3 WAYS TO REDUCE MISTAKES IN YOUR PROCESS

Revise, revise, revise. Whether you have just revised or automated part of your process, mistakes are most likely still going to happen. The key is to identify these early, solve the underlying issue and keep revising to ensure your team are given the best possible chance of success. 

Some high level tips to achieve this are as follows: 

1 - Always be on the lookout for outliers

Get super clear on what top performance looks like in your team and ensure your KPI's reflect this. Some times KPI's are inherited, passed down and in some cased forgotten about. Reassess them to ensure you are dealing with your current real life demands of your customer. Ask yourself, what is 'your usual' and aim to beat that. If some order delivery times are over the usual 1 or 2 days, identify the issue causing the extra delay and look to resolve with your team. 

2 - Quarterly walk throughs

When was the last time you carried out the role of each of your team members? Similar to KPI's, processes are often created then passed on from colleague to colleague, often staying the same for years and years. Have you ever heard a member of your team say 'it's just the way we've always done it', or 'but that's how I was shown'. Experience their role and see if your expectations match up to the process being followed..

3 - Give your team a platform

No matter what process you implement, the team members who follow it will always have valuable insights to share. They may look at it differently dependant upon the type of customer they are dealing with or even by the way suppliers are working, constantly thinking of areas to improve. Don't be expecting these ideas to land on your desk however, remember this is a process they have been trained to follow so the team may not know how the idea will be received, or they may not have the confidence to share. Give them a safe platform every once in a while to share ideas in a safe environment - it will be very powerful.