You’ve mapped the process. Now what?
If you’ve followed the previous steps, you have a map of your current state in hand. You can see where things get stuck, where unnecessary steps repeat, where people wait for approvals that add no value. That’s a good position to be in. Most companies never get there because they try to fix problems blindly.
Now comes the interesting part: designing how things should work better.
The principle: smallest change, biggest impact
Here’s the most important thing you’ll take away from this article: you don’t have to redesign everything. In fact, you shouldn’t. Big process revolutions usually end in chaos, frustration, and a return to old ways.
Instead, look for the smallest change that brings the biggest relief. One unnecessary step removed. One clear rule instead of five unclear ones. One shared document instead of ten emails.
Sounds simple. And it actually is simple, if you know where the problem lies. And thanks to your mapping work, you do.
Three levels of change
Not all changes are equally difficult. It helps to distinguish three levels:
1. Quick wins (days)
Changes you can make right away, without major investment or approvals.
- Remove unnecessary steps. Every process has steps that exist “because that’s how it’s always been”. If a step doesn’t add value, remove it.
- Clarify responsibilities. When “the team” is responsible for something, nobody is responsible. Assign a specific person to each step.
- Create a checklist. A simple list of steps that ensures nothing gets forgotten. Nothing more, nothing less.
- Unify the communication channel. If information about one process travels via email, chat, phone, and sticky notes, choose one main channel.
2. Process redesign (weeks)
Changes that require thought and coordination, but still don’t need major investment.
- Change the order of steps. Sometimes doing things in a different sequence speeds up the entire process.
- Reduce handoffs. Every handoff between people or departments is a place where things slow down or get lost. Fewer handoffs means better flow.
- Introduce templates. If someone creates a document from scratch every time, give them a template. You’ll save time and ensure consistency.
- Consolidate approvals. Instead of three separate approvals, maybe one from the right person is enough.
3. Systemic changes (months)
Changes that require investment, new tools, or organizational adjustments.
- Introducing a new tool for managing the process (more on that in the next article).
- Automating repetitive steps - email notifications, document generation, data transfers.
- Organizational changes - reassigning responsibilities, creating a new role, changing reporting lines.
The rule: Always start from level 1 and work your way up. Quick wins build trust and show that improvement works. Only then does it make sense to tackle bigger changes.
How to design the target state
There’s a straightforward approach that works for most business processes:
Start from the outcome and work backwards. What is the desired output of the process? A satisfied customer? A completed order? An onboarded employee? Start there and ask: What’s the last step that needs to happen? And what comes before it? And before that?
For each step, ask four questions:
- Is it necessary? If not, remove it.
- Can it be simpler? If yes, simplify it.
- Can someone else do it better? If yes, reassign it.
- Can it run automatically? If yes, automate it (but only after confirming the step makes sense).
Draw the new process next to the old one. This is key. When you see both processes side by side, you can clearly see what’s changing and why. And most importantly - you can show it to the people affected by the change.
Template: current vs. target state
For every process you’re improving, create a simple table:
| Step | Current State | Problem | Target State | Change Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving a request | Email to shared inbox | Requests get lost, nobody knows who’s handling it | Form with automatic assignment | Systemic change |
| Manager approval | Three separate approvals from three people | Takes 3-5 days, blocks the entire process | One approval from the coordinator | Redesign |
| Entry into the system | Manual copy from email | Errors, duplicates | Automatic entry from the form | Systemic change |
| Informing the requester | ”When I remember” | Requester doesn’t know what’s happening | Automatic notification after each step | Quick win |
This table serves as your implementation plan. Start with quick wins, move to redesign, leave systemic changes for last.
Traps to avoid
Perfectionism: “Let’s redesign absolutely everything.” Big redesigns look great on paper. In practice, they fail because people can’t absorb too many changes at once. Change gradually.
Tool-first thinking: “Let’s buy software and it will fix things.” A tool is just a means. If you put expensive software on top of a broken process, you’ll have a broken process in expensive software. Fix the process first, then choose the tool.
Ignoring people: “They’ll just follow the new procedure.” People don’t like changes imposed on them from above. But they have no problem with changes that make sense and simplify their work. The difference lies in whether you involve them in the design or not.
From practice: HR consulting firm, 40 employees
Personex (name changed) is an HR consulting firm. Ironically, their own employee onboarding process was one of their worst. Bringing a new person on board took 3 weeks and involved 12 steps across 4 departments - HR, IT, finance, and the direct manager.
When they mapped the process, they found:
- IT was waiting for a laptop order from HR, which was waiting for approval from finance, which was waiting for confirmation from the manager. The waiting cycle alone took 5 days.
- Each department had its own checklist, but nobody had an overview of the whole picture. A new hire received 4 different emails with instructions on day one.
- Some steps were duplicated - the same information was entered into 3 different systems.
Target state: 1 week, 6 steps, one onboarding coordinator.
How they got there:
Quick wins first (first week):
- They created one shared checklist instead of four. Everyone could see what was done and what was pending.
- They prepared pre-filled templates for IT and finance - instead of filling in from scratch, they just needed to confirm.
Then redesign (next month):
- They consolidated three approval steps into one. The department head confirmed the hire with a single sign-off, and that triggered everything else.
- They introduced the role of onboarding coordinator who managed the whole process. Not a new position - an existing HR colleague was given a clear mandate.
Result: onboarding went from 3 weeks down to 6 working days. No new software. No big investments. Just a smarter arrangement of what they already had.
How to get people on board
The best process in the world is useless if people don’t follow it. Here’s what works:
- Involve the people who do the work. They know best what doesn’t work. And if they help design the solution, they’ll stick with it.
- Show them the pain they already feel. Don’t say “we need to improve efficiency”. Say “you know how it drives you crazy that every approval takes three days? Here’s how we’ll fix it.”
- Start with a small change and show the result. One quick win that saves people an hour a week does more for project trust than a thirty-page transformation plan.
- Be prepared for resistance. It will come. Not because people are difficult, but because change means uncertainty. Communicate openly and patiently.
What comes next
You have a target state. You know what you want to change and at what pace. Now comes the question: do you need a tool for this? And if so - which one? In the next article, we’ll look at what categories of tools exist and how to pick the right one for your situation. Spoiler: the most expensive one usually isn’t it.