We have a process, don’t we? We hebben een proces, toch?We have a process, don’t we? We have a process, don’t we?

In the past years, I have been learning the hard way how important processes are as a basis for a company to grow. As an entrepreneur or manager, you set out to establish something, to work towards that point on the horizon that you dream of. For most, it means the company has to grow (and of course be profitable). But how do you grow? And how do you grow your IT company or department specifically?

At Bridge, our primary reason for being is helping our customers achieve growth and profitability. Right now, we do this for a specific market: web/software companies & medium and big sized organizations with an IT department. Now of course I love our customers and want to help them achieve that desired growth. In many cases the struggle is to build the solid foundation needed for their growth: processes.

What I hear so frequently is ‘yes of course we have processes, let me explain you’. And my next question is ‘can you show it to me on paper’? Uuuhhh…not really…

De laatste jaren heb ik door ervaring geleerd hoe belangrijk processen zijn als een basis voor het bedrijf om te groeien. Als een ondernemer of manager wilt u iets bereiken, ergens naar toe werken. Voor de meesten betekent dit dat het bedrijf moet groeien (en natuurlijk winstgevend moet zijn). Maar hoe laat u uw bedrijf groeien? En hoe laat u uw IT bedrijf of afdeling specifiek groeien?

In the past years, I have been learning the hard way how important processes are as a basis for a company to grow. As an entrepreneur or manager, you set out to establish something, to work towards that point on the horizon that you dream of. For most, it means the company has to grow (and of course be profitable). But how do you grow? And how do you grow your IT company or department specifically?

At Bridge, our primary reason for being is helping our customers achieve growth and profitability. Right now, we do this for a specific market: web/software companies & medium and big sized organizations with an IT department. Now of course I love our customers and want to help them achieve that desired growth. In many cases the struggle is to build the solid foundation needed for their growth: processes.

What I hear so frequently is ‘yes of course we have processes, let me explain you’. And my next question is ‘can you show it to me on paper’? Uuuhhh…not really…

In the past years, I have been learning the hard way how important processes are as a basis for a company to grow. As an entrepreneur or manager, you set out to establish something, to work towards that point on the horizon that you dream of. For most, it means the company has to grow (and of course be profitable). But how do you grow? And how do you grow your IT company or department specifically?

At Bridge, our primary reason for being is helping our customers achieve growth and profitability. Right now, we do this for a specific market: web/software companies & medium and big sized organizations with an IT department. Now of course I love our customers and want to help them achieve that desired growth. In many cases the struggle is to build the solid foundation needed for their growth: processes.

What I hear so frequently is ‘yes of course we have processes, let me explain you’. And my next question is ‘can you show it to me on paper’? Uuuhhh…not really…

In a normal setting, where all people are working in one location to get ‘the job’ done, processes are already a condition for growth. In a setting where a part of the team is located in another building (or country), having clear processes is not only a condition for growth, but a condition to make anything work at all.

The question is: what is a process? Is it a ‘normal way of working’ that is inside the heads of the people? Or is it a well thought through document describing what we do?

In my experience, most companies believe it is the first one. But how do you transfer the way you work to a new employee? Or to a colleague in India? How long will it take to make sure that all your colleagues are 100% aligned with each other on ‘how do we do it’?

I believe it’s a clear and precise step by step documented description that is always in evolution. You write it down, but you always keep on improving it. When a new colleague joins, you hand it over, so he knows how he needs to get the job done. When you have a misunderstanding, you take the document and you can clearly see what has gone wrong.

A written process is the concrete foundation for anything a human team wants to get done. It’s the step by step approach that ensures the team delivers an expected result. It’s the paper roadmap that informs everyone involved in an undertaking what to do next.

I wonder how other growth companies, especially in the IT (outsourcing) world think about this…

Bij Bridge is onze eerste prioriteit de bedrijven van onze klanten te helpen groeien en winst maken. Nu doen we dit voor een specifieke markt: web/software bedrijven & middelgrote en grote organisaties met een IT afdeling. Natuurlijk hou ik van onze klanten en wil ik ze helpen te groeien zoals zij willen. In veel gevallen is het moeilijk om de solide basis te creëren waar hun groei op gebaseerd wordt: processen.
Wat ik vaak hoor is ‘ja natuurlijk hebben we processen, laat me het u uitleggen’. En mijn volgende vraag is dan ‘kunt u het me op papier laten zien?’ Ehh…niet echt …

In een normale setting waar alle mensen op één locatie werken om ‘het werk’ af te krijgen, zijn processen al een voorwaarde voor groei. In een setting waar een deel van het team in een ander gebouw (of land) is, is het hebben van duidelijke processen niet alleen een voorwaarde voor groei, maar een voorwaarde om het bedrijf überhaupt te laten werken.

De vraag is: wat is een proces? Is het een ‘normale manier van werken’ die zich in de hoofden van mensen bevindt? Of is het een weldoordacht document dat beschrijft wat we doen?
Mijn ervaring leert dat de meeste bedrijven denken dat de eerste optie de juiste is. Maar hoe draag je de manier van werken over aan een nieuwe werknemer? Of een collega in India? Hoe land duurt het voordat u zeker weet dat alle collega’s 100% op één lijn zitten met elkaar over ‘hoe we het doen’?
Ik denk dat een proces een duidelijk en precies gedocumenteerd stappenplan is, dat altijd evolueert. U schrijft het op maar brengt er altijd verbeteringen in aan. Als een nieuwe collega begint geeft u hem het document zodat hij weet hoe er gewerkt wordt. Als u een misverstand heeft kunt u het document erbij pakken zodat u meteen kunt zien wat er mis is gegaan.

Een geschreven proces is een concrete basis voor alles dat een team gedaan wil krijgen. Het is een stappenplan dat ervoor zorgt dat het team het verwachte resultaat bereikt. Het is de papieren kaart die zorgt dat iedereen weet wat te doen.
Ik vraag me af hoe andere groeiende bedrijven, vooral in de IT (outsourcing) wereld hierover denken…

In a normal setting, where all people are working in one location to get ‘the job’ done, processes are already a condition for growth. In a setting where a part of the team is located in another building (or country), having clear processes is not only a condition for growth, but a condition to make anything work at all.

The question is: what is a process? Is it a ‘normal way of working’ that is inside the heads of the people? Or is it a well thought through document describing what we do?

In my experience, most companies believe it is the first one. But how do you transfer the way you work to a new employee? Or to a colleague in India? How long will it take to make sure that all your colleagues are 100% aligned with each other on ‘how do we do it’?

I believe it’s a clear and precise step by step documented description that is always in evolution. You write it down, but you always keep on improving it. When a new colleague joins, you hand it over, so he knows how he needs to get the job done. When you have a misunderstanding, you take the document and you can clearly see what has gone wrong.

A written process is the concrete foundation for anything a human team wants to get done. It’s the step by step approach that ensures the team delivers an expected result. It’s the paper roadmap that informs everyone involved in an undertaking what to do next.

I wonder how other growth companies, especially in the IT (outsourcing) world think about this…

In a normal setting, where all people are working in one location to get ‘the job’ done, processes are already a condition for growth. In a setting where a part of the team is located in another building (or country), having clear processes is not only a condition for growth, but a condition to make anything work at all.

The question is: what is a process? Is it a ‘normal way of working’ that is inside the heads of the people? Or is it a well thought through document describing what we do?

In my experience, most companies believe it is the first one. But how do you transfer the way you work to a new employee? Or to a colleague in India? How long will it take to make sure that all your colleagues are 100% aligned with each other on ‘how do we do it’?

I believe it’s a clear and precise step by step documented description that is always in evolution. You write it down, but you always keep on improving it. When a new colleague joins, you hand it over, so he knows how he needs to get the job done. When you have a misunderstanding, you take the document and you can clearly see what has gone wrong.

A written process is the concrete foundation for anything a human team wants to get done. It’s the step by step approach that ensures the team delivers an expected result. It’s the paper roadmap that informs everyone involved in an undertaking what to do next.

I wonder how other growth companies, especially in the IT (outsourcing) world think about this…