Are you ready to take your business to the next level? We are, and a strategy for next level business begins with defining and documenting your processes. Every business has processes in place, but whether or not they are clearly defined and communicated is what matters. The most successful businesses have their proven processes documented so they are repeatable by any team member.
The purpose of documenting process
Your processes are in place so that your team can reach a goal. Without clearly defined processes, teams won’t have confidence that they can reach their goals and may become discouraged when their results are inconsistent. Setting goals for your team is essential for following business growth strategies, but a clearly defined process is what helps guarantee consistent results.
How to define your process
If your business’ goals don’t have a process tethered to them, you should gather your team and discuss these three process-defining questions:
- How do we get to that goal? (Trace backwards from your goal and map it out.)
- Who is involved and what do they contribute? (List every person who is involved.)
- What elements are required? (Are there specific business tools, supplies, or training that are needed to reach the goal?)
Be sure to record your findings and share them in a place where anyone who is involved in the process can easily access them. That way your entire team can repeat the process and—you guessed it—grow your business.
If you’re not sure where to start, here are some common processes that should be documented: product launch, quarterly review, customer complaint resolution, marketing campaign launch, budget approval, new hire, etc.
The key to succeeding at process
If you’ve answered those three questions, you’ve already done the hard part—defining your process. Now, the key to making your process work is effectively communicating it with your team.
At Bloom, we document all of our proven business processes. Then, we ensure that they can easily be shared and replicated by anyone on the team. Here’s an example of how we ensure that our processes stay up-to-date and accessible:
- Clearly define the process with all required materials, programs, and people on a file that is live (no duplicates) and protected (no accidental edits).
- Notate when the process was last updated.
- Add the process to a core process list that is accessible by everyone at the company.
- Share the process company-wide for visibility.
- Share the process with further instructions for directly impacted individuals.
This process list is reviewed at least once a year, and the link to the core processes are kept in the documents area of the Bloom Growth app so it’s easy to access.
Ready to turn your wins on repeat?