Can you remember your first real job? Did you know what you were doing? 

Chances are, in your first job you relied on others to teach you what to do, and if you were lucky, you were guided on the best ways to do it. There might have been existing processes to follow, and mentors and managers to help you.

I have been working with several small to medium firms lately, and as they grow, their processes haven’t been keeping up. Aware of their lack of adequate process, they have been hiring staff to bring in good practices from elsewhere. 

Management in fast growing organisations need to be able to identify deficiencies, but they don’t necessarily need to resolve gaps themselves. There are two other ways to tighten up company processes – train your people or hire someone with existing knowledge and expertise.  

Why doesn’t this always work? 

What’s often missing is the final support for change. A new person who comes from a company where they were used to working within great processes needs to be empowered to introduce and customise those processes for their new organization. Managers need to be clear on expectations and support the change. 

The same goes for existing staff who are sent for professional development. When they return from training they should be empowered to introduce improvements across the organisation, or at least for their team.  Some staff aren’t comfortable with that expectation, so it needs to be appropriately managed and supported. 

How are you supporting improvements in your organisation?