The adapt way
Systems
A bad system will beat a good person every time - W. Edwards Deming
Systems answer the question: "How do we do this here?"
Businesses with poor systems will ultimately fall short of their true potential in the long run. Establishing clear systems that are derived from best practice as well as being sustainable will help a business achieve its goals.
So, what is a system?
A set of guidelines, processes and steps that capture the way something in the business is done.
Good systems have an owner and knowledge expert accountable for the maintenance of the system and are written in such a way that is relevant to the target audience of the system.
What forms can systems take?
Anything that documents the system in an effective manner!
At adapt, we use:
- rich text
- process maps
- diagrams
- images (even whiteboard photos can be useful!)
- videos
- external resources (like websites)
When should you use a system?
It is important to map the core systems in your business - ones that are key to your business operating efficiently and for the people working in the business to have clarity into how things work.
This is not about mapping every single process in your organisation - for most SMEs this would be overkill as well as being too complex and too expensive. Instead, we get you to focus on the core or key systems.
Some common systems might be:
- Your critical customer flow
- How you recruit new employees
- How you manage feedback from customers
- The rollout of new features or products