This month’s CROPS Report has a focus on risk management. What are you doing to mitigate your business risk?
Customer Satisfaction
A key part of managing risk is ensuring consistent service is delivered to your customers. Processes that help alleviate service disruption in case of emergencies will ensure your customers are satisfied and confident in your service or product delivery. How do you plan to take care of your customers if an emergency arises?
Risk Management
This month’s feature article is on Risk Management. Have you examined the process and people in your business lately?
Operational Efficiencies
Creating operational efficiencies that allow for effective risk management between people and process is important. The business operations are greatly affected by the processes you have in place. When was the last time you reviewed your internal operations to improve your business process? Could risk be alleviated through process improvement?
People
How you engage your employees in managing people and process-related risk is critical. Employees offer a wealth of information related to process improvement especially in knowledge and job sharing – the key is to engage them in the right way. How are you utilizing your employees? Do you have the right mix of employee and leadership-driven process improvement?
Sales
Your company sales are greatly affected by the efficiencies and inefficiencies in your business process. Is your company at risk of losing sales due to an unexpected loss on an employee? What kind of an impact would that have on your bottom line? Understanding the real risk associated with sales is vital to your business success.
Feature Article:
Within the scope of X5’s service offerings we support all aspects of business within CROPS. This month’s CROPS report feature article focuses on Managing the Risk Between People & Process. At X5 we love “Improving business process through people.”
Written by: Mike Mack, MBA, X5 Management, Inc.
In our ongoing work and support with corporate customers we see many risks, but one that jumps out frequently is how the correlation between process and people is often overlooked. This is not intentional – it is simply something that happens when you get busy working “in” the business for years and lose sight of possible risks that can materialize without notice.
For example, there is an employee who does a good job within their position in your company. They have consistently done their job for years (even while on vacation). Is there room to improve? YES! The reality is that we don’t encourage them to change the way they do things because they do a “good job” at what they do already. You struggle for the incentive to improve the situation when they are already dedicated, loyal and the work gets done. Warning Sign #1.
Let’s fast-forward the story 5, 10, or even 20 years and the same thing continues to happen. You may suggest that the company needs someone to cover this key employee while they are gone on vacation, but they insist that they can handle issues that arise, even when they should be on vacation and recharging. Warning Sign #2.
Now comes crisis time. One of a few scenarios can occur (I have witnessed both of them happening in businesses that we have worked with or supported). One possible scenario may be that the key employee encounters a major health challenge and needs to take time off of work. Now they may not be accessible on the mobile device and unable to handle issues that come up. What will you do now?
While another possible scenario is that they are recruited to go work for another company or competitor (a reality in the Alberta marketplace today). If this were to occur you will likely try to convince them to stay, but you may lose them anyway and decide you need to part ways immediately to protect your company. You are now faced with the “scrambling reality” that your business has a major void to be filled ASAP. What will you do now?
While both situations may sound like a scary dream, they don’t have to be. The trick is to take proactive measures to ensure your company improves business process and documents so that more than “one” person on your team can efficiently fulfill the job role and tasks. This could be completed through cross-training, job sharing, detailed job descriptions and manuals or other knowledge transfer opportunities. If a key employee is faced with a major health challenge or they give their notice for greener pastures, your business has mitigated the risk and is able to transition work within the company.
The risk of managing your business process and the key people that work within the process is one that needs to be taken seriously. You need to proactively think about it long before it ever becomes a reality. Mitigate your people and process risk today, so you are prepared for the uncertainty of tomorrow.
At X5 this is one of our passions: Improving business process through people. Is your business process running smoothly within: Customer Satisfaction; Risk Management; Operational Efficiencies; People; or Sales? If not: Are you ready to improve your business?
X5 welcomes the opportunity to meet with you for a complimentary “DISCOVERY” session to determine what current business process challenges are creating potential risk in your business. When you are ready, contact X5 at info@x5management.com. Here’s to your business success!!
photo credit: Nick Sherman via photopin cc
