Be Careful What You Say: Social constructs in workflow

If you have ever tried to implement a workflow into your organisation, you'll know that the key is people.  It's very "yin and yang" in that they can react to new procedures in both good and bad ways.  In fact, process needs people so that it can actually be used.  A process that lacks people is an automation.  You'll mostly find that process mapping involves the interaction of people, information and equipment.

This means that the social construct surrounding the concepts and language within the workflow will determine the success of its acceptance and its workability.  You see, social construct gives us meaning to what is said.  Think about a workflow in which you want Admin Staff to book meeting rooms.  You probably already have an innate sense of who is considered "Admin Staff" within your organisation or department.  Let's turn this around.  Think of someone who is new to your organisation.  They may not know who is part of "Admin Staff".  Or even another department could  have different "Admin Staff".  Think through these crucial terms.

You don't have to make your processes over complicated.  You can fix these issues in numerous ways, for example:

1. Provide a glossary of terms as part of your operations manual or your workflow (in the business rules section).
2. Relay this information as part of induction - particularly a cultural induction into the work place
3. Place this information into charts, missions or policies.  In the above example of the Admin Staff, this could be presented in an organisation chart.

By being careful with what you say in your workflows and process maps, you will be able to define the true meanings of social constructs created within your organisational culture.  You can make it crystal clear who is who, what is what and how it all comes together to create better process that meets everyones' needs regardless of department or how long they have been in the organisation.