May 21 2008
Processes and Procedures
In business, to ensure efficiency, you should have a process for everything. You should know what needs to be done to accomplish everything you do as effectively as possible.
You may not realize it, but even if you are a one man show, you have processes that dictate the things you do. If you are a small operation, then it is likely very easy to tell me what you do on a regular basis. As you get larger, that becomes more complicated.
Ask five people in your organization how you do something. I bet you get five different answers. Five different ways of doing the same thing. Five different reasons for doing those things. Five different timelines for getting those things done.
The important distinction is between a process and a procedure. The more you can dictate a process the greater efficiency you can incorporate. However, often times, if you get too specific on a procedure, you can negate much of your efficiency. The reason is that as people become more proficient at what they do, they will invariably find short cuts to the procedures you teach them… so, what are the differences?
A process is a high-level view of tasks. It is the main steps at which something gets accomplished. For example, to the right is a section of the process that I go through to build a new web site for a client. You can click to enlarge and see the section better.
Notice that the steps indicated are very generic. They aren’t specific to how it is to be accomplished… only that it needs to be accomplished. That is a process.
A procedure is a step by step guide on how to accomplish a task. To the left is a sampling of a procedure for one of the tasks in my process above. It is a step by step instruction sheet for accomplishing that task. You can click to enlarge.
Often times, it is important to follow certain steps in order to complete a task to be as efficient as possible. Some times, it doesn’t matter at all. For example, if you have a task of making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, taking out the bread is a critical first step, but it really doesn’t matter whether you put the peanut butter on or the jelly on first. Putting the top on the sandwich has to come last unless you are getting creative with a traditional sandwich building exercise.
So, the question some will have… do you have to have a process for everything? My opinion is yes… you should. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but you should know what you do and how you do it. If you don’t, how can you sell it? How can you tell other people what you do and why you are better?
In my opinion, the more important question is, should you have a procedure for everything? I think that entirely depends on what you are trying to get accomplished and why type of employees you want to have. If want to hire $7 per hour employees, you better have a procedure for your tasks because it streamlines training and gives you an objective measurement for what you are trying to accomplish. If you want to hire a $50 per hour or $100 per hour employee or contractor, then a procedure will just get in the way.
Sometimes you want to have the expectation that someone will take a process and fill in the procedural gaps, but more often than not, you don’t have the luxury of being able to afford the person that can do that.
Corey Smith is the Chief Web Architect for Dealer Marketing Systems and maintains a news service for the copier, printer and document management industry.
Very good post, Corey. I have an instructional design background and when I develop training - especially in the IT arena for custom software and web apps - there is a clear line between process and procedure, but they are related as clearly demonstrate in your post.
In my opinion, processes are somewhat conceptual. It’s that 50,000 ft. view that gives people a general idea or a “big picture” of what they are working on. In other words they are able to see how their activities and the tools they use fit within the entire procedure. The procedure would then be the step-by-step activities or tasks they do.
Corey, great insight as usual. I spend the majority of my day splitting between strategy and tactical enablement.
Strategy is using S.W.O.T, understanding the why, and creating processes that work within the culture. The tactical enablement comes in on how to plug this strategy into the operational business - day-to-day.
You hit the nail on the head when you said that 5 people will give you 5 different answers and reasons. I spend a large majority of my time aligning vision with reality. Communication is the biggest obstacle.
If you give people 1) a vision, 2) they buy in, 3) and you constantly reinforce the vision much of the rest comes in to play.
Again, you are correct in knowing which type of personality you have working for you and what the job expectations entail.
The only thing I think you might add would be a GTD fundamental: For all types of personalities, knowing that very next fundamental thing to do is critical. If you know the next thing to do you can focus on where, how, and when that step needs to be executed - and enabling process and procedure becomes so much easier.
I suppose procedure was intended to franchise process, but as we all know franchises have never been credited with creativity -just pure productivity
Favorite Quote of the Day: Process or Procedure?…
So which do you prefer, procedure or process? Creativity or productivity?
……
Hey, here’s a post I did a while back that I thought you would get a kick out of. It’s from a book called Raving Fans that I recommend (if you can get past the setting).
http://www.changeforge.com/2008/04/29/systems-not-rules-favorite-quote-of-the-day/
[…] good friend Corey Smith disagrees with this premise, so this is my response/refinement of the […]
CS - nicely done! I agree with almost everything (thus the blog response and trackback above). Thank goodness we don’t agree on everything - that would be boring!
First, it DOES matter if you put the peanut butter or the jelly down first. If it is your first whack at making a pb&j, then you will learn that (and note it as a procedure for next time) that you HAVE to put the PB down first to act as a barrior to the bread so it doesn’t get soggy and jelly doesn’t seep through the holes in the bread.
Second, you can overprocess & over procedure your way to failure…case in point: Gateway. But having NO structure will not make you efficient as a human being…there is a happy medium.
But really, PB goes first.
Jen… how can the PB be a barrier to the J if you just put the other peice of bread on top anyway??
Does that mean you have to put the PB on both slices?
Overprocess and over procedure? I don’t know that I agree with the thought of overprocess… but I do agree that you can over procedure.
I think that Gateway isn’t an example of too much, I think they are an example of the wrong kind.
You see, Jen, I would have to respectfully disagree. I love the jelly sinking into your bread, and if you put on the PB first, then you run the risk of contaminating my jelly with PB streaks. Of course this whole argument could be settled with Goober Grape - you all know that right?
[…] thought of empowering people so they fill the gaps in processes and procedures is a simplistic perspective on the argument for finding the right […]