Mention the words “process”, “consistency” and “efficiency” in an education organization and you are often met with wide-eyed fear, disdainful eye rolls or protestations that “my work is unique and what I do can’t be captured or documented in any kind of standardized process”. All of which are symptoms of process-phobia.
Processes, consistent ways in which we do our work that capture our collective best practices, that use our technologies appropriately, and that give our students a high quality journey with us, shouldn’t be scary or threatening. They should be something that are just part of life. Processes are not new to us. In our daily lives, we encounter and are the beneficiary of dozens and dozens of processes.
Look no further than your local coffee shop, be it Starbucks or Tim Horton’s. The only reason our coffee shops of choice can serve us so quickly, efficiently and effectively, is because of their processes. How they take our order and pass it on to their colleagues to prepare it. How they know what ingredients to put into our coffee. How they keep track of their stocks of ingredients. How they use the machinery to make our double-double or macchiato. How they check off that our order has been filled. How they manage drive thru customers as well as walk-in customers. Us getting our caffeine fix every morning comes down to processes. What is so scary about that?
If our caffeine suppliers can embrace processes to serve us well, why can’t we do the same for our students, our parents and our stakeholders? Aren’t they worth it? Think about it.
P.S. If you are a novice at understanding processes, how to build them and how to document them, start by talking to the employees in your local coffee shop. They are the best there is.