Category: Blog

Introduction

For a business owner, the daily challenges faced don’t get any easier. Maybe they are frustrated by a team not stepping up to take responsibility. Fed up with problem solving that they really don’t have time for. Or despairing of critical projects not delivered unless they are personally involved. Many business owners have ambitions to grow but are slowed down by these obstacles. The answer may be that they need to learn how to delegate.

Whether you are a business owner or advisor, many organisations experience these problems. In this blog we delve into some of the reasons why this happens and provide not only a few tips but also tangible tools to solve your delegation issues.

The problem

Like any thorny issue in a business setting there’s always more than one point of view. Either the owner doesn’t know how to delegate properly and is struggling with a lack of control or they feel they’ve hired the wrong people. The reality is that actually it often comes down to a lack of clarity between what the owner and the team think is expected of them. 

Let’s look at this rationally, most employees want to do the right thing and follow direction. However, if they haven’t been presented with the correct boundaries or direction then how do they know what to do? As a business grows and leaders become busier they will delegate more tasks as needed. This haphazard approach however won’t work as tasks become bigger and more complex. If a business owner hasn’t figured out how to delegate by this stage then the team will lack authority in making the decisions they need to do.

How to delegate?

Learning how to delegate is easier said than done. Letting go of certain tasks is always going to be a struggle but first ensure there is clear direction and objectives for the business. It needn’t be complicated, owners should be able to describe their vision easily to everyone and have some measurables attached. A good example would be to double revenue every year by doing something better than all your competitors. Another might be to become the most trusted in your area among a certain demographic by a certain date. The clearer the business makes this, the easier it will be to measure progress and communicate to the team. 

The next step is to think about how to organise or architect the business to achieve the objective. Consider what the major components are and how they fit together. This isnt as daunting as it first seems. Most components are standard across businesses and include things such as Marketing, Sales, Delivery, Production, Finance etc. If a business owner isn’t sure where to start then we recommend our free Business on a Page template which includes the most common areas. It’s a great place to start and effective in engaging team members, especially those that will be the next level of management.

Once the components are defined it’s time to note down who is responsible for each area. This is often when the truth dawns for many business owners. In our experience many of them find themselves responsible for most, if not all, of the components. In this case, the Business on a Page exercise has really served its purpose. Business leaders can now start asking themselves questions such as:

• Which of these areas they need to focus on to improve their new business objectives?
• Where are they spending too much time where others could help?
• Who has the best skills and experience to own the different components?
• How does work in one component flow to the next?

As a result of this exercise, owners are not just asking staff to do things in different areas. They are giving them the responsibility to decide how things get done. This is a great first step but for many relinquishing that control doesn’t always happen that easily. Learning how to delegate takes a mind shift as well as practical application. 

What if they don’t do it the right way? Or the way you want them to do it?

Business owners should be encouraged by being reminded of the original objectives for the business. Remember to measure objectives for each component to ensure that it is delivering in ways an owner would expect. If team members deliver on the measures defined by the leader, does the leader really need to be involved in the detail?

As a countermeasure we would always suggest that business owners have a view of what is working well in each area and where each member needs help. The best way to achieve this is to ask each member of the team to map out their own high level business processes. This not only clarifies the way they do things but also ensures that everyone in the team can see how they fit in with each other. It brings engagement and collaboration to the organisation, a win win for any business. 

This combination of the Business on a Page, the measures and high level processes is the architecture of a business and they can use it at regular status meetings. It becomes a common language where the team can clearly articulate problems they face and makes it easier for owners to help them.

How the Business on a Page works.

If you’d like an online version of the Business On A Page Template, you can take a look at how it works here.

The Business on a Page template is a blank template that provides some of the most common activities commonly found across different businesses. Use those provided or specify your own components relevant to your business. The examples are exactly that, examples to help you find the right wording for individual activities.

There are two types of activities on the template, those that describe the work done to make money, such as marketing and sales. Then the activities that support these such as Finance, HR and IT.

There’s no limit to how many boxes are available but try to keep them all on one page. Its interesting to also fill in the template for how the business looks today and then create another one for where the business will be in the future. This helps when trying to prioritise what to do next. 

With the boxes defined, add the owners to each box. As mentioned above it’s better to do this with the team and encourage them to suggest which boxes they own, or think they should own.

Once the owners for each box are agreed, discuss how each will be measured and write this alongside each box. Remember that it’s unlikely you’ll get it exactly right on the first try. Revisit and tweak this over several weeks but in the meantime the whole team has a common framework in which to discuss the business, any problems and how to overcome them.

Finally, the team needs to start looking at processes. Check out our process mapping guide here as a good place to start. If you want to capture your processes and share them digitally, along with the business on a page then of course we highly recommend Skore, our process improvement platform that’s designed to be easy to use by everyone in the business. 

Skore is the process improvement platform designed to be used by everyone in your business. Map processes, gain insights instantly and share with everyone. Craig Willis is the CEO and Co-Founder of Skore.

Before considering Visio alternatives it’s important to decide what you and your organisation are really looking for. In this article we look specifically at business process mapping, analysis and continuous improvement. MS Visio is often the most used tool in this space but is it really fit for purpose?

Visio alternatives, such as Skore, are actually specifically designed for working with Business Processes unlike Visio itself.  This can make your life easier, accelerate your project and elevate you and your team to the role of trusted advisor in no time at all. 

Visio Overview

Let’s start by taking a look at Microsoft Visio, a diagramming software designed for business use. Having been around for a number of years, and part of the generic Microsoft Office suite, it is available to users in businesses across the world.

One of Visio’s strengths is the large library of shapes and palettes that can be dragged and dropped onto the drawing canvas. For this reason it is incredibly flexible and can be used for an extremely wide range of different applications. That flexibility is also a drawback and the reason why there are so many Visio Alternatives.

One of its common uses, of course, is in Business Process Mapping. There are shapes available for basic flowcharting right through to the Business Process Modelling and Notation standard. This, is the disadvantage, the flexibility and range of shapes. One of the criticisms leveled against Visio is that it’s hard to create consistent processes and stay consistent across a team of analysts.

If it’s part of a larger programme, these processes need to be analysed. Although  you can include some extra data in Visio it is generally easier to create a spreadsheet to capture process related information. This creates problems as there are multiple documents and tools to manage in order to perform any sort of analysis which leads to further inconsistency. .

Finally, some feel that the diagrams produced by Visio are not visually pleasing, to be fair this is normally down to the user rather than Visio itself. However Microsoft Visio’s unstructured approach means that a process can be displayed in a disorganised or illogical fashion. As a result teams using Visio will often transcribe processes into something like Powerpoint or Word before presenting to a wider audience. This means that once again more tools are required and the data is duplicated and retyped each time risking misinterpretation and error.

Finding the right tool for Business Process Mapping

The first thing to consider when looking for a Visio alternative for business process mapping is what your process maps will be used for.

In the first instance we map processes for three key reasons; to align people on how the process does / should work, to identify opportunities for improvement and finally to understand the constraints the process must operate under. You can read more about these in our article (why we map processes).

Most of this can be achieved through collaborative process mapping workshops, whether they are face-to-face or run remotely over desktop sharing software. This is one key area where Visio falls down however and a Visio alternative would be required.

All but the most experienced and adept analysts will find it impossible to map a process straight into Visio while it is being described by a group. At the very least there would be long pauses and waiting while boxes were placed on the page and lines joined up. This wouldn’t be acceptable behaviour in what you would hope would be an engaging and participative workshop! Therefore typically Analysts run this sort of session using pen and paper.  Afterwards they write it up, essentially double handling the data, creating multiple versions and running the risk of misinterpreting it.

Skore has been designed to map processes at the speed of conversation in live process workshops without slowing down the thought process of participants. In fact many users of Skore find they can actually speed up this exercise with participants finding it highly engaging.

“This is the first time I’ve seen people across the business get excited about taking part in a process workshop. Especially when it’s related to ISO 9001” Andrew de Bere, Quality Assurance Director at SERT.

This incredibly user friendly way of mapping process gets even the most resistant team members involved quickly. What’s more, the processes can be shared with a wider audience without any training on how to read it. It’s intuitive enough that someone looking at it completely fresh will be able to follow it and there is only one version and one document to worry about. 

Need Business Process Analysis?

Once a process has been documented, or mapped, it’s typical for some analysis to be conducted. While many improvement opportunities may have been identified during the process capture phase an Analyst may look for more using various techniques. Common types of analysis include:

Handover analysis

One of the most common problems in business processes happens at the interfaces between different people and teams. Traditionally an Analyst uses a swimlane view of a process to highlight these handovers and this is something supported in Visio.

The swimlane places each actor in the process in a lane and the handovers between them become clear. However, the more complex a process, and the more actors there are, the harder it becomes to see these handover.

Skore has built in handover analysis that automatically highlights this. In addition, the role view will show an individual role, how often, and with whom they handover, providing a deeper insight into handover problems.

Time and cost analysis

Most analysts will move straight to a spreadsheet for capturing and analysing time and cost information in a process. While some basic information may be captured in the Visio diagram it cannot provide the necessary calculations to complete any analysis. Again multiple documents and tools would be required to support the process. 

Again, Visio alternatives, such as Skore, have this capability built directly into the process maps. This means you can map a process and attach time and cost information and create an instant analysis of your process.

Roles and responsibilities

Again swimlanes in Visio provide some clarity of roles and their expected activities but this too is limited. A common tool for analysing roles and responsibilities is RACI. Just like time and cost analysis this information would be added to another spreadsheet and analysed there.

Skore supports RACI (and other types of roles and responsibility models) directly against the process. This keeps all the data in one place in one software and makes it easier to update. Furthermore, the built in dashboards provide insights into roles and responsibilities that wouldn’t be possible in a standard spreadsheet. Skore can be used to really drill into different roles and how they fit within a process.

Requirements analysis

Requirements tend to be captured outside of a tool like Visio and therefore analysed elsewhere. So if you are looking to reduce the number of different tools you use for analysis work then Skore could well be a good fit.

Requirements can be captured directly against activities in Skore and then quickly and easily reported on. Furthermore, it’s possible to group requirements as you capture them. Perhaps you want to use a prioritisation technique such as Kano or MoSCow to determine the must have, should have and could have requirements . Again this is a simple task in Skore with the added benefit that the requirements can be further analysed by grouping or role.

Now with Skore Connect it is possible to push these requirements directly into Microsoft Azure DevOps as epics and user stories. This provides a clear line of sight between your business requirements and your development tasks. Developers can review tasks in DevOps and refer directly to the process models for context and to answer questions.

Looking for Continuous Business Process Improvement?

Another area where you may be looking for a Visio alternative is in continuous business process improvement. There are a whole range of techniques for this type of activity but central to its success is the humble process map. For effective continuous improvement programmes it’s essential for processes to be easy to read, easy to find and easy to review.

With Visio this tends to be done via email, stored in a shared drive or uploaded to Sharepoint. Unfortunately this runs the risk of duplication and making it hard to find. When using Skore as a Visio alternative you save processes in a central workspace and share securely with everyone.

Skore diagrams are easy to read and users can leave feedback comments directly on the diagrams so that others can respond and collaborate. This makes it perfect for collaboration across diverse teams and processes. You can also control access rights and always rollback to an earlier version if needed. 

Other Visio Alternatives

Of course to complete this article we should also note various other Visio alternatives. These, with the exception of BizAgi, are more similar to the general purpose nature of Visio.

• Lucidchart – an online Visio alternative with a user friendly interface and subscription license model
• Draw.io – a free and open source Visio alternative with both a web and desktop interface
• yEd – a desktop application which more focus on business architecture type diagrams
• BizAgi – a desktop application specifically built to support BPMN and interface with the BizAgi automation platform

Summary

Microsoft Visio is a useful general purpose diagramming tool that can be used in a variety of scenarios. However, if you need to focus on business process mapping and work as efficiently and effectively as possible then you need to look for a Visio alternative that meets your requirements. Going down the general purpose road will only lead to additional costs in time and money and ultimately frustration later on.

In this article we have highlighted how Skore makes a perfect Visio alternative when you have to map processes, engage the business and share and improve processes on an ongoing basis. If you’d like to learn more about Skore why not get in touch?

There are, broadly, three different types of business process improvement software, each with their own pros and cons. Process mapping and analysis software, such as Skore, process measurement software and automation software. In this article we will explore each of these as well as general purpose diagramming software.

By breaking process improvement software down into these groups we hope it will make it easier for you to understand the benefits of each type.

Process mapping and analysis software

For any process improvement initiative to take place it is essential for teams to clearly understand their processes. There’s no better way to do that than through creating process maps. Process maps allow you to visualise even the most complex of processes in order to understand how work flows. They help you clarify who is involved, when something must happen, what tools are required to do it and how.

Process maps give you a baseline for process improvement, a starting point that you can build on. The best way for you to create process maps is in live collaborative process workshops where you can quickly align everyone.

Check out our free guide to process mapping

Not only do they help get everyone on the same page but they also clearly highlight improvement opportunities. It is essential for any process improvement software to have some sort of process mapping embedded, or integrated, for it to be effective.

So what makes a good process improvement software in this category? Process improvement is a collaborative effort and should involve as many people as possible. That means any software you use needs to be easy to use and accessible, and therefore understandable, to the widest audience.

There are many process mapping and analysis tools available but many are very technical, or designed specifically for business architects. This puts them out of reach of the average user and not ideally suited to a company wide process improvement effort.

Skore makes processes easy for everyone in a business, not just the analysts and architects. The simple two shape system is easy to read and easy to follow. This process improvement software is used in live collaborative process workshops to capture processes maps at the speed of the conversation and creates instant analytical dashboards. Being web based, processes can be shared easily with anyone. The commenting feature allows all users to provide feedback and improvement suggestions.

If you’re looking for a complete solution for your process improvement software it’s worth looking at a process mapping and analysis tool that is easy to use, collaborative, web based and includes feedback and discussion features for capturing improvement ideas.

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Process measurement software

This is a fairly niche but growing area for process improvement software. These tools tend to focus on presenting dashboards that show the performance of the process. This allows teams to be able to see the effect of their improvement efforts. If they make a change to a process they can see whether it improves performance or not.

The software will also support collaboration features allowing teams to discuss improvement ideas before implementing them.

The data used in these dashboards typically comes from a variety of different sources and systems. Many companies use a simple spreadsheet or a more sophisticated visual analytics tool such as Power BI. These tools don’t generally support collaboration features for teams to discuss and implement improvements.

Often teams use visual management techniques with whiteboards displayed in prominent places around the office or shop floor. Using kanban, or similar, teams can see how work flows. Key tasks are pinned to the board and they move through various stages until completion.

There are many software platforms today that mimic the whiteboard and allow teams to collaborate remotely around this idea of a kanban type board.

If you’re looking for process improvement software and already have an easy and accessible process visualisation tool then it may be worth looking at process measurement software to help bolster your process improvement efforts.

Process automation software

Probably the most common type of software in this area is process automation. As a process improvement software, automation software can be extremely focused. Processes are easy to measure and easy to implement improvements.

Process automation is a huge area from large heavy weight business process management platforms through to low-code and even robotics. Process automation isn’t really process improvement software but it can be used very effectively.

Before processes can be automated, it is important to understand the process, what it should look like in the future and how it is going to be automated. That generally requires you to do some process mapping, analysis and design work. Some automation platforms include process mapping tools but these tend to be more technical and not for general use.

However, once the process has been designed and implemented in the automation tool, it becomes very easy to improve. A good automation software will include dashboards and allow easy changes to the workflow allowing you to target improvements very carefully.

If you are looking for process improvement software that is focused on automation then this is a good area to look at. Remember, you will still need an effective process mapping and analysis platform to get started.

Diagramming software

We have included general purpose diagramming software here because of their prevalence in this space. As has been mentioned many times, creating some sort of process visualisation is essential to process improvement work.

The most common diagramming software is Microsoft Visio and it’s a very good tool with many different applications. Most diagramming tools are clones of MS Visio, with either more flexibility or an improved user interface.

This flexibility is also part of their challenge. These tools are not focused purely on process mapping. They do provide lots of options but they are not optimised for this type of work. Using a general purpose tool requires additional expertise to do it well. Work to visualise processes will require the constant attention of a small number of dedicated individuals, rather than broad input from the whole team.

Process improvement projects should be collaborative and engage the widest number of people possible. So starting with a tool that inherently excludes large parts of your team is perhaps not the best approach.

If you are looking for process improvement software, and have a dedicated team that can focus purely on process mapping, then a general purpose tool may well be the best option.

What type of process improvement software is best for you

The important things to consider when looking for process improvement software is to ensure you have all the necessary bases covered. To do process improvement well you need:

• Process mapping – the ability to visualise processes and get everyone aligned on how they work and what can be improved. You also need to create a baseline against which you can measure process improvement. A good process visualisation is one that is easy for the widest possible audience to understand and engage with.
• Central repository – any work you do needs to be accessible to everyone and not cause any confusion. Having a single source of truth for your documents and processes that can be accessed from anywhere is a must.
• Collaboration – process improvement is about collaboration and everyone contributing ideas and suggestions. Any process improvement software you select should have the ability to collaborate and leave suggestions and improvements.
• Measurement – it’s important to measure processes so you can see how effective your improvements are. Most measurements will come from existing systems so consider how you can extract this information into a dedicated system or to your existing management information dashboards.

Like to learn more about Skore software? Check out How Skore Works to learn more.

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Read Skore’s guide on how to gather requirements, run workshops remotely and analyse key data online.

For any team embarking on a software change or implementation it’s essential to understand the requirements before you really get started. This key part to any project just got a whole lot harder as organisations are forced to make employees work from home. Fortunately it is totally possible to do this remotely. Our guide to remote requirements gathering will demonstrate exactly what you need to consider and how you can do it remotely. 

Firstly, consider that requirements can be gathered at different levels. Initial requirements will help early on when selecting technology. More in-depth requirements are required when it comes to configuring the system and training the team.

If you don’t understand and agree requirements all sorts of things can, and most likely will, go wrong with your project. Common problems include:

• Project runs over time and costs a lot more than expected.
• Users find that it doesn’t work the way they need it to. It doesn’t matter if the project is delivered late and over budget. When people aren’t using it then the whole investment is lost.
  

Incredibly, as important as requirements gathering is, many teams get this wrong. It’s hard work, and time consuming, and requires many people across the business to get involved. However don’t let this put you off as it will only cost you more in the long term. Here is a high level guide for how to capture requirements for your next software implementation and the best bit is you can do it all remotely: 

Start by Capturing the As-Is processes

Have some idea of where you are right now to clearly explain to anyone impacted by the project how things are going to change for them. More importantly, everyone should have a common understanding of the existing problems so they know why things are going to change.

Capturing as-is processes helps identify hidden problems and other improvement opportunities. You should quantify these if possible. Look at manual processes that could be automated. Question how long do they take, what do they cost, and what’s the risk of making mistakes in a manual process?

Once you have the initial process, and improvement opportunities, you can start to create your wishlist of requirements. The process will give you a central framework onto which you can hang the requirements. Requirements can be written as statements that can be tested later on. For example:

“We should have the ability to automatically send an email when the client requests help so that we can be seen to respond quickly.”

Try to include why the requirement is needed, for example here it’s to quickly acknowledge the client after a request has been made.

Finally, consider how important each requirement is. Is it a must have? Is it essential to continued business or could you live without it? Alternatively is it a nice-to-have requirement that would delight users but they wouldn’t notice it if it wasn’t possible? There are various frameworks available to help you categorise requirements such as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoSCoW_method and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kano_model

Prioritise the benefits

Use one of the above methods to help you prioritise the requirements. Make sure you are really clear about your must haves. Often teams list almost everything as a must have but this will only lengthen the project and the chances of it going wrong. Instead think of must haves as the things you need to have in order to do the work at least as well as you do today.

This means that at the very least you won’t have gone backwards after the implementation. Having more non-essential requirements gives you more flexibility when it comes to project length. If things take longer than expected you can drop the non-essential requirements!

Finally, question if the requirements be grouped into deliverables?  Consider whether part of the process can be implemented first, then the next and so on. This allows the project team to deliver smaller benefits more often and make the change easier.

Select the system

Once you have your initial list of requirements you have the information you need to select your software. In most cases there will be multiple vendors in the market all with their own speciality. Run a first pass market scan and create a shortlist of vendors.

Contact your shortlist and ask for a demo based on your requirements. You can provide a list of requirements from Skore by simply creating an attachment report and filter it by requirements. A key aspect here is that the vendors will often have worked in many businesses similar to yours so they may well bring new perspectives and ideas to help you.

You may need to ask for a small trial, or proof of concept, to demonstrate how the solution will work with your processes. Especially if you have a unique requirement, or something that needs more than the usual customisation.

Design the future state

Once you have selected a vendor consider how your processes are going to change and the impact that may have on teams. The best approach here is to run workshops with the same stakeholders as before. But this time you have the benefits of the new system articulated and you should invite the vendor along.

The vendor’s system will have best practices built in, and often it’s better for you to adopt these than to try and adapt them to how you used to work. At other points in the process you may have very specific requirements that need a lot of configuration. The vendor is going to need as much information as possible here. To make the implementation as smooth as possible work as closely as you can with the vendor and share all the processes.

The other important piece here is that, for some members of the team, what they do can change considerably. Use your new processes to understand which roles in the business are going to be impacted and how. Who will need training, how will their roles change, do you need any new skills? You should be able to answer, and act, on these using your future state processes.

Configure and test the system

At this point the technical team can get on with the technical implementation and configuration. Again ensure they have access to all the processes, requirements and any other related information. If done well this should provide them with all the information they need but make sure someone from the business is available to answer any additional questions. If not, the technical team will be forced to make decisions that could impact the success of your project.

Use the processes to run test scenarios through the new system before it goes live. Can a user complete key steps in the process, are you seeing the expected outcomes at the end of each process?

Train the team

Finally, once the system is ready, it’s time to train the team. Compare the original ‘as-is’ processes with the new future state ‘to-be’ processes. This tells you how things are going to change and helps to explain to the team.

Well designed processes should be easy to read and follow so can make excellent training and reference material. Let the team have access to these to help them in the early days and to train new team members in the coming months.

Remote Requirements Gathering can be a Success

Software implementation projects will almost always turn out to be more complicated and take longer than anticipated. However, you can set yourself up for success if you invest enough time in understanding the real problems in the business and the real needs. A little more time spent up front will save a lot more later on.

But one thing to remember, a software implementation is not finished at the end of the project. We now live in an ever changing world and the business is constantly in a state of change. Processes will change from day to day, if you’re not keeping an eye on how it changes and what that means for you new system you might find that months later it’s no longer fit for purpose. Keep your processes regularly up to date and use this to keep your software at the cutting edge.

Skore software is a Process Improvement platform. Use Skore to remotely run workshops, gather information, share insights online and create your Process Library.

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You can still collaborate, engage and share information effectively with your colleagues and clients. You just need a few tips and the right tools to run an online process workshop.

We’re all used to meeting online these days but if its your first time running a process workshop it can be a bit nerve wracking. Take a look at our tips below to help you prepare and run a fantastic online process mapping workshop that everyone will get the most out of.

(https://www.getskore.com/my-top-3-tips-for-awesome-digital-discovery-workshops/) 

If you want to brush up on your process mapping skills – check out our guide here (https://www.getskore.com/process-mapping-guide/) 

So here are our top tips to help you. 

1 – Desktop Sharing Software

One of the most important steps here is getting a good desktop sharing software that you are familiar with and comfortable using. While we’re not recommending specific software, you can check out some popular systems here. The two important things to consider here is the quality of the audio / visual during the call and how easy you find it to use the software.

During the session you want to keep people focused on the process being mapped so it is essential to avoid distractions such as poor audio, or waiting for the facilitator / mapper to share the screen. If you’re familiar with using Teams or Zoom for example, then this is probably a good option for you.

2 – Smaller Regular Workshops

Running workshops online is a different dynamic than when in the same room. People tend to be more focused for a shorter period as they concentrate on the screen rather than the normal social interaction experienced when physically together. It’s also harder to keep larger numbers of people engaged when you’re trying to facilitate the workshop, map the process and manage the online meeting.

We recommend running more, but shorter, workshops with fewer people. 3 to 4 people is probably ideal with sessions between 1 and 2 hours long. If you need to run several workshops with the same people, ensure there are good breaks between sessions. Not only do you want to give people breaks from the process but also give them a chance to catch up on emails and other comms. This helps prevent distractions during the session.

3 – Use Video

As you cannot be in the same room it’s still important to keep an eye on levels of engagement. When everyone is in the same room it’s easy to see who is dominating the workshop and who you need to engage with to make sure you get a good balance.

If you use video through your desktop sharing session you can also keep an eye on who is talking and who needs to be brought into the conversation. It’s not always possible to distinguish between people purely based on the sound of their voice.

Ideally you will have two screens, one on which you can see the participants videos and one where you will be mapping the process.

4 – Essential Pre-Workshop Preparation

With shorter sessions and fewer participants it’s essential that you plan carefully to make sure you can start quickly and have exactly the right people in the room. With face-to-face workshops you often have the luxury of spending time exploring the scope of the process and understanding whether you have the right people in the room.

With online process workshops we highly recommend that you are completely clear on the scope of the process and you have exactly the right people on the call. Our process workshop template will guide you through capturing and agreeing the information for each process you are capturing, download it here.

5 – 5 Steps To The Perfect Process

Once you start the workshop, mapping a process in Skore is no different. Make sure you follow the 5 steps to the perfect process. This approach helps you control the flow of the discussion and allows you to map at the speed of conversation.

6 – Provide Access To Processes

Finally, at the end of the session provide access to the process for all the participants. With shorter, more focused, sessions it’s likely participants will have more feedback afterward. Make sure they have access to the processes and show them how to leave feedback and comments.

The key to excellent online process workshops

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Skore software enabled a logistics company to remove 9 weeks of process discovery off each project within a systems implementation initiative. Find out how Skore did it and the best way to organise your systems implementation project. 

In mid 2019 a well known UK based logistics company, with circa 6,000 employees, were in the early stages of a major HR systems transformation. This ambitious systems implementation project would completely replace systems across the full hire-to-retire employee lifecycle over the coming months.

In preparation the programme team were advised to plan 4 weeks to map and document processes for each individual project. However, due to a backlog of process projects, there was a 6 week wait. This made it 10 weeks before they could expect delivery of the necessary documentation. Unfortunately this date was 2 weeks after the proposed delivery for the first phase of the programme.

The programme team utilised Skore software to run the process discovery work. The team using the software captured As-Is processes, understood the future state changes and identified where these processes integrated with other parts of the business. The initial As-Is discovery was completed in 2 days followed by another 2 days to define integration points and agree the To-Be state. The original 10 week plan estimate reduced to 4 days. 

Skore is commonly used by change management teams to rapidly discover and make sense of business processes. Used in live workshops teams come together to collaborate, share information and make important decisions right there and then. Here’s how it works:

Saved Process Mapping Time 

Unlike most traditional approaches to process mapping, Skore captures processes live in a workshop. The simple, yet highly structured, process framework guides participants in the workshop by asking clear focused questions about the process such as; what happens, who does it and why.

In this case the project team quickly sketched out the complete end-to-end employee lifecycle in a simple diagram. Then taking each of these key steps they again listed out all the key processes in each area. From here they could drill down into each one and define the processes.

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High level view of the end-to-end employee lifecycle

This meant that the whole team could constantly keep track of what they completed, what needed to be done and, most importantly, how each process related to the others. Most importantly it was at the click of a button.

Capturing the processes straight into the software means there was no need to write up the processes based on sticky notes and photos. Participants could agree and finalise the process there and then. 

One place to get all the information

 As the team mapped the process there were inevitable conversations regarding things they needed and ways they could improve. Traditionally these can slow down a process workshop. However Skore allows a variety of additional information to be captured against the process. For example requirements and improvement ideas.

Ideas, requirements and questions were mapped directly against the relevant step in the process. They were then available to report on, providing a log of requirements and ideas all in one place. If there were changes to the process, the corresponding requirement was visible and the impact understood straight away.

Furthermore as a web based product, it was very easy to securely share the content captured in Skore with colleagues. Not only could they access processes, they could leave comments and feedback in order to facilitate further improvements efficiently.

Instant insights accelerated decision making

Given the time pressure to get the new systems in, the team were focused on the most important requirements while still trying to understand as much as possible. Using the Custom Fields in Skore to capture requirements they then grouped them by Must Have, Should Have and Nice to Have. This allowed them to quickly get a sense of how these balanced out across the process. 

Before

After

At first it was clear that there were too many Must Have requirements and the team reviewed these and recategorised in order to get a better balance and more focus on the deliverable. Skore software provided insights to accelerate decision making. 

Capitalised on process awareness

Once the process and requirements had been captured and understood the configuration of the system was initiated with a high degree of confidence and well on time. Furthermore the process models captured in Skore, as described by the Subject Matter Experts, were then used to train the teams using the system. This became an extremely valuable reference material. Additionally it was also a way for the core users to feedback improvement ideas to the project team following go live.

Vital in a Systems Implementation Project

Skore software dramatically reduced project times for this logistics company. The value however not only lay in the impressive 9 weeks per individual project saved but also the sustainability of the process discovery work. Creating an easy to update, read and use record of HR processes ensured that the company was able to continuously align its people and processes for the future. The systems implementation project completed successfully and with the tools for continuous improvement.

Skore’s Software platform allows you to align your people, processes and tools seamlessly. Engage, collaborate and share – the easy way.

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This month we are featuring Laura Copas, Co-Founder and Change Architect, from Get Real Change. Get Real Change is a Skore partner and uses the Skore software platform to facilitate and accelerate change in projects across industries. Read Laura’s blog below to learn how they succeed in change and acceptance and find out how you can master these essential skills. 

Change is changing. We know that we can only achieve sustainable results through people not just developing new capabilities, but also through the shifting of mindsets, behaviours and interactions. Yet still more often than not its structures, systems and processes that are the main focus in change rather than people. And despite all of the evidence that tells us otherwise, the traditional delivery approach of ‘tell and sell’ to gain ‘buy in’ rather than meaningful engagement still becomes the go to.  

In this blog we will explore why this happens, and what a different approach involves. Alongside this blog we recommend reading the case study of our work with Mental Health Services where taking the people focused approach had life changing results for Children, Young People and their Families in South West London here

The Performance Paradox

The diagram below is a familiar picture and drives this traditional change paradigm. 

We’ve all been there. Things aren’t going well and in fact they feel like they’re getting worse. We’re worried about results, we’re worried about reputation, and we’re even more worried because the situation is complex, messy and without a clear solution. At this point control activities tend to kick in as we are under increasing pressure to provide assurance and show results. Initial positive feelings of productivity and confidence rise as increased analysis, planning and reporting takes place. 

However, the problem is that the more time that is spent on these control activities, the less time there is to spend on engagement activities. So when it comes to delivering on those plans, people ‘resist,’ and change happens slowly or not at all. Performance worsens and we go around the loop again resulting in the hierarchy being used more and more to ‘tell and sell’ the change as time to deliver runs out.

The People Approach 

Fear is the worst motivator for change. At best the speed of execution of existing approaches is increased but at worst is a burnt-out workforce who no longer trust you. In todays world where no single leader holds all of the answers, organisations are dependent on the creativity, innovation and collaboration across the workforce. Unlocking these skills and effecting lasting change requires fostering psychological safety and gaining commitment (rather than compliance) through meaningful engagement. 

Taking a people approach and meaningfully engaging means creating space for teams to come together to explore, and to collectively make sense of the current situation. It involves those people who will ultimately need to change their ways of working being involved throughout the cycle to co-create the change. It requires leaders becoming dealers of hope, co-creating an exciting vision for the future and taking time to tend to peoples concerns.  It involves experimentation, shared learning and celebrating successes. It requires patience and starting small and so much more!

At Get Real Change we are passionate about change and helping individuals and organisations to break out of the performance trap. If you’re excited to learn more about creating energy, excitement and commitment for change then we run a number of open workshops where we work with you to build those skills. We have a number of workshops coming up soon which can be found at our website: https://www.getrealchange.co.uk/workshops. We’d love to see you there