There are many ways to accomplish a task.

Workflow standardization becomes critical during times of change:

As projects ramp up and wind down, the manner in which staff is allocated and assigned can shift.  In these critical periods, the gaps and conflicts of knowledge that create process vulnerabilities are exposed:

1. When valued staff members retire or move on to different roles, ensuring an adequate, thorough and systematic transfer of their body of knowledge can be daunting and incomplete. Remaining staff can be left to create their own processes from scratch.
2. When teams rapidly expand in preparation of a project start date, it’s imperative that new staff get up to speed quickly. Training them without a well developed workflow can be more resource intensive than it needs to be.
3. When there’s a time sensitive need to assess and reduce costs. The answers to questions about team size and the minimum required resources to be effective can be subjective and based on opinion instead of data.
4. When the organization itself shrinks or expands and different offices, staff members and departments within an organization are performing tasks using differing or inconsistent methodology to complete tasks and projects.

At the intersection of people and performance is the management of data.

Several versions and iterations of files present complex data redundancy issues.

When only the most experienced and trusted team member knows what is the source of truth; the most accurate and up to date version of the file, it can cause confusion and duplicated efforts.

Often, the solution to these data management problems is identified as a new software solution.

While software solutions can certainly drive better results, often an expanded perspective reveals the issues lie not solely in data management, or the management of people – but at the intersection of both.  

Most obvious during times of change, a disorganized, out of date or inconsistent application of standards can also be acutely felt during the receipt and analysis of reports.

Making informed business decisions is only possible with reliable, consistent information and established metrics, including a baseline of performance.

When standards widely differ it creates knowledge gaps that can compromise analysis and ultimately, the ability to drive results.

Creating an organization with standardized workflow provides your organization with optimal efficiency and resource allocation:

• Agile teams that are detached from reliance on any one staff member.
  
• A nimble workforce that can expand and contract quickly.
• Standardized performance across locations and business units.
• Consistent and reliable metrics that allow for thorough and effective business analysis.

The end result?

Predictable, consistent data. Reliable metrics and accurate information that drives data driven business decisions.