Taking Charge and Be the Change Agent of your Company
Recently, I wrote a post titled, "The Gap Analysis - What is it, and how can it help my small business?" I wanted to elaborate on that topic, and continue the conversation with a real-life application (from my own experience), and empower you to take charge, be your company's change agent, and start making an impact today!
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What is a Change Agent?
A change agent is someone, inside or outside the company who is a catalyst for change and progress and makes it happen by influencing and inspiring others. Let me be clear upfront - you do NOT have to be a C-level executive, manager of your department, or owner of the company to make an impact. Actually, this post is intended for those of you who are not. While others may read, and take meaningful information away from this post (I hope you do), I am actually talking to YOU, the office managers, schedulers, project managers, administrative assistants...the ones who keep the wheels turning day-to-day...
At first, you may think you are not capable of change on this scale, but if you are reading this...I already know you are. You are not only capable; you are knowledgeable and that perception into the business is so so valuable. You are the one who knows the day-to-day struggles and can benefit the most personally from fixing them...and maybe even get some kudos from your boss along the way. It is possible (and even FUN) to implement creative solutions to bring more enjoyment to your daily work while benefiting the whole of your company. Who's in?!
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So now that you are all pumped...where to start?! Depending on your position, you will likely start within your department. I will use the scheduling department of a home services business as an example here because there are so many opportunities and moving parts that can result in an overall positive or negative client and employee experience. I have been there!
Let's start by asking ourselves a few simple questions:
What area of the business do I want to focus my improvement project on? You will likely want to focus on improving the area of the business you work in daily (the scheduling department in this example); for yourself, your co-workers, and your customers' benefit.
What are your goals? You may want to make scheduling more efficient, reduce errors, and improve communication between your team & other departments, as well as between you & your customers.
What is the current state of the scheduling department? Brainstorm with your co-workers to gain clarity and team involvement from the beginning. Is there one problem you see daily...a co-worker, or yourself being frustrated regularly with a particular part of the scheduling process or a recurring complaint from your customers? Identify these pain points, and write them all down.
What is the ideal future state of the scheduling department? Revisit your goals and establish the guidelines of your desired state. For instance, if your customers commonly voice frustration over the timeliness (or lack) of communication, your future state would be to eliminate these complaints and strive for 100% satisfaction in communication from your client's perspective.
What are the GAPS between your current flawed state and your ideal, improved future state? What actions or inaction contribute to this recurring customer complaint? Does your customers' acceptance of the service proposal get lost in email or within multiple forms of communication to different people? Did the customer relay the desired schedule-timeline to a co-worker and that message did not get back to you? Perhaps you email a customer, just to find out days later - the email was stuck, unviewed in their junk mail? Were you simply stuck on phone calls, and forgot to reach out to your client to confirm after placing them on the schedule? Once you identify these gaps, you can begin to come up with a plan to eliminate them. Have fun, and get creative!
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If you are in the home services industry (tree services, landscapers, construction, etc), you are familiar with the pains and frustrations of maintaining a schedule. This example only touches on some points that can make or break an overall customer (and employee) experience. And this is only ONE part of the overall workflow within your company. There are so many opportunities across departments to evaluate and improve your processes, from managing a new lead to completion & payment of the service. Each step of your workflow is an opportunity to exceed your customers' expectations, and inject pride and gratification within your team.
Ready to become YOUR company's change agent? Not sure how to begin? I highly recommend monday.com to organize your new processes. It is a customizable Work Operating System, and it was a game-changer for me! I think it will be for you too! Download the trial, it's FREE! More, on monday.com later (because I could talk all day about it), but if you have questions or need help setting up custom workflows I would be thrilled to chat with you!
Thanks for taking the time to read! I hope it inspires you to take positive steps towards restoring the fun & fulfillment in your daily work. If you would like to learn more about my background in the home services industry, and how I can help, you may read more here. Is there a particular part of YOUR company's process you would like to gain insight on? Let me know in the comments!
