Connecting People to Process

Connecting People to Process

If I say the phrase "Connecting people to process," what's the first thing that comes to your mind?

Yeah, I know. It's a loaded question. That phrase doesn't exactly evoke the most exciting imagery, but it is something worth thinking about.

In business, the role of "people" is played by your prospects, your customers, and your team of coworkers. The "process" is how you honor the commitments those people make to each other. So, in essence, "process" is how you and your team fulfill the orders your prospects and customers request.

Personal Connections

Do you remember what life was like before computers? Remember when we used to connect people to process by having face-to-face conversations, jotting down notes on anything from little scraps of paper to formal job tickets? That was often the only way to get order information out of your customers' heads (the people) and into your team's workflow (the process).

Technology Connections

And now, think of how far we've come! It's so much quicker, easier, and more efficient to connect people to process these days! Computers, websites, you name it, technology builds connections. These days, the Place an Order button on a website allows instant connection to process!

Changing Attitudes to Connections

The common attitude towards moving to technology connections in business includes one, pretty consistent caution: you'll lose that personal touch as part of the process.

But, guess what? Your customers don't always want that personal touch anymore!

Your customers don't always want a personal touch any more!

Don't believe me? If you want proof, try going to your favorite store and keeping an eye on the self-checkout aisles.

We have a Walmart within an easy drive of our house, and like it or not, I often end up running there for quick shopping errands. When I'm ready to check out, I usually have a "get in, get out" mindset, so I naturally drift to the self-checkout aisles. It's not necessarily faster, though. A lot of customers are pointing themselves to the self-checkout lanes, even though the regular, "legacy" checkouts usually have pretty short lines.

See how much attitudes have changed?! It used to be a best practice to get in a position to have a face-to-face transaction with your customer. Today, however, you'll find that a better (and sometimes more acceptable) practice is to allow the customer to choose the experience, which in many cases means just getting out of the way so your customer can decide how they want to connect to your ordering process! (Remember, it's about them before it's about you!)

Here's the moral of the story: Don't be afraid of using technology to connect your people to your process. You may find that's what they've wanted all along!

Why does that matter? Well, try taking yourself out of the equation. If your customers desire to do business with you in a certain way (that is, connect to your process), and you're not providing that desired connection point, they'll find another business that does provide that connection point.

Remember, it's about them before it's about you!

What do you think? Do your customers desire the hands-on connection to process, or would they prefer to just be left alone to connect themselves to the process (like the self-checkout aisles at Walmart)? Start the conversation below.

Paul Bobnak

Content Creator for the Printing and Marketing Industries

6y

Technology has enormous power to create customers for life by giving people choices of how to interact with you, your company, or brand. As you said, supermarkets, Target, etc., have self-checkout lines, and that's great for people who want them. The thing is, for many customers, great personal customer service - the kind that resulted from having only the face-to-face encounter or personal call - has disappeared. Think of going through interactive voice response systems and trying to get a "representative" to help you. Or when you need to make a return at a store, and you can't find someone to help you. Or when you find someone, they don't have the all-around experience, common sense, or training to help you. That has to get fixed.

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