Process focus is a decision-making tool that helps employees understand how to set priorities, develop strategies, and evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts. Process focus is based on the idea that “practicing excellence in everything you do” is not enough. It encourages an individual to take the initiative and make things happen.
Process focus has been linked to successful corporations like Amazon, Google, and Zappos. Process focus can help you make conscious decisions about what tasks are most important, which projects are worth investing your time in, or which crucial behaviors for success.
Process focus in the workplace
Process focus encourages employees to set priorities and think about what they’re doing. Employees understand the process of what you do and why you do it. Process focus also helps people think holistically about their work, leading to innovative ideas.
Process focus can be applied to any number of scenarios in the workplace. For example, an employee may decide to use process focus when thinking about the next steps for a project. The employee would identify the objective (e.g., improving customer service) and then define the what (e.g., improving customer service by answering emails within 24 hours).
The employee would then define the how (e.g., keeping track of email inquiries) before identifying ways to measure success (e.g., checking daily for new questions). This is a simple way to stay on top of your work!
How to start thinking about process focus
It’s not always easy to identify how your daily tasks contribute to bigger goals. However, these are two actions you can take right now.
- Take an instant and write down a few items you achieved this week.
- Consider what these accomplishments mean for your business.
What did you learn from this exercise? Were there any tasks that seemed unrelated but might have been an important stepping stone? Was there something you accomplished that made it easier or more difficult for someone else in the company to do their job well?
Ways to implement process focus in your work
Let’s start evaluating your to-do list to star. For example, if you have a list of tasks, but you can’t tell how they contribute to your mission or vision, then process focus is making sure that each task connects to the bigger picture.
Once your tasks are connected with all the other parts of your business, simply cross off the ones that are no longer relevant. This will help you regain clarity on what’s important to get done right now.
Next, create a process map for each project you’re working on. Process maps show how smaller tasks relate to larger goals and help decision-makers understand what needs to happen in order to achieve their goal. They also provide an overview of what’s required for project success, which helps someone stay on track.
Process mapping also lets you identify any missing steps or gaps in your strategy so that they can be addressed before it becomes an issue.
Process focus is all about making processes more efficient and productive. Some ways to implement process focus include optimizing line-of-business systems, implementing Six Sigma methodology, and focusing on “process” rather than “final product.” This type of thinking can help your company’s processes run smoother and more efficiently.
Also, even if you’re not using process focus in your work, it might be worth looking into. Process focus can help your company run more smoothly and efficiently.
