How to Recognize When Your Systems and Processes Need a Refresh
When you do an initial walkthrough of a space you’re refreshing, you look for signs of what isn’t working. Extension cords running under the sofa to reach a lamp. Piles that permanently live on the dining table or countertops. Chairs that nobody sits in because they’re awkwardly placed. Light switches that guests cannot find. Furniture placed against the walls because the homeowners don’t know what else to do.
The same concept applies to looking at your systems and processes.
If you’ve been around long enough, you’ve probably heard that you need systems and processes and that they should be thoroughly documented and perfectly followed. Putting all of that together can be extremely intimidating.
Whether you think so or not, we guarantee that you already have systems and processes. Every room has a furniture layout, whether someone designed it or the furniture just ended up there. Your processes work the same way. They may be documented, may be in your head, or may change with every project, but they do exist. At their simplest, they look like this:
- A client finds out about you
- You agree to work together
- You do the design
- The work gets done
- The project wraps up
Your systems and processes shouldn’t stay the same forever. They have to change as your business changes: when you add services, your team grows, you take on a different type of client or project, or client expectations shift. They should also change as technology and tools evolve. Software platforms add new features and drop others. New technology comes along that can do things that were never possible before.
Sometimes adjustments need to be made because not enough has been written down. Your memory isn’t perfect, and because each project runs on what you remember from the last one, the process drifts a little each time.
Workarounds start piling up, and while each one makes sense on its own, as a group they create their own process (often a cumbersome one). People come and go. New hires learn the workarounds without understanding why they’re used, and people who leave take what they know with them.
Even if you’ve documented everything and always followed it perfectly, your systems and processes will still need refreshes from time to time because things change.
A refresh gets you processes that fit your business now, are easier to teach, have fewer surprises, and leave more of your time for design.
So, how do you know that you need one? If your processes aren’t repeatable, consistent, and a fit for how you work now, it’s time for some updates.
The Signs
Read through these signs and check the ones that sound familiar. By the end of the list, you’ll know which parts of your business to look at first. If you end up checking a bunch of boxes, don’t worry! Every firm that’s been running a while has some.
The People
▢ Someone handed you a system and a set of processes, but you haven’t actually checked to make sure they fit you and your business.
▢ Onboarding a new team member means “shadow me for a few months” rather than a set training plan. Ramp-up time depends on how busy you are.
▢ Only one person knows how procurement, invoicing, or another process works. If they get sick or quit, something important breaks.
▢ You redo delegated work instead of sending it back because explaining the fix takes longer than doing it.
The Tools
▢ “Shadow” spreadsheets are being used alongside the software you pay for. The tool doesn’t match how you work, so you work around it.
▢ Project information lives in multiple places: texts, email, the software, a notebook, your head, a spreadsheet, and a sticky note on the monitor. Nobody’s sure which one has the real answer.
▢ You bought software to fix things but just ended up giving the problems a new home.
▢ You can never remember how you saved the files last time, so every project looks different and nothing is easy to find.
The Clients
▢ A client keeps asking “what happens next?” or “where are we?”
▢ Different clients, same complaints.
▢ The client experience depends on how busy you were the month they hired you.
▢ Scope creep feels constant, and change orders get skipped because there’s no clean moment in the process to issue them.
The Money
▢ On install day, you find out something never got ordered.
▢ A freight damage claim missed the filing window.
▢ Purchases or billable hours slip through without being invoiced.
▢ Projects that looked profitable on paper turned out not to be, and you can’t pinpoint why.
The Growth
▢ You added a new service or team member but didn’t update your processes.
▢ What worked for four projects is breaking at twelve.
▢ The same mistake keeps happening because there isn’t time to double-check the work.
▢ You want to move from doing the work to managing the work and can’t see how to get there from here.
The Owner
▢ You dread the same phase on every project.
▢ You can’t take a real vacation without “just checking in.”
▢ You’ve known what needs fixing for a year and keep saying you’ll get to it after this project.
▢ Your written processes still mention a tool you dropped two years ago, and the last edit date is embarrassing.
Where to Go From Here
Start thinking about what the signs that you checked cost you in terms of time, money, or a client’s goodwill, and keep those costs in mind as you plan your refresh. The category with the most checks is your starting point.
Remember, this isn’t about scrapping the whole thing and starting over from scratch. You wouldn’t demo an entire house because an extension cord is running under the sofa. You notice where the problems are so you can design the best solution.
Over the next year, we’ll walk you through each piece: mapping your process; writing down how each step gets done; choosing tools that fit; figuring out who does what on a project; building a project dossier; improving communication with clients, trades, and vendors; and keeping it all current.
