Turning Process Reviews into Engaging Team Collaborations

Reviewing your company’s procedures may not be the most exciting part of the gig, but it sure can be! If you own or manage a business and don’t make this a priority at least once a year, you’re doing a disservice to yourself, your clientele, and especially your team. There’s no shortage of reasons why this could end up lower on the neverending list of tasks to accomplish. Perhaps you’re short-staffed or in a growth phase and feel like your attention is needed elsewhere. Maybe you met all of your goals and want to take a breather (side note: this is indicative of a larger problem). Or perhaps you had a poor experience in the past and now you have process review PTSD and either completely avoid doing this review or push it off until it becomes urgent. Well that changes today. Let’s get to it!

Firstly, if this is a task you typically dread, that’s ok! It can seem daunting if you’re a big picture person and start thinking about all of the details and minutiae that may accompany such an undertaking. In that case, I recommend bringing in an outside facilitator. This takes some of the planning off your shoulders and removes emotion from the process. Those who are adverse to change may find themselves stressed during this time, which is why it’s your job as the leader to set the tone and make it a gratifying experience. This is not something that should be done by one person, and it should not be done exclusively by management. It’s crucial to engage with employees at every level when auditing your company’s processes if you want buy-in and a true understanding of where your pain points lie.

So, where to start? If you’re running these review sessions, you’re seasoned enough to know why it’s important and should not need a step-by-step guide on how to set up the meetings. You already know how to put together a plan of action, so we’ll skip the basics and go straight to how to make this fun. Here are seven ways to engage and excite your team through this process:

1. Roll out the Buffet
   People can’t perform at their optimal output if their stomachs are growling. Bring in food and don’t skimp on the good snacks. Breaking bread together lowers guards and puts your team in a more relaxed state. And although you are feeding your team, this should not replace their regularly scheduled lunch breaks.
2. Throw the Rules out the Window
   Your review sessions should have a general outline to them, but keep your mind open and see where the flow of ideas takes you. When you empower and encourage your team to share openly and without fear of repercussions, you will glean incredibly valuable insights.
3. Look at it Through Multiple Lenses
   When reviewing your business processes, it’s important to assess things from multiple angles. It’s natural for employees to start with how they are personally affected by the day-to-day tasks of their jobs. Listen without replying. Record all ideas, suggestions, and feedback. Some of your process review discussions may overlap performance review discussions. That’s ok. Don’t get defensive, and don’t automatically reject anything someone speaks up about. Doing these things will shut down your review session before it even gets going. Instead, guide the conversation. Ask them how they feel about how things are run, and then shift to how these procedures affect customers, overall service, profitability, and any other lens you want to assess. Talk about positives as well as areas for improvement. Getting honest feedback from the people doing the work every day will keep you tuned in to how things are running.
4. Keep it Short
   You can schedule multiple sessions, but keep each one tight and with plenty of time in between. You don’t want burnout from one or two mega-meetings, and you don’t want distraction because other work isn’t getting done. It’s all about balance.
5. Set Goals Ahead of Time
   Nothing irks an employee quite like management wasting their time. Be clear and have everyone do their homework before coming together. Set the “fun” tone right out of the gate with this by making a game out of it or adding an incentive. George Bernard Shaw famously said, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
6. Let Others Take Control
   Everyone loves to be the holder of the marker. Get a bunch of fun colors, have lots of big notepads on easels, and break off into groups, allowing for free movement throughout. Let the ideas flow and give more people time at the head of the class.
7. Become Imagineers
   Pretend you’re an improv master at Second City. Set the scene and see where your students take it. This is everyone’s chance to let their imaginations wander and their creativity flow. Encourage your team to dream beyond current limitations, with a focus on “what if,” without objections. What if this works? What if we changed this one way of bringing our products to market? What if…?

Focus on your team’s strengths, lead with a continuous growth mindset, and teach others to appreciate the beauty that lies in the uncomfortable moments. Find ways to impart joy in this important part of business success, and you’ll be a hero in no time. Running a successful review of your business procedures requires forethought, organization, and both follow through and follow up. Doing so will leave you with markers for accountability, drivers for performance, and opportunities for improvement and expansion.