Why the Best Process Isn't Always the One That Looks Best on Paper
Have you ever sat in a meeting, mapped out a beautiful new process, and thought:
"This is going to be great!"
Everyone agrees. The steps make sense. The responsibilities are assigned.
You leave feeling like you've finally solved the problem.
Then Tuesday happens.
Someone calls in sick.
The phones won't stop ringing.
A customer has an urgent issue.
The person responsible for the next step is unavailable.
And suddenly, that beautiful new process isn't working quite the way you imagined.
Welcome to real life.
Processes Have to Work on the Hard Days
One of the things I encourage agency teams to do is test their processes against reality.
Not the perfect day.
Not the day when everyone is in the office and nothing unexpected happens.
The busy Tuesday.
Because that's when you find out whether you've actually built something sustainable.
Ask the Uncomfortable Questions
When you're designing a workflow, don't just ask:
"Does everyone understand the steps?"
Ask:
What happens if the person responsible is out?
What happens if the customer doesn't answer?
What happens if the request isn't completed when expected?
What happens if something needs approval?
How do we know when the work is actually finished?
And what happens when the process doesn't go according to plan?
Those are the questions that expose weaknesses before they become problems.
Submitted Doesn't Mean Completed
Here's a simple example.
A customer requests a policy change.
Your team member submits the request. They document that it was submitted. And they move on.
But was the change actually processed?
Was the effective date correct?
Did the customer receive confirmation?
Was the billing impact addressed?
Did someone verify the final result?
Because there's a difference between submitting something and completing it.
And if your workflow ends at submission, you've left an important part of the customer's experience unfinished.
A Process Needs More Than Steps
When I help teams work through a process, I want them to understand several things.
What starts the work?
Who is responsible?
What happens next?
When does it need to happen?
Where is it documented?
When should it be escalated?
And what does completed actually look like?
That last question is especially important.
Because if everyone has a different definition of done, you don't really have a finished process.
You have a series of activities.
Don't Build Another Burden
Here's another mistake I see.
We identify a problem.
So we create another checklist. Another report. Another spreadsheet. Another meeting.
And now we've added more work to a team that was already overwhelmed.
Before adding something new, ask:
What is this replacing, eliminating, or making easier?
If the answer is nothing, we may just be creating another burden.
A better process should make work easier to complete correctly.
Not simply give everyone another thing to remember.
Implementation Is Where the Work Begins
Creating a process is one thing.
Getting people to use it consistently is another.
That's why I encourage agencies to start with one meaningful improvement.
Choose the problem. Agree on the change. Assign responsibility. Teach the process. Give people the opportunity to practice.
Then schedule time to evaluate whether it's working.
Not six months later.
Soon enough to make adjustments before everyone falls back into old habits.
And when something doesn't work?
Fix it.
A playbook should be a living resource, not something that sits on a shelf collecting dust.
The Real Test
I don't care how impressive a workflow looks in a presentation.
I care whether someone can follow it when the office is busy, a teammate is out, and three customers need help.
That's when the process matters.
Because great processes aren't designed for perfect conditions.
They're designed to help people succeed in imperfect ones.
If your process only works when everything goes according to plan, you probably need a better plan.
So the next time you build a workflow, don't just ask whether it makes sense.
Ask whether it will survive a busy Tuesday.
That's when you'll know if you've built something your team can actually use.