Process Perfection

Why Process Perfection?

All businesses want to improve, whether that is lowering costs, increasing profits, or improving customer satisfaction. Business owners, managers, and stakeholders should all want to achieve the best possible results that are obtainable. With so many moving parts and the unknown variables of business, perfection is more of a goal of the journey and not an attainable finish line. The constant process of trying to achieve improvement on every level is what everyone at every level in the business should focus on. “Process Perfection” is important as a concept in business, to constantly drive improvement.

Parts of Process Perfection

Process Perfection takes into account several general areas of improvement, each with its challenges.
Each needs to be evaluated with a “Control” reference point to evaluate “Perfection”.
(It is important to be aware of areas that contain variables, and try not to let bias influence your reference points.)
Let’s look at a list of the main areas to evaluate – with a brief description:

The Desired Outcome

• As an internal measurement, this would be things like profitability, as an external measurement, this would be things like customer satisfaction. Think of both as you approach setting several reference points.

 

• What is the minimum expectation? What are moderate goals? What would be considered a success?

The Existing Structure

• What limitations come with the industry business model? Consider things like labor costs, resources, business partnerships, and contact center compliance regulation violations. (This is often a very misunderstood and dangerous area.)

The Combined Strategy

• What new things are you trying, in addition to what you know already works? Think of “Strategy” less like a military General trying to win a war and more like teaching a child to keep a houseplant alive. Regular assessment and simple consistency, with no wild changes, is key.

The Implemented Technology

• What technologies are involved: Server, Dialer, VOIP, Software, CRM, Etc. Everything from the data being used, to the system it is configured in, to what was hardware was implemented in the first place, all contribute to the “Overall Process”. This one you either have set right or wrong.

The People Involved

• Most often this refers to Agents but can also include Team Leads, HR, IT support, and Trainers. People hate robots, any human interaction requires human interaction, agents and customers. Training is most often the make it or break it influencer here. Performance will always contain the uncontrolled variable of the customer, but there are many controllable variables here as well.

The Overall Process

If everything went “perfect” what would each step of the path look like? This will be the area of most focus because it is usually responsible for 90% of the outcome. Making changes here can help you win big or lose fast.

 

Process Perfection Problems

Let’s look at this same list with three of the biggest mistakes and challenges within each:

The Desired Outcome

• – No unified definitions for internal and external goals, or success.

 

• – Not understanding the controllable Key Performance Points.

 

• – How short term vs long term measurement balance with internal and external goals.

The Existing Structure

• – Expenditures that are a waste, when measured against the actual gains they provide.

 

• – Not capitalizing on business partnerships. (“No man is an island” is true of businesses as well.)

 

• – Lack of understanding of how small mistakes can cost the company big.

The Combined Strategy

• – Unidentified control reference points.

 

• – Irregular or infrequent metric assessments.

 

• – Massive, accelerated or emotional alterations to strategy.

The Implemented Technology

• – Incorrect hardware or software implementation.

 

• – Lack of configuration documentation and alteration trackability.

 

• – Using imperfect Data as a start point.

The People Involved

• – HR challenges in finding and hiring the right people.

 

• – Inadequate or incomplete training.

 

• – Undefined or unrealistic performance expectations.

The Overall Process

• – Missing or inadequately documented process steps.

 

• – Discrepancies on what the key performance metrics should be.

 

– Using an understandable system where highs, lows, and averages are all measurable and trackable.

This is not a comprehensive listing but more a starting triage checklist of main focus points. The larger the checklist, the harder it is to measure, track and update documentation. Start simple, target getting the basics right, as you do the next areas of improvement will manifest themselves.

Practical Process Perfection

Make it easy for everyone in the organization, by including everyone in the organization. The more input and feedback you have to work with, the better the process of perfection. This will lead to clear strategic decisions, profitable partnerships, top tech, quality people, improved KPI’s, and more reliable reference points and averages. Open communication ultimately leads to exceptional internal and external outcomes.

Let’s look at the same list with key points from what we have learned over twenty years of experience:

The Desired Outcome

• • Set realistic expectations of overall internal and external success and communicate them to the company.

 

• • Identify expectations of performance in each area of the business individually.

 

• • Assign accountability for “Process Perfection” in each of the separate areas where improvement is measurable.

The Existing Structure

• • Business costs are unavoidable, understand the financial output/input ratio for large expenses.

 

• • Utilize strategic business partnerships and business process outsourcing.

 

• • Get consulting on regulatory or compliance implications to avoid legal complications and enforcement actions.

The Combined Strategy

• • Define goals and find understandable key metrics (control reference points) that will allow you to measure and track progress.

 

• • Regularly document highs, lows, and averages to identify what is having a positive or negative impact.

 

• • No massive, accelerated or emotional alterations to strategy.

 

• • Frequent changes to strategy make accountability problematic.

 

• • Large alterations to strategy should only be used in extreme instances and should first be thoroughly evaluated at multiple levels by accountable personnel.

The Implemented Technology

• • Get consultation on the technology, understanding the limitations of each system is key to overall success. (Don’t let your IT department decide what technology to purchase until they understand the corporate goals, process steps, implementation hurdles, and the compliance and legal ramifications of the overall system.)

 

• • Put limitations on who can alter the configuration and have them document settings and the corresponding decisions when to change settings.

 

• • Invest into third party partnerships that can verify that the data being used has the essentials you need, does not contain problematic baggage you do not, and is useable as a clean controllable referenceable starting point.

The People Involved

• • Streamline human resources, often businesses overlook using an outsourcing service that can provide more skilled personnel at a lower cost, with fewer operational headaches. (Constant retraining is expensive.)

 

• • If your process requires people to be perfect – good luck & goodbye. People do not retain training as a system can. Move as much of the process as you can to systems, keep away from relying on human perfection. Businesses that train agents on using a proven system rather than a system of training and retraining agents, avoid many issues. (Imagine teaching people to use a calculator, instead of teaching people to do math equations. Imagine taking it further and training them to use preselected values in a spreadsheet that can auto calculate.)

 

• • Set and train for obtainable expectations on performance metrics and consistently follow up on accountability.

The Overall Process

• • Use a system that the process steps are documented, followed by personnel, and can be instantly edited globally.

 

• • Use a system that is replicable across all agents so that all key performance metrics are understood, tracked and accounted for.

 

• Use a system that has understandable output data for measuring, tracking, evaluating and modifying the process. Know the key points to measure, the controllable variables, what the expected averages should be, etc. That way you know when to make changes, why you are making them, and what results should be expected from the changes.

 

Processes Perfection Perfected

KomBea has spent decades working with businesses from various industries on everything from consultation, strategic partnerships, business process outsourcing, and custom software. We specialize in “Process Perfection” solutions for legal regulations, security and compliance levels, human resources and customer satisfaction. We have invested years in developing tools like SecureCall, ExactCall, and ProtoCall, with successful experience in creating systems and solutions for every bullet point listed above.

We believe it all starts with a conversation. Custom solutions cannot be tailored without measuring the business needs and unique obstacles that each company faces. Tell us about your industry and business challenges, and we can customize a demonstration of how your company can protect itself, save money, save time, and build better customer relationships while building revenue.

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