Mind the Gap: Empowering Teams for 100% Compliance and Beyond
As Captain Obvious, I wouldn’t be the first one to tell you there's often a disconnect between how a company envisions its operations and the way things actually unfold on the ground. This not unexpected chasm between theory and practice can be a major pain point, one that ranks among the top 10 employee grievances. At Navgar, we've made it our mission to allow you to codify and communicate your processes and to ultimately bridge this gap. While we harmonize your ideal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) with the practical realities of your team's expertise, an additional benefit of using our application that can occur is a natural reckoning of these differences, resulting in a more informed and streamlined compliance environment. This only occurs positively when there is understanding of the perspectives and motivations of the parties involved.
In many industries and situations, compliance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is not just a recommended best practice; it's an absolute imperative. SOPs are put in place to ensure safety, consistency, and quality in various processes, ranging from healthcare to manufacturing and beyond. Deviations from these procedures can lead to serious consequences, including safety hazards, regulatory violations, and compromised product quality. Therefore, achieving 100% compliance with SOPs is not just a goal but a necessity for organizations aiming to mitigate risks, maintain quality standards, and uphold their reputation.
There is a different picture that’s not hard to imagine: Management has meticulously designed SOPs that outline the perfect way to run operations and may serve higher objectives nicely. In practice, these procedures often collide with the creative, on-the-ground solutions employees devise. This discrepancy is a key pain point, with a striking 67% of employees frustrated by their company's broken processes, which hinder their potential.
Why do employees sometimes sidestep management's procedural directives? Are they taking shortcuts out of laziness? Are they being insubordinate? I’m not an organizational psychologist but I’ve worked with enough people to generally know when this case applies and when it does not. The sunnier and more accurate view is: It's because the people executing the SOP have firsthand knowledge of homegrown processes that work exceptionally well in their context. They've developed efficient ways of achieving objectives, and this expertise is invaluable. While management's vision is vital, it's equally crucial to tap into the wisdom of your employees. Information silos and rigid procedures can stifle innovation and hinder the application of this invaluable knowledge. Teams often grapple with the burden of switching between disconnected apps, leading to productivity bottlenecks. An overwhelming 70% of employees yearn for less meetings and emails, allowing them more time to leverage their expertise.
Instead of viewing employee deviations from procedures as subversion, it's essential to see them as a call for collaboration. Employees want their voices heard and their expertise valued. When instituting new Flows in Navgar, having the people who will be performing the work to preview them troubleshoot and add feedback that may save a lot of time and inefficiency later. Often, laying out the key objective and working collaboratively on the ‘how’ will be the best approach from the ground up. Conducting periodic reviews of vital running processes will make your SOPs more robust and allow employees to contribute their insights effectively. By not stifling employee expertise but instead harmonizing it with management's procedures, a collaborative overall approach can lead to more robust procedures and improved operational efficiency.
Finding the right balance is essential. Don't let broken processes hold your organization back. It's time to bridge the gap, leveraging the wisdom of your employees to boost productivity and streamline operations while ensuring alignment with management's vision. Together, we can create a brighter, more collaborative future, where management and employees work hand in hand towards success. At Navgar, we specialize in bridging this gap. Our goal is to ensure compliance is not just a buzzword but a living reality, one that aligns with both management's objectives and employee expertise.
