We all know “the rot.”
You might not notice it right away – after all, we’re in our homes much more now and accustomed to its atmosphere. But maybe you leave to go run an errand and return a few hours later. Upon opening the door, your eyes begin to water – a foul stench so potent you may have actually tasted it.
Immediately you go to the trash bin but, to your dismay, there’s barely anything there – the trash is not the culprit. You look at the groceries that need to be put away, the dinner that needs to be started and remember the inbox full of emails you need to respond to before bed. So you open a window and light a candle, and hope the smell magically disappears on its own.
A few days later and the smell is worse than ever – everyone is starting to complain and, working from home, you can’t concentrate with that odor constantly fogging over your brain. So everything comes to halt and the family spreads out to find this mysterious stench that has now plagued every room. After an hour, one of kids yells “found it!” from the living room. The dog had stolen a broccoli head off the counter and hid it under the couch. By the time you find it, there is rotten broccoli juice and bugs everywhere! You do your best to disinfect the area, but it’s gotten a little out of control – seeping into the floors, luring in ants and all sorts of creatures. Now you have a bigger, probably very costly problem on your hands.
Defeated, you think “why didn’t I pay attention to this sooner?”
The Same Goes for “Rotten” Process Management
The case of rotten broccoli may be an outlier situation, but “the rot” is not. Whether it’s ignoring a car light that’s been dinging at you, laundry that needs to get done or a process that’s just no longer working, it’s human nature to put things off.
But then, the car breaks down. You have no clean, professional attire for this morning’s interview. A vendor’s bill never made it to Accounting, so now you’re paying interest in late fees and the Controller is having a rough day.
When a process truly stinks, everyone knows it. You may try to cover it up by continuously updating your legacy system, scanning in files as “digital copies,” or even talking about enhancing your process when “the time is right.” The truth is you can open every window, light a hundred candles and buy stock in Febreeze all you like – but the stink still stinks.
Meanwhile, frustration in slow processing time is irritating everyone, yet they all wait for someone else to do something about it. Not only is this “group think” not solving any issues but, like rotten broccoli, it gets worse with time. Think about the pandemic, for instance. How many governments talked about waiting for the right time to implement a records management system, and then didn’t have an emergency plan when everyone had to go remote? How many courts have relied on Zoom and emails to facilitate cases instead of a secure, virtual environment and sharing option? What happened to all the paper claims that work-from-home insurers can’t access or print to work on?
It’s time to clear the air about rotten processes – they are deteriorating your mission and stinking out your organization’s potential.
Options for a Breath of Fresh Air
So how do you clear the air? Start with finding the source of the problem. Take an inventory of your current processes and section them into what works and what problems are wafting throughout the organization.
You don’t have to stand-up an entirely new process all at once. Start with replacing the biggest offender, and then gradually achieve greater process management throughout.
Here are some first-step opportunities to noticeably freshen your operations:
Electronic Signatures: how many times have you had to go out of your way to print a document, only to scan it back into your computer? Or maybe you’ve spent time and money commuting to an insurance agency, government office or courthouse just to sign a document. In today’s fast-paced, increasingly virtual world, time and convenience are of the essence. Not only are electronic signatures more secure and easily traced, but it doesn’t break your digital workflow, streamlining every process and making for happier staff and customers.
Electronic Forms: Going digital with data collection does more than bring you up-to-speed with the times. No more data entry errors, re-keyed data, or backlogged inboxes means your staff and organization are more efficient, transparent and held accountable for their responsibilities. This, of course, lends itself to more satisfied customers and constituents, which empowers everyone to do more together.
Interactions between service providers and customers never fall short of efficient with digital forms, which ensure:
- Typed responses are legible for both the servicer and perfect, automated indexing
- Rules-based processing for accurate data collection the first time around
- Mitigated risk for error or send-backs
- Data confidentiality and security
Robotic Process Automation: Everyone can use a little help with grunt work, right? Relieve yourself of those mundane operations that could easily be automated. A scalable solution that safeguards your data and is friendly with IT and staff alike, RPA automates checkpoints, notifications, indexing and all those easily systemized processes so real people can focus on the real, higher-level issues – like achieving goals, managing partnerships and achieving five-star constituent satisfaction.
Secure File Sharing: At one point, file sharing meant walking a case file over to your colleague’s desk or dropping it in a mailbox. Eventually we moved to Email and instant messaging – more convenient, yes. But still not secure.
With remote staff spread across the nation, your sensitive information needs to easily accessible from a central location and upheld to the highest level of security. And how much higher can you get than the Cloud?
And If You Need Some Elbow-Grease…
We’re here to help. Chat with us on webchat about any of your rotten processes, and we’ll schedule some time to chat about cleaning it up for good. With CARES funding, safeguarding your processes with emergency-proof and “work-from-home” approved operations has never been easier.