Effective Organizational Processes

Last updated: July 2009

Table of contents

Designing effective organizations: overview

When are processes the problem/answer?

Basic principles and how to approach the work

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 2

Effective organization design considers five,

interrelated components
Clear vision and priorities
Cohesive leadership team
Clear roles and accountabilities
for decisions
Organizational structure that
supports objectives

5. Culture

Organizational and individual

talent necessary for success
Performance measures and
incentives aligned to objectives
Superior execution of
programmatic work processes
Effective and efficient support
processes and systems
High performance values and
behaviors
Capacity to change

Source: Bain & Company organizational toolkit and Bridgespan analysis

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 3

Principles of effective organizational design

Consider all five components of the wheel: A

common misstep is to focus on structure alone
(boxes and reporting lines) as the solution

Align the five components to one another:

another One
element that doesnt fit can limit the performance
of the whole system

Align strategy and organization to one another:

Organizational strengths and weaknesses influence
the range of feasible strategies; in turn, organizations
should evolve with any new strategic direction

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 4

Organizations should consider strategic and

organizational challenges in parallel

Strategic
questions

What is the current

situation?

What are the viable

options?

How should the

strategy be
implemented?

Organization
questions

What are
organizational
strengths and
weaknesses?

What options can

current capacities
support?

What organizational
changes are needed?

What near-term
near
changes are
required, no matter
what the strategy is?

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 5

Table of contents

Designing effective organizations: overview

When are processes the problem/answer?

Basic principles and how to approach the work

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 6

A process is a series of work steps directed to a

particular end or output

Example: School staffing process

Subprocesses:
Work
tasks:

Needs
assessment
Identify
schools
needs and
potential
sources of
new staff

Candidate
identification

Initial
screen

Interviews

Attract
Review
Conduct
sufficient
candidates
interviews
number of
based upon
of high
high quality
agreed
potential
applicants
upon
candidates
criteria

Closing
Make timely
and
competitive
offers

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 7

When work processes are effective . . .

Staff spend their time in activities that most
create impact and value
Staff understand their role in the process,
and how it contributes to the ultimate
output
5. Culture

Activities and hand-offs

hand
from one step to the
next are well-defined
Staff have the requisite skills and resources
(budget, FTE)
A system is in place to measure the quality
of output, provide feedback, and improve

How do teams determine if processes are a problem or need to be changed?

Organizational Diagnostic Survey asks staff to rate organization on these dimensions
Leadership/staff interviews can surface challenges as well

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 8

When work processes are ineffective . . .

Likely root causes
Symptoms of an
ineffective organization

Leadership

Decisionmaking &
structure

Work
processes
& systems

People

Culture

Lack of coordination: work

unfinished, teams isolated, out-of step
Excessive conflict: Needless friction
among internal groups
Unclear roles: Functions overlap
and/or fall through the cracks
Gap in skills or misused resources:
Missing or underutilized skills or
resources
Poor work flow: Disruptions,
cumbersome processes
Reduced responsiveness: Slow
reactions to environmental shifts
Conflicting communications:
external stakeholders confused,
complaining
Low staff morale: lack of confidence
or drive; poor teaming
Note: People causes of excessive conflict are typically related to poor performance measures or incentives, not lack of talent
tal
or skill per se.
Source: Strategic Organization Design: An Integrated Approach, Mercer Delta Consulting (2000); Interview with Peter Thies, Equinox
Eq
Organizational Consulting; Bridgespan analysis
TBG Effective Organizational Processes 9

Processes are a powerful, but often overlooked,

lever within organizations
Working effectively and efficiently across
organizational boundaries is essential;
essential in most
organizations, work gets done across multiple departments
or stakeholder groups before reaching a customer
Without effective work processes, no organizational
structure can succeed;; conversely, well-designed
well
processes can make any structure more effective
However, many non-profits
profits have never defined the
processes that are core to their work or considered their
potential impact on organizational performance

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 10

Table of contents

Designing effective organizations: overview

When are processes the problem/answer?

Basic principles and how to approach the work

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 11

Basic principles of process improvement

Dont get bogged down by detail;
detail any process can be
broken down into a handful of sub-processes
sub
- capture those
on a single page
Prioritize the problems that matter;
matter dont get
overwhelmed by all the things that could be improved focus
on the 2-3
3 areas where change will have the most impact
Implementation is as essential as design;
design keep this in
mind when thinking of who to engage and how pilots are
often an effective way to launch implementation and refine
the design

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 12

How to approach the work

1 Identify process as a barrier to effectiveness
2 Map the current process (high-level)
(high
3 Evaluate the current process, prioritize challenges, and

identify where re-design

design makes sense
4 Re-design
design process with key client stakeholders
5 Develop implementation plan; if possible, begin piloting

new process

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 13

Detail on approach (1 of 3)
Identify process as a
barrier
Key
questions

Potential
activities

Can the organization achieve its

goals with its current processes?
- Are staff spending their time on
activities that add value?
- Are their work tasks, roles, and
hand-offs
offs clearly defined? Do they
have the necessary resources and
skills?
- Are there measures in place to
ensure quality?

Use Organizational Diagnostic

Survey and stakeholder interviews
to surface process challenges
Watchout: Every process can be
improved; that doesnt mean every
process is worth a full re-design
design

Map the
current process
What are the 4-5 sub-processes
that result in the final output?
What are the key work tasks within
each sub-process?
Who is responsible for each?

Collect any existing process maps;

where they dont exist . . .
Use input (e.g., initial interviews or
working team meeting) to create a
process map, preferably on a single
page
Watchout: Dont feel compelled to
capture every nuance of the
organizations process; this should
be a 2-3 day (not 2-3 week) task

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 14

Detail on approach (2 of 3)
Evaluate process; prioritize
areas for re-design
design
Key
questions

Activities

Re-design with key

stakeholders

What are the problems with the

current process? Where do things
go awry?

How will the new process differ from

the current one? (consider output, work
steps, roles, and resources)

Given the organizations strategic

priorities, where is the greatest
opportunity for impact?

What, if any, benchmarks exist for this

process?

Review map of current process with Identify benchmark processes; where

key stakeholders to flag points of
appropriate, visit or talk with
challenge or confusion
benchmarked orgs
Perform basic economic or other
analyses to size the payoff (biggest
bang for effort)
Prioritize areas for re-design
Watchout: To surface root causes,
it may be necessary to re-map
major pain points in greater detail

Create a strawman of the new process

with client working team
Review with key stakeholders to
pressure test and refine
Watchout: Remember that the new
process must be realistic and owned by
the client in order to be implemented;
avoid designing in a vacuum

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 15

Detail on approach (3 of 3)
Develop implementation plan
/ pilot
Key
questions

Does the organization currently have the

capacity to implement the re-designed
re
process?

Activities

Get agreement on and document major steps

required to implement new process

How well does this process align to other

elements of the organization design? Where
might it cause friction?

Assign ownership to steps, including

communication across the organization
If possible, begin piloting the process!
Watchout: One of the key challenges in
implementing a new process is breaking old
habits; be sure to build in necessary training and
early check-ins
ins to monitor how the new process
is going

TBG Effective Organizational Processes 16