Beware! Does your company have process black holes?

Craig Reid

Customers loathe them but most companies usually don't even realise they exist. They suck good sentiment out of your customers and suck money out of your company coffers.

I call them "Process Black Holes".

Process black holes are where a process black spot occurs where one of two things happens:

The process becomes like a pass the parcel game where the passing never stops. It goes round and round passing the piece of work between multiple teams utilising company time and money until the customer gives up (and takes their business elsewhere) or...

Do you play "pass the parcel" with your customers?

The process becomes like a magicians act - POOF! It's gone.

Unresolved, uncontactable, unknown - except to your customers - who are building themselves into a frenzy of discontent. "They're USELESS!" you hear customers say - and they are right.

Process black holes exist because companies don't understand their processes, don't have visibility and dare I say it "management" of their processes. They are more prevalent in organisations where there are processes that cross more functions (hence more breakpoints) – more opportunities for the process to fail.

So what can we do to rid our organisations of Process Black Holes? Here are some suggestions:

  • Understand where breakpoints exist (visibility of process)
  • Eliminate or improve them (redesign functional teams, automate where possible)
  • Align processes to the customer (eliminate unnecessary activities)
  • Measure process failure - where are the pain points?
  • Continually improve - track successes, cost savings and improvement for the customer

But most important of all: listen to your customers and listen to your employees! It's time we all closed those process black holes.


First published on Reprinted with permission.