Why is process important?

• organizations often don’t understand how many processes are actually happening in an organization. 
• many times processes have evolved and they don’t actually serve a purpose (costing money and energy)
• often times there is no one who takes ownership over processes.  (different people may need to “own” different processes) 

Organizations (like families) do things without questioning why. 

How to assess the element of process in an organization: 

• The client identifies all the processes that happen within the organization. 
  • Processes are anything that happens in an organization that has more than three steps.
• Assess how effective these processes are (EXAMPLE: very effective, somewhat effective, effective, not effective, waste of time)
• Identify what processes need to be reevaluated.
• Identify a person to take responsibility for every process that is assessed.
• Set up a way to evaluate on a regular basis to make sure each process still is effective and serves the organization. 

QUESTIONS TO ASSESS A PROCESS:

• What steps are essential?
• What steps are problematic?
• What steps are missing?
• Who is responsible?

PROCESS OWNERSHIP

• For every process, there should be an owner. (Often times the process doesn’t have anyone taking ownership.)

• The owner of the process should look at the big picture and see the steps and the relationships that are involved.

• Each process represents relationships.

Quality comes from thoughtful engagement with the process. 

KEY PROCESS QUESTION:

• Is the end-user getting what they really need?
• Is the process serving the organization or is the organization serving the process?
• How well does the process serve the mission and core values of the organization?