Introduction
A repeatable process is any activity that you can do again and again, expecting the same outcome. However, in order to get that same outcome, you need to standardize the work that goes into it.
While the process of creating repeatable procedures may seem tedious at first, it doesn’t have to be. There are tools and best practices that can help you streamline the whole effort.
For something so crucial to business expansion, you want to make sure you get it right, every time.
Just as it’s helpful to establish and stick to daily routines in everyday life, successful advisers understand that by developing consistent, repeatable procedures, they’ll establish an unbeatable advantage.
In this article, we’ll see what repeatable processes are and how to build them for your company.
What is a repeatable process?
In project management, repeatable processes are a collection of easily replicable standard operating procedures.
The term "repeatable process" refers to any IT project you can carry out the same way, such as a(n):
- Business procedure.
- Workflow diagram.
- Template.
- Instantiation of some code.
- Piece of code that may be used again.
With repeatable processes, a team may take advantage of successful activities and cut down on deviations that can waste time, energy and money.
Essential measures for creating repeatable processes are:
- Knowing who you serve and what you do for the organization.
- Recording the current procedures used by the company.
- Finding major holes and variations in the procedure.
- Using acquired knowledge to design standardized procedures that serve organizational purposes.
The benefits of having repeatable processes
Having a system in place makes communicating easier and fosters confidence.
Communication is crucial to achieving goals. One classic example is brand and brand story, like being able to weave captivating content. You improve your chances of successfully conveying your message by establishing a routine for creating and rehearsing your company story. This helps you connect and build trust.
The more you refine and improve your narratives and stay consistent with your delivery, the more reliable and trustworthy you'll appear to your customers.
Internally, repeatable processes ensure everyone has what they need to get the job done.
You can more easily delegate if you follow a set of repeatable processes.
Learning to delegate tasks is a crucial business skill. It frees you up to concentrate on what matters: growing your business and supporting the big picture. By putting processes in place, you can manage assignments and trust employee outputs without micromanaging.
Taking a step back and analyzing your processes will make you more prepared to delegate.
You can automate and standardize repeatable processes
Use automation to establish repeatable processes, then develop SOPs to support each activity. No one will have to go back to square one if they’re prepared, and you’ll happily avoid potential mishaps.
Time is money; you’ll waste both if you constantly start from scratch. If teammates have to pause and consider every action, they’ll lose valuable time and progress. Established protocols give everyone confidence in their work’s accuracy and efficiency. This will majorly reduce interruptions and setbacks.
You can beat the competition if you use repeatable processes.
If you put in the time and effort and persist with anything, you can succeed even if you aren't 10 times more gifted than everyone else. Most of your rivals won't put out as much work as you have into creating scalable procedures. You may stay motivated and on top even when circumstances are bad if, unlike them, you choose to learn the essentials (via constant repetition).
Repetitive processes will enable you to evaluate your performance.
Knowing your accomplishments and shortcomings is essential for professional development. You can never be sure if your daily routine is optimal if you aren't self-aware.
Make your procedures repeatable and quantifiable to check if you're meeting your targets regularly. If you're not, you can always adjust for better results. Well-organized processes are easy to monitor and respond to.
The most predictable outcome is your ultimate success. And as they say, practice makes perfect. Scalable procedures are the stepping stones to successful outcomes.
You can't control productivity or quality without "repeatable processes," so take a breath and make them a top priority for your company.
How do you create and implement a repeatable process?
A standard procedure applies across the board:
1. Give some details about the setup. Identify the desired outcome, and give the procedure a name. To what end do you require this particular system? To assure on-time delivery and payment of invoices" or "To eliminate stocking mistakes”? The goal is to properly define the system by briefly describing its purpose or requirements.
2. Build a system diagram and set some measurable goals. Give the system an outline of its steps, with a finished product or achievement at each conclusion. You may create a graphical representation of the system using a box-and-arrow diagram, where each box represents action and the arrows connect them to their outcomes. Restate the goal of the job and make it clear when to do what. Statements like "Invoices must be printed and mailed" are common.
3. Designate responsibilities. Each process component must correspond to a well-defined function or duty. Assigning responsibility to a role rather than an individual makes the system more portable as employees come and go. The phrase "Bookkeeper to enter invoices into QuickBooks" is an example of this.
4. Figure out when you'll need to do it and what you'll need. One of the keys to the program's success is having a clear idea of when to complete tasks. Establish deadlines for both individual steps and the entire procedure. Invoices, for instance, should be sent out no later than the fifth business day after the end of the month. Assign the necessary facilities, equipment, employees, supplies, information, etc., to each phase of the process.
5. Specify the evaluation criteria. Here’s how you’ll know if the system is producing the results you want. Develop process-related indicators, like the average number of days for an item to age, and record the data to assess the system's efficacy.
6. Set expectations for success. After settling on a method for evaluating success, it's important to establish benchmarks to ensure consistent execution. Quantity, quality and conduct are the three most valuable indicators. The phrase "invoices completed, logged, and dispatched on time, error-free" comes to mind.
7. Create a record of the setup. If you want people to benefit from your system's creation, you should make its procedures readily available in a procedure binder or digital knowledge base.
The success of your business relies on tried and true procedures. If you can establish reliable processes that everyone follows, you'll have more time and energy for innovative strategies that benefit your company.
Follow the "rinse and repeat" technique to improve both the process and the outcome.
How to automate repeatable processes in your workflow
The following is a guide on constructing workflows with repeating processes.
Step 1: Initiate with a list
Make a daily to-do list of everything you work on. We suggest using a spreadsheet to compile this list, using the following columns:
- Make a note of everything you accomplish in a day, then classify it. Give each activity a label (such as "client/account management," "project management," "billing and finance," etc.) if it helps.
- How long do you typically spend on average performing each task?
- What is the typical frequency of each task? (You can measure this in various time intervals, including but not limited to hours, days, weeks, months, etc.)
- Are there any programs you need installed or pages you need open?
- How can you most effectively complete each mission?
When correctly documented, each team member should be able to perform the task. Gather a group and talk about how to accomplish your goals in the most efficient way possible.
Step 2: Explore your repeatable process
The following stage may take some time. You might need to investigate prospective connections with your existing apps to determine what kinds of automation options are accessible. This will depend on the tools, tabs and programs you use.
You may automate your project alerts, for instance, by combining Rindle and Slack and building automation based on when you want reminders.
Step 3: Map it out
After determining which activities are candidates for automation, the following step is to design a new workflow incorporating the automation. You can do this using specialized tools like Miro or simply throw it on a whiteboard.
During this process stage, the objective is to use automation to illustrate the process.
Step 4: Build a repeatable process
After creating a flowchart of your new workflow, it’s time to put it into action. You may require the assistance of a member of your IT team, but that’ll depend on the difficulty involved.
The building process will be much simpler if you’re fortunate enough to employ no-code tools or applications that already have automation and integrations built in.
You may investigate the many automation possibilities available to help you get more done — even if you use a different project management platform, such as Asana or Trello. This way, you can get more done in less time.
Step 5: Test a repeatable process
It’s time to test your newly mapped-out workflow. Put in a request for assistance from the other members of your team. Ask them whether the automation is functioning as intended, helping them save time and reducing the amount of work they do.
Put the automated process through its paces to guarantee that they can use it to do the job properly.
Streamline & strengthen your repeatable processes
You need a well-defined system to be successful, and to have a well-defined system, you need repeatable processes.
Save yourself hours in process documentation and kickstart your program. Allow me to introduce you to Scribe.
Scribe is a standard operating procedure (SOP) generator that turns any process into a step-by-step guide.
Scribe works while you work to create your guide in seconds. Here’s a Scribe that only took our teammate,Tiffany, seven seconds to make.
<iframe src="https://scribehow.com/embed/How_to_wrap_text_in_Google_Sheets__yL3yuZAwQJ6jf1mh_SOiSg" width="640" height="640" allowfullscreen frameborder="0"></iframe>
You can edit, share and embed Scribes at the click of a button. Have one Scribe in several locations? Not an issue. Universal editing means that you only have to make a single update.
Structure and document your operations to forecast amazing results. Tools like Scribe help you store, share and ensure everyone uses your repeatable processes.
It’s time to develop systems with predictable outcomes and strengthen your operations!
