Those who address the issues of streamlining and optimising administrative processes usually encounter the following inefficient patterns in practice:
- Information overload
- Unnecessary transport of information
- Unnecessary paths
- Waiting times / idle times
- Useless activities
- Unnecessary file keeping
- Errors / ambiguities
Diesen 7 Herausforderungen begegnen wir in unserem Beratungsansatz mit folgenden Prinzipien:
1. Focus on ressources
a. The employee is the expert of his or her work
b. This leads to the fact that the recognition of employees as experts and the appreciation of their abilities must be understood as the basis for successful streamlining in the process.
2. Solution space
a. Employees often do extra work and do not concern themselves with the idea of simplifying the work task.
b. Lean process management in HR requires a shift in thinking for a solution space in the future instead of attention to the problems in the past.
c. Creating an overview of which are the value-adding activities and which tasks can be avoided. (Very much in the spirit of the Pareto principle).
3. Change of mindset - victim or actor?
a. Daily "problems" are seen and interpreted in different ways: Employees are empowered to discover for themselves possibilities for action where they have - until now - remained unable to act.
b. The central question is whether employees see process optimisation in HR as a tool to secure their existing jobs or to outsource their department.
4. Producing quick wins
a. Quick wins support the start of solution-oriented actions.
b. After finding out which actions work, it is important to maintain them consistently.
c. For example, if employees prefer immediate feedback from their supervisor, this effective behaviour should be used on an ongoing basis.
d. With regular audits/workshops or rituals, progress can be experienced by all involved.
True to the motto: “Small changes today bring about big changes in the future" (Insoo Kim Berg)
Basically, the streamlining and optimisation process can be described in the following 4 stages: So how can streamlining processes in administration and management succeed?
Methodologically, solution-focused interviews are used in the 1. Stufe. ere, questions such as "How well is the work process you are responsible for described?" or "What would help to make it a little better?" are asked.
In the second stage, standards are developed to improve cooperation. For example, digital checklists are created or the communication and filing structure is defined.
Then, in stage 3, the work processes can be redesigned and supported by software. The basis is often the description of the actual processes as they are actually lived, which are then transformed into meaningful target processes.
The sustainable success of this approach is achieved by confirming the improvements in stage 4. For this, it is necessary to introduce a culture of continuous improvement. This can be achieved, for example, through systematic feedback by means of internal audits and feedback sessions. However, the ritualisation of continuous improvement by making quick wins visible in combination with innovation management has proven to be much more successful.
However, the absolute most sustainable effect can be seen in the motivational aspect of ownership. Through the trust placed in the employees by the management in the abilities of the group members, the employees are empowered and motivated to take personal responsibility. The employees in turn demand responsibility from the management and superiors through active performance (reciprocity law). With a reduction in the need for control and a defusing of the control system, employees realise more easily their decisive role in the success of the overall enterprise and are more motivated at work. Schematically, the interaction can be depicted as follows: