We love routines in life so why dislike processes in our business?

If there is one thing we have taken as a stand-out lesson over the last few turbulent years, it has been the importance of routine. Having the structure of a routine gives us a sense of control and can help in times of uncertainty or stress. Whether it is our business or personal life, doing things at a fixed time or in a fixed order can maintain or improve focus and productivity during unpredictable times.

And yet, if you use the word ‘process’ when speaking to a business owner, they grimace. Why, when routines and processes are essentially the same thing, do we have such differing opinions of them?

Comfort zones

We are all having to relentlessly monitor and absorb negative and worrying news about the state of businesses and the economy but having a solid and dependable routine can help us to conserve energy, focus, and navigate the unknown.

Whilst we find comfort and control in our routines, it’s important to remember that, in business, process is the key to success, especially when navigating choppy waters. The main difference, of course, is that a process is written down and can therefore be replicated consistently. A routine, on the other hand, tends to be more of a subconscious series of habits.

Why processes are key to success

A process is an activity or set of activities that accomplishes a specific organisational goal. All processes have purposeful outcomes, with benchmarks throughout so you can track success.

Although it helps to have consistency with these goals and benchmarks, the beauty of a truly robust process is its flexibility. They can be tweaked and refreshed depending on external factors and as your business grows and develops.

But processes have a bad rep, being seen as rigid and leaving no space for a business to be agile or creative. Processes need to be effective so that we have the data and insights to be agile and steer our business in the right direction. Systems and processes provide us with the knowledge we need to be able to grow.

Consistency of processes

At Blake Consultants, we recommend Capsule CRM as an effective way of ensuring your processes can be captured, implemented, and reviewed easily. Processes are entered as Tracks and having them enables all team members to do things in the same way, and to see when milestones are achieved.

You can allocate users to tasks and deadlines and easily see how your business is performing and what is overdue. Capsule gives you the peace of mind that your business is repeatedly being delivered according to the same structure and process, which allows you the freedom to generate new leads and expand your small business in other areas.

Of course, it’s not just a robust process that Capsule can safeguard.  It stores all your data in one place, making it easily retrievable and visible to the whole organisation.

It can capture and track everything from enquiries in your pipeline to deliverables due and allows you and/or everyone in your team to see progress being made and any issues outstanding. It can also be scaled with your business, and you can set regular prompts for the team to contact customers. It’s an essential tool to ensure your customers receive the treatment they deserve, and you are equipped with the structure to see your business flourish. If you use CapsuleCRM, everyone is in their comfort zone and a process feels like a safe routine.

If you’d like to find out more about how we help our clients to grow their businesses, get in touch with Julia on 01635 592020, email Julia.blake@blakeconsultants.co.uk or book a Discovery call to have a chat.