How Do You Contribute To Improvement Of Process

One way you can make an impact at your workplace is by investing in and improving the process for achieving employee goals. This could be changing how rewards are given, re-evaluating what tasks need done and who should do them, or even creating new processes that have never existed before.

By thinking about ways to improve the efficiency of how things get done, you’re helping others achieve their personal and professional goals. And you may find yourself being rewarded with higher status and praise because of it!

This article will talk more about some strategies to help you contribute to improvement of process at work. So keep reading!

Strategy number one: Create milestones and deadlines using The 5 Ws and 1 H

We’ve talked about this technique before, but let’s review so you know what the “5Ws” and the “1H” are once again.

The 5W method comes from Warren Bennis and Robert Thomas in their book ‘Change Agent’. It was first coined as “What, Why, When, Where, Who, and How”, then simplified into just “the 5 ws”.

In business, we refer to these as “milestones” and they usually contain all five components: What (topic), why (purpose), when (date), where (location), and sometimes who (person).

Provide feedback

As an employee, you have a responsibility to give your colleagues honest and constructive feedback at all times. This is not only appropriate for the workplace, but also as a citizen – when giving feedback as a professional, it is our moral duty!

As employees, we are in a position to see another person’s work performance first-hand. Because of this, it is our responsibility to provide such individuals with helpful tips or suggestions that can improve their job performance.

By offering advice and guidance, they will feel more confident in themselves and what they are doing, which will boost their self-confidence and morale. In addition, by showing them how other people performed similar tasks, they will learn from these examples.

If there are any steps needed to perform a task correctly, they will be able to watch and copy those things. By sharing knowledge and information, both parties benefit.

Encourage them

One of the most important things that leadership can do for staff is to acknowledge their good work. When someone does something well, tell them about it!

When you praise people for their hard work, they will keep doing what they are already doing and hopefully improve upon it.

People feel appreciated when they are praised, so make sure to give credit where credit is due.

It’s not only nice, but also effective.

A small token of appreciation can go a long way in developing your team.

You may want to try giving gifts or prizes for achievements, such as winning an award or being nominated for a position.

Make it clear you want to be told

As discussed earlier, your colleagues will constantly bring up issues they feel are important for improvement. They might even suggest changes to how things are done around the workplace or what policies should exist.

But what if they don’t seem to care? Or worse, what if they make no effort to talk about these ideas?

It can be hard to get motivated to contribute to an organization that doesn’t ask for input.

If you do ever feel like giving feedback, there are some easy ways to go about it.

Ask clearly structured questions that invite response. If you're given a chance, take notes so you know what was said later.

Take notes

Even if you are not in control of the process, or the people involved in it, there is something you can do to make a difference. Taking copious notes and referencing them later is one of the most effective ways to improve the quality of the process and the results that come from it.

Not only does taking notes help you remember what was said, it also helps you organize your thoughts and makes it more likely you will think about someone else’s idea before adding yours to it. This saves time and energy for all participants since you have already done some work towards forming a solution.

If you are listening to another person talk, take careful notes and try to understand their points as well as possible. When they ask you a question, write down what you believe to be the answer along with any reasons why.

You may want to look back at your notes later to see if you interpreted things correctly, but don’t get too attached to them. Sometimes, a new participant might feel overwhelmed by all of your notes and information, so be willing to let go of them.

Be consistent

Consistency is one of the most important things you can be when trying to improve any process or system. This means showing up every day, consistently putting in effort, and expecting similar results.

If you are going to work on your job performance, you have to show up at least twice a week for two hours. If you only show up once, then you’ve wasted your time. It is impossible to achieve improvement if you do not put in the effort.

You must believe in the project, team, company, etc that you are working with enough to show up regularly and invest some time into it.

It will take repeat offenders to win over people and collaborations will need to occur often to make an impact. People may feel overwhelmed by this consistency, but it is necessary to bring out the best in those who work under you.

Consistency is key because it shows that you are invested in the success of the group, organization, or department you work for.

Provide structure

As mentioned before, your department can be improved through new processes or changes in how you do things already!
As a manager, you can make an effort to improve your own process by doing the following: create milestones, set deadlines, manage time, and use checklists.

You can also evaluate what is working for you and other departments to see if there are better ways to do things. And lastly, keep yourself accountable!

By being aware of when you need to work and using tools to help you get into quality productivity mode, you will contribute to improvement of process.

Be proactive

As mentioned earlier, being an active participant in process improvement is one of the most important things you can do as a member of the organization. If you want to see change happen, you have to be involved in changing what happens already, or creating new processes or ways to run operations.

By actively engaging in the changes happening around you, not only does it help promote teamwork, but it also helps spread awareness about the improvements that are being made.

People outside the company may not know what steps were taken to make this change, but if they’re aware there's a process for doing something, they can learn from it and implement it themselves.

Communicate well

As mentioned before, being able to communicate effectively is an important part of anyone’s job. If you don’t feel that you are good at it, then maybe it’s time to look into it!

Communication can be improved in many ways, but none seem more fundamental than listening. Being aware of who your colleagues are and what they do helps keep you informed, as does asking about things and setting up meetings with them if necessary.

Making friends outside of work is also helpful since these people can give you insights into how others operate. (And hopefully, some drinks later…)

Your personal effectiveness will improve over time if you are willing to learn from those around you and apply what you have learned. Take feedback seriously and try to fix any mistakes or bad habits you find yourself making.

If someone else has done something well, check out why they made the choice they did and see whether there was anything you could add to make yours better.