Process mapping

- Some customer service problems…are really tough to solve.…This is especially true when you are looking at…a complicated process that includes multiple people,…multiple steps, or both.…One way to make sense of it all…is to map out the whole thing.…Here are a few things you might discover…when you map a customer service process.…You might find that employees…aren't following written procedures.…You might spot hidden waste…when you map out the whole process.…You may even spot bottlenecks…that are causing the biggest problems.…When you map a process, it's important to observe…the actual steps in the process.…

This is important because employees' perception…of what they're doing might be different…than what they're actually doing.…Let me give you an example.…I once did this exercise…with a company's Payroll department.…The team struggled to meet payroll deadlines…and often made errors.…The company's employees…were the department's internal customers.…You can imagine how upset employees could be…if they didn't get paid on time,…