Most sales organizations’ businesses have a standard workflow process. They also have systems to help them manage everything from prospective customers (CRM) all the way to payment reconciliation in accounting (Quickbooks). A contact becomes a lead, a lead becomes a sale, the sale requires that work be completed. Ideally you are able to see where each client is at each step in this process to ensure maximum operational efficiency and client satisfaction. Our consulting experience with business productivity applications development has helped us quickly identify when businesses start to have work fall through the cracks of their process. There are three major signs that you’re not operating as efficiently or optimally.
Work is Falling Through the Cracks
Missing project deadlines or documents and files related to your customer are surefire signs that your workflow process is clogging up. When you’re dealing with multiple projects at once in various stages of your process, being able to move that work through it’s progression of steps with all of the associated documents, notes and instructions is critical. If you have people or teams that specialize in certain aspects of the workflow, they need to know when and in what priority they need to be working on steps that pertain to their area of expertise. Work falls through the cracks when your people are not crystal clear on what they need to do that day when they log into their computers. Our Steelwool app is a nice metaphor for this process.
Work Status Lives in the Heads of Employees
If one of your key employees holds the keys to critical details of your current or former projects, your workflow is compromised. Native knowledge and seasoned expertise are good things. However, as work moves through your process, the appropriate notes and documents should be accessible to anyone responsible for the customer. Information is everything and it can’t walk out the door when your people do.
You’re Getting Out of Your Desk to Check on Work
There are good reasons to get out of your seat. Coffee, exercise, shaking down the guy in AP who still owes you for the NCAA bracket are all perfect excuses to get the blood flowing. Checking on work status is not one of them. There are great off the shelf and custom software applications that ensure managers can drill in and see exactly where projects are at in your workflow. Cloud based technology enables you to check on work while you’re getting coffee. If your systems don’t show you work status, and you need to play Colombo in your office to provide a status update to your customers, this is a sure sign that your workflow process is not ideal.
There are good options for software development in Omaha. As a veteran of custom software programming, database management and database design, we have become adept at diagnosing deficiencies in business systems and can recommend the necessary application design and development when needed, even if it’s simply to recommend an off the shelf solution.
