The Process Ninja

Process Black Holes

We've all experienced them. Customers loathe them. Companies don't realise they exist. They suck good sentiment out of your customers and suck money out of your company coffers. I call them "Process Black Holes".

Process black holes are where a process blackspot occurs where one of two things happens:

1. The process becomes like a pass the parcel game where the passing never stops. It goes round and round passing the piece of work between multiple teams utilising company time and money until the customer gives up (and takes their business elsewhere) or...
2. The process becomes like a magicians act - POOF! It's gone. Unresolved, uncontactable, unknown - except to your customers - who are building up into a frenzy of discontent. "They're USELESS!" you hear customers say - and they are right. My recent experience with AAMI is a classic example of this.

Process black holes exist because companies don't understand their processes, don't have visibility and dare I say it "management"  of their processes. They are more prevalent in organisations where there are processes that cross more functions (hence more breakpoints) - more opportunities for the process to fail.

So what can we do to rid our organisations of Process Black Holes?

1. Understand where breakpoints exist (visibility of process)
2. Eliminate or improve them (redesign functional teams, automate where possible)
3. Align processes to the customer (eliminate unnecessary activities)
4. Measure process failure - where are the pain points?
5. Continually improve - track successes, cost savings and improvement for the customer

Listen to your customers. Listen to your employees. Close those black holes.

Cheers,

TPN

Of Garbage Trucks and Process Bubbles

This morning, as I drove into the street where I park my car, I was faced with a large garbage truck blocking the street (and of course, as bin trucks are magically immune to the rules of the road, he was driving the wrong way down a one-way street). Therefore I was forced to sit stationary with my indicator on in a very busy Sydney CBD street.

Behind me, cars slowly started to back up with their indicators on. Then cars coming round the corner who wanted to go straight on got stuck in the queue. The first car behind me could see the garbage truck blocking the street, but the other cars behind me could not. It was only a matter of time before the horns started honking (about 30 seconds to be precise since Sydney drivers are not known for their patience). Who was this idiot sitting in a busy street with his indicator on for no reason? Why was he blocking the road!!!?

Thankfully, across the road from me, a van full of electricians were watching from a distance - they could see the whole line of cars and the garbage truck blocking the road. So when the cars further down the line started honking their horns they started to shout and gesticulate towards the cars indicating that there was a blockage in the street. The horns stopped honking, the bin truck eventually emerged and everyone was happy again.

The same thing happens with process - often those performing the work are living in process bubbles - they see immediately what is in front of them, but they don't see what is happening before or after them in the process. So if something goes wrong they don't have the visibility of what has gone wrong and they have no idea how to fix it. But, like our friend the electrician who can see the whole process unfolding, if we take a holistic view of the process we can not only see where the pain points are occurring, but we can communicate our message across all workers in the process.

Standing back and looking at process in its entirety is not some self-indulgent, navel gazing exercise. By the nature of functional work, workers are primarily interested in getting their piece of work done (that's why they studied so hard at the university of blah de blah - so they could sit and do that particular work for the next 45 years!) But doing work and doing it well doesn't necessarily equate to good process - it's not about doing things right, it's about doing the right things.

This is why looking at the process in its entirety (the customer experience) is so essential and why it needs to be the focus of the C-level. Otherwise we all end up honking our horns for no good reason at all.

Cheers,

TPN

Self Service Portals - How to Get it Right or How to Get it Wrong

Maybe I'm just weird, or maybe it's my age, or maybe it's because I'm a man, but if there is the option of avoiding human interaction with a customer service person I will take that option every time.

It's more than likely due to my lack of patience with badly design IVR systems that send me around in loops then put me through to a queue which keeps me on hold for 20 minutes or my lack of faith in company contact forms and email addresses which disappear into black holes. But give me a self service customer portal and I'll be as happy as Larry - if it's done right.

Self service is all the rage - who would have thought 30 years ago we'd be checking into airlines ourselves? 50 years ago no-one thought we'd be pumping our own petrol! But today we are "outsourcing to the customer" whatever we can - and it makes sense:

• The company saves money by reducing reliance on staff
• The customer feels more "in control"
• The customer does not have to wait in queues

Of course the company foots the bill for the development of the customer portal, but if done right customer portals can be a huge money saver whilst simultaneously improving the customer's experience (the moment of truth). But on the flip-side, if done badly, customer portals can generate more harm than good, generating increased calls from angry customers and damaging the company's image.

Here's a couple of examples of good and bad customer portals:

The Good - Alphera

Alphera is the finance arm of BMW so you'd expect that their portal would be as good as their cars - and it is! Here's why:

Easy login with well designed screen:

Upon login there is a well designed screen with everything in one place. From here I can press on any of the large buttons to access the information I require:

 

There are also helpful links which will take me to some of the most common tasks.

What sets the Alphera website above others is the ability to update information i.e. rather than being a static portal. I can update my personal details, bank details and set up payment reminders. I have access to every piece of information I require and if my details change there is no need to contact the company by any other means. I have total control.

On the contrary, let's have a look at what I call the "lipstick on the pig portal" - the kind of half-baked portal the world can do wiothout:

The Bad - Optus

After I login I see a screen with my different services:

There is adrop-down which gives me four options:

1. Move house (how often does anyone do this?)
2. View my usage
3. Change service ownership
4. View my bills

Numbers 1&3 direct me to download a form that I need to complete and post - hardly an online portal! 

Number 2 links to another screen where I have to look at services individually (not in one). I click on my broadband service and I get a blank page with an error message. Lovely.

So what can I do? I can view my bills in PDF format and I can view usage on one of my services. View being the operative word: I can't update anything, can't change or cancel my service or buy any additional services. In short I have a limited, static service - lipstick on the pig. My only option if I want to do anything requiring some form of update is to call that hideous IVR and sit in a queue for 20 minutes (because I know Optus don't respond to emails or contact forms!) And at the end of my contract...I take my business elsewhere...

With customer portals we have a huge opportunity to improve the customer experience and to save money - they can even be revenue producing if done properly. But if you don't take the time (and let's be honest, money) required to get it right you may as well not bother.

Cheers,

TPN

Are You Becoming Obsolete or Giving Your Customers What They Need?

When I was a student one of my favourite pastimes was browsing through CD shops.  I would spend many a spare hour doing so. Fast forward 15 years and CD shops are now almost complete a relic of a former age. But despite the fact that they're gone I don't miss them at all.

I now buy all my music via itunes and I can sit in the comfort of my own home, browsing my ipad, listening to samples of the music then purchasing and downloading the music instantly. The outcome of the process essentially remains the same over 15 years - buy music. But the process itself has become simpler, faster and more enjoyable. Technology has acted as an enabler, but this also required some customer centric thinking to get the mix right.

Soon we'll see the demise of bookshops (iPads and kindles will take care of that), Retail & Rental DVD shops (itunes and netflix will cream that) as well as post offices (dwindling postage numbers & prepaid options will kill them). And I won't miss those either. Sure we might all end up couch potatoes that don't have any need to move, but it will also free up all that wasted time traveling to retail stores so that we can do some exercise!

So what are the lessons from a process point of view?

• Think about what the outcome is for the customer - did they want to buy a CD? No they wanted to buy music (think itunes)
• Think about how you can make their life easier - they don't need to travel to a store where there is limited stock (think amazon)
• Think about how you can make things faster - they don't need to spend time browsing a store or fumbling to pay, they want it now!

The outcome may remain the same, but if we focus on the customer experience of the process, the customer gets what they really need, not what we think they want - or as Henry Ford once put it...

"If I'd asked people what they wanted they'd have said a faster horse".

Cheers,

TPN

Why BPM and Governments Don't Work

 
I've worked in Australian government departments a couple of times in my career. Each time I have been shocked.

Shocked by the wastage, shocked by the red tape, shocked by the inability to deliver.

BPM in government is like putting lipstick on a pig. This is because the concept of government as a support service for the paying customers (yes, the members of the public) is fundamentally flawed.

Goverment receives large bundles of money to spend in the taxpayers best interests. What happens? They spend it - but not in the taxpayers best interests. OK, so some of it is spent appropriately, but the crippling bureaucracy of government means that huge amounts of money are poured down the drain on a daily basis. The reason for this is not complex, it is down to a few simple factors:

- Governance. Governance is important, but government take governance to a crippling level where no-one is able to get anything done. Staff spend an infinately longer time trying to get things done than in the private sector. Then they give up. After that they'll get in a team of highly paid consultants to do the job, who of course won't deliver anything because they know there will be no repercussions. After that another team of consultants will come in to check the consultants work, and after that...

- Accountability. Unless you're in the public spotlight the chances of anyone giving you the sack are infinitely small. So why even bother trying to deliver? Why bust your hump when you can sit snoozing at your desk - for the next 30 years.

- Restrictions. Chances are in government if you want to buy anything you will only be allowed to buy from an "approved" supplier. And the suppliers know that. Hence you'll be paying 10x more than anyone in the private sector. But then again, your boss won't care (see Accountability).

- Inflexibility. Government's rigid ways of doing things and total resistance to change means that you can bring BPM in as long as you aren't intending to change anything. Nothing. You can sit around and talk about it for 12 months - they'll be happy with that. Just don't change anything. In particular don't deliver anything that might be considered adding value.

So whilst fat, lazy, government "public servants" sit around pondering how they are going to manage to spend this years budget and you are working hard to earn a living, just think about that big slice of tax you are paying sliding into oblivion.

I never really understood Margaret Thatcher until now, and I've never been a fan of politics, but if I had my way today I'd privatise as much of government as I possibly could - like she did in the 1980's in the UK. I'd get rid of the unions that perpetuate this slovenly public sector culture and I'd give the responsibility over to private sector companies under a strict series of mandates and KPI's.

In short, I'd run government like a business, not as an employment charity for the inept and wasteful.

Until that day comes (and in NSW in particular it looks like it's coming soon), BPM in government is largely a huge waste of time, money and effort.

Cheers,

TPN 

How to avoid Technology Process Failures

When I tried to buy my train ticket this morning I failed to notice that the machine was not currently accepting credit or debit cards. So after queuing up then dashing to join the queue at the ticketing window I watched as my train slowly slid away from the platform without me. It was a subtle reminder that we walk a perilous technology tightrope every day. Let's face facts, systems fail regularly even in today's age of disaster recovery and business continuity planning. There are still major mishaps that hit the news on a regular basis. But let's not lay the blame on BCP & DR - they are the emergency option when the shit really hits the fan. But what about day-to-day operational processes? Certainly my experience at the train station could have been better. It would have been better if cityrail had a crack team of eftpos machine repair guys with brutal SLA's so that it didn't happen. Even better, if the machines were built better so they didn't break down so often. But at the end of the day there was only one machine, so it is a single point of failure. So what is the backup? The ticketing window. And if only both of the ticketing windows were open to cope with the extra demand as a result of the broken machine I wouldn't have missed my train! So what can we learn to safeguard our processes: - understand that where there is technology there will be failures - don't create technology single point of failures - have a technology backup (not just for DR & BCP but for day-to-day operational processes) - in the event of multiple technology failures, ensure that there are manual backups in place (like calling in an extra staff member to cope with increased demand!) - perform technology root cause analysis to identify and eliminate ongoing problem areas There is talk of cityrail adopting a new fully integrated ticketing system. Let's hope that they think more carefully about making their processes failsafe, otherwise it won't be just one ticket machine that causes the next problem. Cheers, TPN

Antiquated Business Rules - A Tale of Two Insurance Claims

I recently had a run of bad luck. Not only did I lose my iPod, I dropped my digital camera and broke the lense. Luckily I'm with AAMI Insurance, and luckily I chose to take out their personal valuables cover. This allowed me to claim both items on my insurance.

What followed is a tale of process that will astound you!

I checked online to see if I could lodge an online claim - no such luck. Although AAMI has an online policy manager, there is no portal to submit an online claim. So I call AAMI and I am promptly put through to the claims section. The friendly lady takes the details of my claims. Note the plural - claims. She then advises me that my two claims will be handled by two separate case managers and provides me with their contact details.

Wait a minute - two claims managers - why?

The friendly lady explains that as one is a loss and the other is a damage claim they are under two different policies and this must be handled by two different departments and hence two different claims managers. I bite my tongue. She then asks me to forward proof of purchase for the ipod to one claim manager (via email) and to obtain a quote for repair for the camera claim and send this quote (via e-mail) to the other claim manager.  I informed them that it may be a few weeks until I was able to obtain the quote for repair.

A couple of days later I e-mailed the purchase receipt for the ipod to the e-mail address provided and put the camera into the repair shop to obtain a quote for repair. Unfortunately they advised that this would take around 3 weeks.

On the 2nd of August I e-mailed the proof of purchase of my ipod to AAMI for processing of my claim.

About two weeks later I received 2 voicemails on my mobile asking me to call AAMI, then a couple of days later two letters through the post. Strange given that I had sent the details via e-mail and also had advised of the delay in receiving the quote for repair.

On the 3rd of September I received the quote for repair and e-mailed it through to the other claims manager. I heard nothing so on the 16th of September (6 weeks after my initial contact) I called AAMI to ask what was going on.

"We're waiting on your information Mr Reid" said the confused lady.

"But I sent it several weeks ago to the e-mail you provided" I said

"Oh because we are a phone based business we rely on you to call us up to tell us that you've sent the e-mail so we can check for it" said the lady, matter-of-factly.

At this point my head was filled with images of the 1950's - the last time any business on this planet was "phone based". At this point I also went on an irate diatribe about the benefits of process and basic workflow systems to which she replied impotently

"I'm very sorry Mr Reid but I can see your e-mail now, I'll just process that repair and we will send you the money".

"Can't you just refund it to the credit card you have on file for me or just process it as a credit on my account?" I said.

"No sorry Mr Reid we have to refund it as cash - can I have your bank details and that will be processed in 5-7 working days..."

So I did, but what about my other claim?

"Oh I'll just transfer you to the other account manager Mr Reid..." said she.

"But can't you just refund that along with the transaction you are about to process?" I said in amazement.

"No Mr Reid, I'm sorry but that's a different type of claim handled by a different area - I have to transfer you to your claim manager". And so she did.

"Hello this is AAMI, how can I help you?"

Cue repeat of previous long winded story. Needless to say she also was a convert to the new revolution in phone based businesses and had also chosen to ignore my e-mail until I called in an irate condition.

"I will process that for you now Mr Reid and someone from the store you bought it from will be contacting you within 5-7 working days" she said.

"What? Can't I just have a cash refund like the other claim I just made?" I spluttered.

"No I'm sorry Mr Reid, this is a different type of claim and we aren't allowed to provide you with cash - it has to be in the form of a voucher for the store you bought it from".

Eventually I was called by the store, was posted a voucher and the rest is history, but think of the pain involved for both sides:

• A truly horrible and time consuming customer experience
• A time consuming process for AAMI staff
• Duplication of effort
• Antiquated business rules causing more problems than they solve
• Outdated technology that helps neither staff nor customer

Take the time and cost of two almost identical processes and the manual effort required and multiply this by the thousands of claims processed in a year and you quickly see millions of dollars going down the drain.

But here's how to fix it:

• Look at the process from the customer's experience
• Improve the customer experience and reduce moments of truth with a self-serve claims portal
• Automate manual steps (breakpoints) 
• Challenge antiquated business rules that make no sense
• Empower and cross-skill staff to handle different types of claims (if they are actually different!)

It's really not that hard or that complicated, but some people really have a talent for making it seem that way.

Cheers,

TPN

P.S. This is my last post until early 2011 - thanks for listening to me in 2010 and I wish you and your families a fat and happy Christmas and new year (I know mine will be)!!!

Why Building for Change is Essential

For three years now I have been wondering why the next train doesn't arrive for 7 hours. Obviously someone, somewhere on the line (pardon the pun) made a mistake. But more importantly, why didn't they fix it?

When we don't build the ability to change into our processes and systems, we plan for failure. The world is moving at an increasingly dynamic rate, so we need the ability to change rapidly to meet business needs. So, in this day and age why do we still perpetuate idiotic paradigms:

• Building systems from scratch
• Using old technologies
• Failing to replace legacy systems
• Ignoring the customer need

One day, I hope that someone will fix the system problem so that I will actually know when the next train is. Maybe then they will think to build a system that won't be so difficult to change that they can rectify things with the change of a simple business rule. Maybe they will even think about what their customers might want (bigger screens for example, so old people can read them!)

I will wait patiently, like I wait for the next train - in 7 hours and 26 minutes.

Cheers,

TPN

Don't waste time on the AS-IS

One of the biggest wastes of time in the world of process is the excessive attention paid to the AS-IS state. Now before you scream and shout at me and call me a process heretic, I would like to add that I think looking at the as-is is essential. I have seen organisations that have skipped to the to-be state and it is nothing short of disastrous.

What I have an issue with are organisations spending vast amounts of man hours documenting as-is process in detail. Unless the as-is state is felt to be close to being optimised already, spending time documenting it in detail is a bit like writing a book then burning it.

When you know you are going to be improving a process, don't waste time on the as-is - do a workshop with stakeholders to define and agree the process, but there is no need to waste time documenting or modelling it. Taking a photo of the agreed process is sufficient.

What will separate you from the herd is moving to the improvement phase as rapidly as you can and delivering change which will bring business benefits - not creating more useless documents.

Cheers,

TPN

Continuous Improvement - Because Stupid Stuff Happens All The Time

If anyone is in doubt as to why improvement has to be continuous, the simple explanation is that stupid stuff happens all the time: mistakes are made, things are rushed, ideas badly conceived, ideas even more badly executed and then there are those people things - they keep making mistakes because for some unknown reason they aren't perfect. This doesn't even take into account the numerous amount of organisational activities that are going on on a daily basis that contribute absolutely nothing.

I stumbled upon a classic example today from my car insurer youi. I have been quite impressed by Youi, so when I came across this classic example of "stupid stuff" I was surprised.

Youi were proactive enough to send me a text this morning asking me to log into my online policy manager to update my credit card details as the card was due to expire. Great!

So I go to the Youi website to login:

Like most people in the universe I neither know nor carry around the unmemorisable three million digit insurance policy number. But why should I have to? Why can't I log in with my e-mail address i.e. something that I can easily remember? (And as an aside, why are insurance policy numbers always so long?) This serves only to create extra work for Youi staff who have to respond to e-mail or phone enquiries.

But wait! There's an "I've forgotten my policy number" link - fabulous!

So I click on the link and it takes me to a little form:

Everything is wonderful until I get to the field that says "Please enter a valid policy number". I try to skip it - after all isn't that why I'm filling in the form - to get my policy number? No! It's a mandatory field and I can't submit the form without it!

So to obtain the policy number that I don't know, I have to fill in a policy number that I don't know. Genius.

So if you or anyone else you work with ever doubts the need for constant vigilance, feedback mechanisms and a cycle of continuous improvement - just tell them about the multi-million dollar insurance company that was creating needless cost for itself.

If stupidity is the illness, continuous improvement is the cure.

- TPN