Processes to Increase Workplace Productivity
When it comes to running a company, establishing certain fundamental processes is crucial to workplace productivity and the success of the organization.
When you have established processes, the organization not only operates in a cohesive manner, but it also creates a culture that revolves around continuous improvement. Processes, by nature, create an opportunity for finding more efficient ways to do things.
In order for procedures to be effective, they must be understood and followed by all members of the team. For that to happen, the organization as a whole must place an importance on how things are done.
We know that each company is unique, and finding the best procedures for your business and workplace culture is an ongoing process. While some processes will be tailored to your individual needs, there are a number of procedures that any agency can establish in order to succeed.
Establish a Firm Employee On-boarding Process
Without a process for on-boarding new employees, no other process will work. This is the process to teach the process. Have I said process enough yet?
Think of the onboarding process as a transition period, designated to teach your new employee’s about your business’s history, values, people and vision for the future. New employees need proper guidance and training to become successful, if not, they won’t be able to carry out the other processes effectively.
After all, you can’t expect them to walk in the door and magically read your mind. Take the first 90 days to teach the new employee the ins and outs of the company. Give them time to learn how your business does things, not just in their new department, but as a whole. Get them up to speed on any tools and terminology they will need to know in order to be successful in their position. This will help form healthy communication within the organization from the very beginning. Also, this period of time allows them time to develop a relationship with their new clients.
Train Your Team How to Onboard Clients
Every client should get an equally amazing experience during their first few months working with your company. Obviously, not all clients will be the same, and therefore all onboarding processes should not be the same. Regardless, on-boarding guidelines should be put in place for each type of client. These help set boundaries, expectations and develop sound communication with the client from day one.
For example, our process is a little different for a new start-up as opposed to an established business. They require a completely different set of processes to be successful. For a start-up, we focus on building all areas of digital marketing from the ground up, knowing how crucial it is that all of the pieces work together. When working with an established client, our process requires us to audit their marketing strategy to determine what is already working well and how to improve what isn’t. Both require strategy, but our process for coming up with the strategy is distinct.
Sales Can’t Sell Without a Plan
The internal business development team is central to the organization. They help keep everyone organized and professional throughout the process. This is the first impression prospective clients will have of your company, so it must be a good one. By having a process for sales and marketing, you ensure positive results.
Creating template sales decks, conversation questions, and sales collateral that can be customized for each client will save your company time in the long run and increase workplace productivity. Not only that, but it helps the business development team provide an equally great experience for each prospective client they are working with. Remember, your reputation is important and you don’t want one client to have a great experience, while the other speaks poorly of your work.
Help Your Creative Team Stay Creative
Right-brained people and the left-brained people think very differently. Right-brain dominant people tend to be more imaginative and creative, while left-brain dominant people focus on logic and sequencing and tend to be more methodical.
Because their work requires fluidity and intuition, the right-brained creatives probably aren’t going to be as concerned with any process as other teams in the organization.
However, to be efficient as a company, and to make sure the team is producing the best work possible, having a process is key. Establishing a process for creative briefs, revisions, proofing work, and approvals is a fundamental part of staying organized and improving workplace productivity. The creative team also needs to have their own department processes in order to efficiently organize and delegate work throughout their department.
Develop a Concern or Problem Escalation Process
This may come as a no brainer, but it is important that all employees understand who they can go to when they have concerns. More importantly, that they feel comfortable doing so. Of course, this will look different within every organization and will depend on the management structure of the company. It is vital that this specific process or structure be explained to new employees during the on-boarding process in order to ensure a smooth transition into the company.
A Scope of Work is Meaningless if it Doesn’t Make Sense
While this is an extension of the sales process, the process of creating scope of work documents is important, so much so that it deserves its own line. The plan and strategy that goes into creating a scope of work for a client is essential to setting the client and the company up for success.
The scope of work should outline the retainer or project deliverables on a monthly or weekly basis. This should serve as a high level roadmap to meeting the client’s goals. That being said, a lot of work needs to go into the backend of the scope of work creation to make sure the timeline and strategy mirrors the client’s goals and the company’s process and timelines for deliverables.
As job roles, clients, and employees change, so should the processes. Your business must be flexible to reevaluate your processes to meet the new situation and its demands. There can always be a more organized, productive, and innovative way to do things. When it does come time to make changes to your process, collaborate with all of your team members. By getting your employees’ input, you open the floor to possibly more efficient ways of doing things. After all, they know what the work entails, inside and out.
The Pinckney Process
At Pinckney Marketing, we believe that having formal processes in place is the most important tool you have to help you achieve optimal workplace productivity and have the results to show for it.
Want to ensure that your sales and marketing teams are working together efficiently? Download our Sales Marketing Alignment Checklist in order to create a process that makes it possible to convert more marketing qualified leads into sales-ready leads and customers.
This post was originally written on June 1st, 2018 and refreshed on June 26th, 2020.