Clarity is Key to a Successful Process
All businesses run on processes. Think of a process as a collection of activities that give the same result. One of the surest ways to improve how efficiently your business operates is to improve your processes.
Whether you are creating a new process or improving an existing one, clarity is key to a successful process.
Clarity makes it easy for the people involved to understand what they need to do, in what sequence, and what end result to expect..
I’m going to step through my recent experience of receiving the COVID-19 vaccination to give you an idea of how clarity can affect a process.
Before I talk about what worked well and what could have been better, I want to say how much I appreciate all the people who are trying hard to distribute the vaccine quickly and especially those who are willing to stand outside all day to help protect individuals like me against the virus.
Now back to clarity...
The process of getting the vaccine consists of three parts:
Qualify for the Vaccine
Schedule the Vaccine
Receive the Vaccine
If any step along the way is unclear, the entire process can fail. Process failure usually means the process could not be completed or gave the wrong result. My definition of failure includes when a person is left with a negative impression of the experience. Why? Because people don’t want to follow processes that leave them frustrated, even if they get the intended result.
Keeping this in mind, let’s step through it.
1: Qualify for the Vaccine
After searching keywords online, I quickly found a link to a tool confirming that I qualified for the vaccine. The questionnaire was logically laid out, easy to follow, gave a clear result, and provided me with a link to a list of vaccine providers.
In summary: every step was clear, the result was clear, and what to do next was clear. Check!
2: Schedule the Vaccine
Here’s where the trouble started.
The link took me to a text-heavy page without any headers so it was difficult to find the information I was looking for. After working my way through the text, I found a long list of counties. Each county link took me to a different list of vaccine providers.
At that point, I had a lot of questions.
Can I get the vaccine only in the county where I live?
Which provider offers which vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna)?
Is one vaccine better than the other?
How do I schedule the second dose?
Can I call my primary provider to schedule my vaccination, especially since I see appointments available at a nearby clinic today?
Many questions. Few answers. Not clear. This is starting to feel a lot harder than it should.
And there were several other issues. Some links simply didn’t work. The steps for scheduling an appointment varied widely across providers. There were very few appointments available, and in one case, appointments were available but the scheduling software didn’t allow me to complete the process.
After several hours of perseverance and a lot of trial and error, I found a site with available appointments and I grabbed one of the few remaining slots. In the end, I did get the result I wanted, though it felt due to luck rather than logic, and the process left me very frustrated. Said another way, despite the process, I was able to get the result I wanted.
In summary: the steps were inconsistent, the rules were unclear, and when the process broke down it was unclear where to go for help.
3. Receive the Vaccine
Here’s where things got back on track.
I drove to the vaccination site and found the entrance clearly marked. A friendly person found my name on a list and told me to proceed. Check!
Another friendly person directed me to the proper lane. Orange cones made it easy to see where to go. Check!
Another person handed me papers and a clipboard, told me what to fill out, what to keep and what to turn in, and then waved me forward. Check!
Another person reviewed my form for completeness and told me to proceed. Check!
Another person walked toward me with a needle in hand (I know what’s going to happen next!). She prepped my arm, gave me the shot, and wrote the time on my windshield. Then she told me what would happen next “Drive forward, wait in line, you’ll be free to leave after 15 minutes if you’ve had no adverse reaction.” And it happened just like she said it would. Check and check!
You might think it worked so well because I could ask questions and get real-time answers at any step. But here’s the thing, it was laid out so clearly that I didn’t need to ask questions. Mostly, I just nodded my head to show I understood what they told me. I got the result I wanted and, except for the shot, it was a very good experience.
In summary: the steps followed a logical sequence. At each step, I was given clear instructions about what to do at the moment and what to do next. I was given additional clues along the way to guide me through (e.g., orange cones, vaccine time written on my windshield). And it was clear when the process was complete.
So the next time you are creating or refining a business process, make sure it’s clear. Make it easy for your team to understand what is expected of them at each step, what to do next, what end result to expect, and where to go for help if they need it.
Because clarity is key to a successful process.
If you have questions about how to make your processes more efficient and clear for everyone on your team, sign up for a Discovery Call today. I look forward to talking with you.