I’ve been working with a client recently on reviewing and reengineering how they process data within their organization (business process review). As part of this project, the client is documenting all of their processes within their database.
After receiving the first round of documentation, I was discussing the documentation process with my client and he said: “Man, I always knew some of our processes were a little cumbersome, but working through the process of actually documenting what we’re doing has been eye-opening.”
EXACTLY!
One of the benefits of documenting your processes is that it forces you to actually look at how you’re doing things. It’s no longer conceptual; it’s tangible. And when you see that your new member application process is actually 42 steps, sometimes that’s enough of an impetus to make you reconsider how you do your new member applications.
So have you documented your procedures? Are you updating them?