A Short Case Study: Change Leadership meets Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

I recently had the opportunity to work with the founder of a medium-sized manufacturing company who sought to establish a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for their company. With studies from an Organizational Change course fresh on my mind, I dove back into the familiar task of documenting processes, but this time through a new lens: a Change Leadership lens. 

As part of the discovery process, the client and I had preliminary discussions to identify the challenges and successes in the current manufacturing operations at their company.

Through these discussions, we identified the next best steps for the project. Clearly, Standard Operating Procedures  were still needed, but it was also clear that we needed to spend some time streamlining and making decisions about their data management process before proceeding. 

Alongside the founder, I got to sit down with the two employees that were most involved in this process to see what worked best for them. Their perspectives provided vital information about how to the design of a new data tracking process, which was then drafted and approved by the founder.

With a well thought-out and agreed-upon process in place, we were ready to put pen to paper on the bigger set of manufacturing SOP documents. Because this document included processes that depended on the data management process (for example, how to process a new sale and where information should be tracked during the manufacturing process), the upfront work was essential. 

Finally, we all made sure to put time and energy into training and communication of new processes to everyone impacted by the change.

I believe that this consulting project will have a lasting impact on internal operations well into the future because we took steps to:

  • Engage the team as part of process development. 
  • Provide clear communication changes through visual diagrams, text (in the form of an SOP), and spoken training.







-Marissa Mosunich

www.operatewell.com

Schedule an appointment



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

There's an AI tool for that

Image
Four years ago, I wrote a blog post outlining my take on small business software solutions. Forbes published an interesting article about this a few months ago, including a helpful list of "A few tools to try." As Forbes notes, a recent report from the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council indicates that 67% of small businesses they surveyed anticipate using AI in their business in the next three years. Further, as you've undoubtably noticed, software companies are rapidly adding AI to their offerings.    Revisiting my prior post about software solutions for small businesses, many of my suggestions are similar: It is easy to sign up for too much software, thinking that it will be the fix that you need. Remember that even if a software application meets a business need, you still have to figure out how to use it, fit it into your current processes, and continually invest time and money into it. This is your reminder not to go for the shininess factor. Assess your
Read more

Catching up with Operate Well

In the winter of 2020/2021, I launched Operate Well Consulting to help make small business owners’ lives easier. Throughout 2021, I learned a ton and was privileged to meet and work with many entrepreneurs, consultants, and small business owners. While my LLC remained active between 2022 and 2023, I took a hiatus from working with my clients while focusing on gaining experience at a firm, LTD Global. This opportunity was incredibly beneficial for my professional learning. As Program Manager, I gained more project management experience, worked with larger organizations, especially non-profit organizations, and learned more about integral aspects of operations, including accounting, billing, forecasting, and customer success management. I am grateful for all I learned at LTD Global and the opportunity to contribute to a team. In August of this year, I had the opportunity to return to school - this time for an online Master of Arts in Organizational Development and Leadership with Fieldin
Read more

Considering Consultants

We’ve all had guides in our lives - people who have steered us in the right direction or perhaps the wrong direction.  As you reflect on those guides, what comes to mind? When were those people most helpful, and when were they not?  Things like, “They taught me how to fish,” “They encouraged me to think critically,” or “They lead by example” might come to mind. Perhaps you can also think of a few people who gave you advice that was not helpful or even harmful.  What did you find worked for you? What didn’t?  Now consider people whom a company may have hired as consultants. What struck you as the most impactful moments with these professionals? For some, a well-crafted PowerPoint presentation might come to mind, but looking deeper, why did that PowerPoint presentation make such a difference? Perhaps it captured the essence of an issue that you have been trying to solve, in a way that others have not. Or perhaps it spoke to a clearer path forward that led you and your team to make headwa
Read more