it might be time for a new 80-20 rule.
by jody grunden
building the virtual cfo firm in the cloud
as a business grows, it becomes necessary to systemize the processes in order to increase the team’s efficiency and deliver a consistent experience for clients.
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one of the challenges that comes with creating systems can be getting every team member on board with the process you want to put in place. for example, joe may have one way of doing things, while karen does them another way and susie yet another.
creating a system will likely require all of them to make some changes in their own day-to-day workflows.
let’s say joe prefers email for communication and file delivery. karen, on the other hand, prefers instant messaging. she sends the client quick updates and shares files through an instant messaging system. because susie is more of an extrovert, she enjoys picking up the phone and chatting with the client for most of their communication. for file delivery, she uses a cloud storage system.
if all three of these team members have direct communication with the same client, the client has to juggle multiple communication channels and locations for receiving files. or, if susie left the company someday and her client was transitioned to joe, that client is going to receive a very different experience, which may cause confusion and frustration.
systemizing the process may be challenging for some team members at first, given their disc styles and natural preferences. when we first started standardizing our day-to-day procedures, some team members thought we were trying to take away their creativity and style with their clients. to prove that these changes were going to achieve the opposite, we had a team meeting where we walked through a team member’s schedule for a day.
it didn’t take long for everyone to realize that we were spending way too much time in the details of building special schedules and reports for each of our clients, when these schedules and reports were essentially doing the same thing for every client. if we standardized these processes for all of our clients, we would have more time to provide a higher level of guidance in other areas that are unique for each client. it was almost a new 80-20 rule. if we standardized 80 percent of what we did, we could do a better job on the remaining 20 percent. ultimately, doing this makes things smoother for everyone involved. it also reduces the chance of any disruption of service for the client.
while we strongly believe in nurturing an autonomous work environment, systemizing processes gives people the parameters that are needed in order for individuals to be able work autonomously and efficiently. it also provides more room for critical thinking and creativity. when repetitive tasks are standardized, team members have more time to focus on the client’s specific issues and problem-solve around them.
we have found that workflow management software is a tremendous resource for us when it comes to documenting process for our accounting teams. if you aren’t already using this tool, we recommend researching workflow management software that is designed specifically for accounting practices. we use this software to document everything we do, including video documentation. we record videos of team members walking through a part of the process for our client – payroll, for example. these videos are very effective and helpful for other team members when work is delegated to them. the workflow management software keeps our team members aligned and working together seamlessly for our clients.
when one employee is out of the office (i.e., vacation, sick, parental leave, etc.) or resigns, the workflow management software gives other employees the resources they need in order to step in and take care of whatever needs to be done for the client. as systems are being developed and rolled out, it’s important for leadership to help team members understand why it’s being done – how the process will positively affect the clients, the internal workflow and the company as a whole.
because our leadership team has a deep understanding of the bigger picture and what we are trying to accomplish, they are responsible for developing the architecture of the process. team members can then implement the process autonomously within the parameters they are given.