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Throughout our 30 + year company history, we have witnessed over and over how clearly communicated systems, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and policies can transform business results. It's com read more... about How to Modernize Your Policy and Procedure Communication
Sunday, July 31, 2022In today’s economy, when you need to maximize every dollar, too many companies are overlooking the heavy toll operations problems (including training, regulatory non-compliance) take on the organization’s bottom line. Download this Article and learn how to avoid the “epic fa read more... about Standard Operating Procedures: Powerful Business Tool or Colossal Waste of Time?
Wednesday, March 3, 2021In his new book Secrets of Success With Procedures , Jack Nicholas, Jr., BS, MBA, P.E., CMRP, CRL, internationally recognized expert in business operations and maintenance reliability and a decorated US Navy veteran and naval engineer, shares his experiences on the importance of written procedures to operations success. read more... about Zavanta Software Principles Highlighted in New Book "Secrets of Success with Procedures"
Thursday, February 3, 2022Admittedly, Hemingway probably had something more poetic in mind than SOPs, but the advice still holds. Clients implement Zavanta software for a variety of reasons, chief among them are growing pains. Whether it is the confusion that seems to strike at around 50 employees, fast growth, or operations that are so borderline non-operational-it hurts. read more... about What Hurts? Addressing Points of Pain with Policies and Procedures
Wednesday, March 3, 2021I spent a lot of time thinking about writing. I spend a lot of time reading about writing. And yes, I also write about writing. It is a baseline for most of my client conversations, because without writing you can’t get to the sharing and managing part of SOPs. You need content to share and manage, so you have to write. read more... about Writing - the Foundation of Good Policies and Procedures
Wednesday, March 3, 2021Documenting the Dynamics Between People and Technology As technology advances there are more and more functions being performed by software. This change has started to impact Polices and Procedures in very interesting ways. Traditionally, the bigger picture “how to’s” (In Zavanta Speak its called a Process) allowed for the authors to spell out who performed each step. read more... about Trends in SOPs
Wednesday, March 3, 2021The most dangerous phrase in the language: We have always done it this way! These words, attributed to Grace Hopper offer real insight into patterns that keep businesses stuck. Times change, businesses change, technology changes, and it is important to look at processes and make sure that they still make sense. read more... about We Have Always Done it This Way
Wednesday, March 3, 2021Complexity and heavy regulatory oversight make developing effective policies and procedures in banking a special challenge. Here are 5 tips for making sure your bank’s Policies and Procedure system delivers value and will get used. 1. Avoid the temptation to buy pre-written boilerplate material without making it your own. read more... about 5 Tips for Ensuring Effective Policies and Procedures in Banking
Wednesday, March 3, 2021One of the biggest myths that confound many otherwise genius executives is the belief that “All we have to do is hire the very best people we can find and get out of their way. That’s what will make our organization excel.” WRONG! It’s not that simple. Good people clearly offer huge benefits to an organization, but the cold, hard reality is that bad systems trump great people every time, every day, all across the globe. read more... about Debunking the Myth: Good People Do Not Make Organizations Great
Wednesday, March 3, 2021As they say, the first step towards solving a problem is recognizing you have a problem. Stuck in your routine you may be “blind” to what’s limiting you and solutions that might exist. With the New Year just ahead, its a perfect time for the following quick exercise to help you streamline business processes and make more time for yourself. read more... about Create a Delegation System (Part 2)
Wednesday, March 3, 2021Even if you’ve only identified one thing you need to get off your plate, its time to get to work on it and figure out how you can either get rid of it or delegate it. Now, don’t get me wrong, there “may” be things you truly CANNOT delegate. You may think you don’t have enough resources. read more... about Create a Delegation System (Part 3)
Wednesday, March 3, 2021Many have said that by just thinking about how their business “works” and defining the best way of doing things has gone a long way in transforming their organization from a “seat of the pants” culture to one of accountability. You have to put it in writing. Capturing and communicating standard read more... about How do SOPs create Accountability?
Wednesday, March 3, 2021In a prescient article “Contingency Plan Key to Surviving Economic Downturns,” Jayme Broudy makes a compelling case about the importance of standardizing operations and streamlining business processes as a means to survive economic downturns. He talks about the importance of “investing” in long-ter read more... about How to Make Your Organization "Bulletproof"
Wednesday, March 3, 2021There is strong evidence that organizations are NOT getting the results they want from their policies and procedures. How do we know that the conventional methods aren’t working very well? In most organizations: Employees readily admit they don’t trust or read “the official P&P manual.” Operations run by “tribal knowledge. read more... about It's Past Time for a New Approach to Policies and Procedures
Wednesday, March 3, 2021We’d all like to be able to wave a magic wand and instantly streamline operations to turn our businesses into lean, mean, efficient machines. Economic pressures and thin margins are causing business owners and managers to step back and re-examine their businesses: Are we operating in the most cost-effective, streamlined way? Why are we wasting time, spinning our wheels? With so many processes, people, and jobs, the idea of building a lean, efficient organization can be overwhelming. read more... about Process Re-engineering: Think Big, Start Smart
Wednesday, March 3, 2021What’s the most important factor in reducing task errors? Employee Skills? Training Methods? or the “System” itself (aka steps used to perform the task)? An interesting research study carried out by Michael Byrne of Rice University and Elizabeth Davis of the University of Texas overturns many common assumptions about employee training methods and performance improvement. read more... about Research Shows Streamlining Procedures Best Way to Reduce Operations Errors
Wednesday, March 3, 2021It’s critical to understand the connection between Good people and Good Systems. Good systems support good performance and drive good outcomes. Systems represent best practices which allow good people to excel. Systems provide consistency and predictability, eliminate waste and guesswork, and free people up to perform at their best. read more... about Standardizing operations by systemizing business processes (Good Systems and Good People)
Wednesday, March 3, 2021We’ve been blogging about steps organizations can take to survive and thrive in Tough Times this week. A previous post, How to Make Your Organization Bulletproof discusses how the secret to becoming bulletproof is to focus on efficiency, productivity, and contingency planning. Another goo read more... about Standardizing Operations is "Good Business"
Wednesday, March 3, 2021Picking up on a previous post, we find that many people find the idea of “systemization” scary until they understand how it can help them. Some believe systemization stifles creativity and innovation or say that certain functions or businesses cannot be systemized. Many fear the Hal scenario from 2001: A Space Odyssey where humans become slaves to an autocratic, unyielding mechanical system and lose their autonomy and creativity. read more... about Systemization does not stifle innovation, it empowers it!
Wednesday, March 3, 2021It’s the foundation of our business at COMPROSE from Operations Mapping to Zavanta software. We write about it. We preach it. We’re passionate about it. We help our clients do it. It’s the underlying theme in some of the most popular business books on the market today – executing your mission. read more... about The Importance of Execution: Why Don’t Companies "Get This"?
Wednesday, March 3, 2021Some of the common barriers to managing operational change include employee resistance, fear, lack of accountability, management “missing in action”… and the list goes on. At COMPROSE we’ve had a lot of experience working with organizations that are rolling out new products, implementing new technology or undergoing a major change like a merger or downsizing. read more... about The Secret to Implementing Change: Systemize your Business
Wednesday, March 3, 2021A recent article in Quality Digest:“ Thinking and Adapting in the Context of Standardized Work ” by Mark Graban raises a common myth we often hear: written standard operating procedures (SOPs) are too constraining and “robotic.” In his article Graban rebuts this myth pointing out that “Standardized work isn’t “mindless conformity. read more... about There is a Place for Common Sense in Standardizing Operations
Wednesday, March 3, 2021Accessibility is one of the biggest barriers organization’s face when applying policies and procedures to streamline business processes. If your employees can’t locate AND understand the policy or procedure they need—when they need it—you might as well not bother writing policies and procedures in the first place! Documents sitting on a shelf or files on a hard-drive some where that no one can find are not doing anyone any good. read more... about Tips for Better Search Results in Your Policies and Procedures
Wednesday, March 3, 2021If you haven’t read David Allen’s personal productivity bestsellers , Getting Things Done and Making it All Work , we highly recommend them! In both books, but most recently in Making It All Work , Allen stresses that the simple discipline of asking the question, “What is the next action?” is one of the most powerful and profound steps anyone can take to boost personal and team productivity and “get things done. read more... about What's the Next Action? Getting Things Done
Wednesday, March 3, 2021When you have developed a winning system that’s getting great results, it’s time to clone it and multiply your success. That’s just what COMPROSE’s Zavanta software recently helped The University of Miami’s nationally recognized entrepreneurial resource center, The Launch Pad , achieve. read more... about Standardize Best Practices
Wednesday, March 3, 2021