MSP Mindshare: Creating a Culture of Process

The saying goes that small business owners only have to work half days, and they can pick whichever 12 hours they want. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t start my business to work more. I went out on my own because I wanted my hard work to pay long-term dividends for myself, my team, and our clients, even after I took my foot off the gas. 

I treat each of my businesses like a retirement plan. Put in the extra effort now, while I have the time and energy, to reap passive income in the future. Subsequently, if selling the business is your exit strategy, this same concept increases the company’s value. This article includes a methodical, proven method to make our businesses passive like this. This proven method creates a culture of process within your business.

Regarding culture, it’s important to note that culture always exists. Great culture is typically intentional, just as lousy culture is usually unintentional. So, what does it mean to have a culture of process? 

First, culture is a collection of accepted behaviors of a group of people (your team). Second, a process is a series of actions that lead to a particular result. I’ll spoil it for you now: enmeshed with process is our definition of documentation. Documentation is a written form, in an accessible place, of the decisions you have made. Processes work best when documented, and we reference documentation to read the process. 

Definitions out of the way, what if we could build a collection of customs that involve a series of actions that always lead to favorable results? This means that our teams are behaving predictably and positively without our direct instruction.

Documenting a process leads to a specific result. If the process is well written, it will lead to a consistently positive result. Moreover, the rest of the team can follow it and reproduce your desired results. Note that all businesses already have a process, even if it’s not in writing. You teach a new team member how to reset a password using a series of actions that lead to a particular result. They can follow the process without documentation. Undocumented processes may be efficient with a small team. However, you risk Leaky Bucket Syndrome (LBS) every time you grow. LBS is the tendency to lose some knowledge as each person passes on their learning to another.

Once we accept that LBS is inevitable, we can take action. If the water level is dropping in the bucket, add water! If team members forget the way we do things, remind them!

Here is the 4-step solution to creating a culture of process to turn your business into passive income.

1. Create the blueprint of your documentation and processes
2. Implement great meetings
3. Implement KPIs
4. Implement the Coaching System

Create the Blueprint

One of the early decisions a business manager makes is how to document processes. We document this decision in the “Process Process.” This name always causes a chuckle. Admittedly, “Process Process” is a far better name than its first iteration, the Procedure Procedure. I first confused spell check with that moniker in 2005.

The Process Process is metaknowledge to your process universe. Know thyself! Methodically, we first create the blueprint for how to build processes. Like a blueprint helps dozens of contractors build a house, the Process Process lays out the design for your documentation, allowing dozens of team members to work together to develop your documentation and process library.

Still, many businesses skip this step. Perhaps it feels like too much work, yet it only takes a few hours to set your plan as you are about to see. The Process Process is the who, what, when, where, why, and how of process and documentation. This framework demonstrates how to write and store all future processes. It also explains how and when to write and update processes and why it is essential.

If you want more details about writing your Process Process, I created this page as a companion to the audiobook for Process and the Other "P" Word (Which is Also Process). Check out Appendix A: The Process Process; it’s yours for the taking. Change any parts of the template that you wish, but note that there are very few variables. If you assemble your team in a room, you can go through this template, fill in the variables, and have a working process and documentation blueprint in only an hour or two. This small investment in time will have your team clear on what is required when writing, storing, and referencing processes.

Once complete, the next critical step to getting your team to follow the Process Process is having great meetings.

Implement Great meetings

Great meetings result in exceptional teamwork and consistent progress. At Eureka Process, we call the great meeting the “Power Hour.” An hour so powerful that it only takes 55 minutes. If you want details, you can find the Power Hour template and instructions at TheEurekaCommunity.com. This is a paid membership site, but there is a free one-month coupon code in any version of the book mentioned above. Creating a culture of process requires designing your meetings to accomplish two things:

1. Communicate your processes.
2. Create team buy-in.

Communicate Your Processes

In each meeting, the solution to almost any issue is either creating a process or improving one. A trickier third solution is needed when someone is not following a process, which we cover in the Coaching System below.

All challenges are, at their core, process-related problems. We had “X” problem. What process addresses the issue? Do we need to improve the process or create one? Reviewing an existing process together may be the solution. The key reason the Power Hour is effective is its discussion-style approach to tackling problems together.

Create Team Buy-In

The other essential purpose of meetings is to create team buy-in. Your team doesn’t follow or update processes due to lack of buy-in. While communication “from above” will happen, we must involve our team in creating and improving each process.

This involvement makes them more likely to understand and follow the processes. In addition to a thorough communication style, a meeting that encourages all attendees’ input fulfills the human desire to be heard and valued. Genuinely listening to all input and then making a clear decision makes us feel needed and wanted. Listening and engaging is a decisive step in creating buy-in from all team members.

Engagement is so potent that you must work to make it happen.

Here's a common excuse we hear: "When I Ask for Input or Feedback, I Don’t Get Any.”

I’m sure this is true. However, this is an issue that stems from culture. Giving input to your boss or in a public setting is not encouraged enough in our business world. We may have played the role of the boss so often that they no longer feel it’s their place to give input. Asking for it may seem like a polite gesture instead of an actual desire.

First, make sure not to lead the conversation with a solution. State the underlying issue to solve and do not solve it for them. Ask questions until the team is on the right page.

Second, if no input is forthcoming, go around the room, asking each person for their proposed solutions. Get excited about the right kind of feedback (not just the correct answers), and don’t belittle those whose feedback is off the mark. It takes practice. Don’t be afraid of occasional silence, giving others the time to think, get brave, and respond.

Another vital element of buy-in is having team members buy into the meeting itself. We often leave meetings thinking, “That could have been an email,” or “What a waste of time.” Using a highly focused, structured meeting format, we discuss more meaningful topics that are acted on immediately, thus creating better meetings with actionable takeaways.

Further, meeting avoidance is prevented by always starting and ending on time. Many people avoid meetings because they assume they will grow to occupy a significant amount of time. Knowing that a meeting is precisely fifty-five minutes makes it easier to commit.

Excellent meetings will create team buy-in and communication to ensure everyone follows processes consistently. Once our team becomes a part of the process, we can learn to hold them accountable to Key Performance Indicators or KPIs.

Implement KPIs

Implementing KPIs is a method of setting clear, written, and measured expectations. Any time a measurement is made, easily understood by all, and continually reported on, it will generate results. Set the expectation of the KPI, and work together to drive the number to where it needs to be. Setting the goal and reporting the KPI’s progress is a form of clear communication, always filling the bucket with clear expectations. Note that you must follow through with managing to the KPIs and not neglecting these most-important metrics. This is the beginning step to managing to process, which we will cover next.

Implement the Coaching System

The purpose of the Coaching System is to create a systematic and persistent way to understand how each team member is performing AND to hold managers accountable for managing to the process. You can see the details of this system in Appendix B here. This system helps you empirically track how often a team member has had an issue following process. Coaching is a means to fill the leaky bucket with reminders and perpetual training. The early steps in the system involve reminding, training, and coaching. The later stages in the process are more disciplinarian.

Before we get into how to use the Coaching System to create a culture of process, we need to understand the role of Core Values. There isn’t another concept as crucial to a business as Core Values. Having clearly defined Core Values sets expectations for the moral code in the company. We reference Core Values in our Coaching System.

Coaching and discipline are the byproducts of failing to demonstrate Core Values or follow processes. If Core Values and processes are not written down and discussed frequently, this system will not work because expectations are unclear.

Since only infractions of Core Values and processes count, imagine there’s been a behavioral incident. One may get upset, threaten to fire, or be disappointed. Now imagine that incident turning into a conversation about improving a process together. Talking about the process is a much easier and more productive conversation. The ease in this conversation comes from defining clear expectations in writing. When results are different than expected, inspect the written process again.

Following the Coaching System consistently is a way to encourage the daily use and improvement of processes. It is a necessary component of creating a culture of process. Further, it is quick to follow while simultaneously clearing your conscience about what is right in such an emotionally charged decision.

Conclusion

If you want a culture of process for your business, start at step one, build your Process Process and then start working through the remaining steps. Getting started with all four steps only takes a few weeks for lifetime benefit. If you need help with the details or holding your team accountable to get it done, find our team at EurekaProcess.com, and we’d be glad to find a way to help you through it.

For extra credit, once you have processes in place, you’ll also be able to automate processes more efficiently. Did you know that Gradient MSP helps you automate your billing reconciliation process? Gradient cuts down on manual efforts and double checks between disparate systems, saving you time and finding missed revenue opportunities. Gradient is one of the few MSP tools that pays for itself without selling a new product to your clients. 

About the author

Allen began his IT career in 1994 as an entry-level tech. He founded his first IT Service Provider in 2002 and led the enterprise from Break/Fix to MSP and from paper ticketing to custom software to two industry-leading PSAs. 

He sold his ITSP in 2011 and subsequently led two other ITSPs in leadership positions. Both saw great success, doubling in size during his tenure. 

Allen founded Eureka Process in 2018, and along with his team of consultants, aims to improve companies through immersed engagement in their daily processes, strategies, and activities. 

He is a sought-after MSP expert who builds meaningful, growth-centered relationships that support bringing about next-level business performance. 

Follow Allen on LinkedIn

About MSP Mindshare

The MSP Mindshare series invites MSP experts to share their perspectives, wisdom, and insight into the burning issues that impact the IT Channel.