Virtual Process Improvement
Like many businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic we have been faced with the challenge of how to continue delivering our services without any face to face contact with our clients. Our process improvement workshops have traditionally been delivered through co-design sessions using whiteboards, post-it notes and flip charts. We had to rethink our delivery model quickly with active process improvemement engagements located across Australia. With travel restrictions and borders closed we had to adapt and continue all of these process design sessions remotely.
So, what are the 3 key things we have learned about virtual process improvement?
- Evaluate your toolsets
- Develop virtual workshop guidelines
- Adapt your timings
Online communication toolsets
As a consulting organisation we have been using various online communication tools with clients for several years. These have included:
While these tools are designed to be easy to use it is important to confirm that all workshop participants are familiar with the key features of the platform prior to the session. People in the session will be more confident to contribute if they are familiar with the basic features such as:
- Muting the microphone
- Meeting chat
- Changing the background
- Turning video on and off
- Sharing screens
- Raising hands
Our QLD client had only recently started using Microsoft Teams and were in transition from Skype for Business. We confirmed that we would use Microsoft Teams for all process design sessions as participants only had to understand the functionality of one product rather than two. There is also a significant amount of additional functionality available in Teams E.g. Whiteboard, meeting notes and raise a hand.
Virtual process mapping toolsets
Once you have decided on your communication platform how do you enable effective discussion and solve problems collaboratively in a virtual world? Process design in a virtual world is vastly different to a face to face workshop. It’s more difficult to quickly break into smaller teams to discuss issues and create solutions.
Our current solution is to use Lucid Chart for our virtual process design sessions which is a really useful cloud based digital collaboration tool. You can publish the URL link to the online document allowing participants real time access. Participants can also collaborate on the document pointing to shapes or text on the screen making it easy for people to follow the conversation. It also enables online commenting which makes it really easy to track changes and updates to a process map. By publishing the live link to participants it also means you don’t need to share your screen which means you can keep everyone’s videos maximised.
There are also a number of digital facilitation tools that can be used for capturing process issues and opportunities. These are:
If you already have Office 365 you can save on additional subscription costs by using existing apps to collaborate:
Ensuring all participants are familiar with the toolsets prior to your session is important. A simple 2 min explainer video circulated to participants prior to the workshop can really help productivity in the workshop.
Develop virtual workshop guidelines
Everyone is familiar with the ongoing challenges of video conferencing. Connection challenges, audio issues, people dropping out mid-sentence and everyone talking over the top of each other. If you haven’t seen this video on the ‘Real life conference call’ then check it out. I’m sure some of it will sound familiar.
One of the key things to think about when using video conferencing for workshops is to develop and agree on some ‘workshop rules’ for online interaction. It’s important that all participants buy into the rules of engagement for your virtual workshop. The following Office 365 applications can be used to display these guidelines so you can refer to them throughout the session:
- Teams Wiki
- One Note
- Teams Meeting Notes
Some example workshop rules could include:
- Everyone should have their video turned on. This helps the facilitator to read participants non-verbal cues.
- Be mindful of background noise and mute your microphone if you are not talking.
- Use the chat function to communicate if you are experiencing any issues – audio, video or just struggling to get involved.
- Use raise a hand to ask the facilitator a question
Adapt your timings
Half day process workshops are common in a face to face environment. Our experience in a virtual world is that 2 hours is the maximum time that participants tend to remain focused and productive. This means you can’t cover the same amount of content. A clear and planned agenda is the key to keep everything on track. Your agenda outline should include:
- The agenda items
- The agenda items owner/facilitator
- Time allocated to each agenda item
A key element to your virtual workshop agenda is to ensure that you leave 10-15 mins at the start of the meeting to cover introductions, workshop roles and virtual guidelines. It is also useful to allocate someone to the role of timekeeper to ensure things stay on track. The timekeeper can provide updates to the facilitator via meeting chat. It is also important to leave 5-10 mins in your agenda at the end of the session to summarise the key outcomes and confirm the next steps.
Planning is the key to virtual process improvement
Just like face to face process workshops planning is the key to a successful virtual process workshop. The keys to success are:
- Developing a clear understanding of what toolsets will be used to facilitate the session
- Understanding how participants will interact and engage in the session
- Understanding that it will take longer to think through your process challenges in a remote working environment.
Our recent client feedback surveys have indicated that 90% of participants have felt that our virtual process design sessions are about the same or better than face to face sessions. What this is telling us is that virtual process improvement is here to stay!