anything employees do to create value and complete projects in the definition of a work process. For example, a manufacturing company might create a specific work process for producing its clothing line, while a marketing company might create a work process for establishing a new social media ad campaign. Companies often create company or industry-specific work processes to accomplish tasks. What is a work process?Ī work process is any method that employees use to create value for the company. In this article, we explain what a work process is, explore the different types and discuss how to optimize work processes. Understanding what work processes are, what types of work processes you might encounter and how to optimize them can help teams become more efficient and productive. Work processes can vary from minor tasks to major processes that require specific skills or knowledge. Defining your organization's work processes can be a great way to learn more about how the company's employees create value.