My Word for 2022: Standardization
There’s a common trend to get your operations in order and create better processes at the beginning of a new year. But the motivation usually wears off as soon as people are back from holiday mode and jump right into “work mode.” Racing to get things done after the holiday break leaves founders and team leaders in the same position they were in a year ago.
Common symptoms include:
- Answering questions all day.
- Running out of time to work on strategy.
- And continuing to spin wheels while your teams reinvent them.
It can sound like a bad word, but “Standardization” has been something that my team discussed a LOT in the last quarter of 2021 — both internally and with our clients. And, even though it can sound a little scary, it’s the solution to keeping focused on working on your business.
What if the English language didn’t have standards? We’d all be using different words to describe the same thing. And we’d all have different ideas about what is grammatically correct. Our ability to communicate with each other would take a nosedive. Doing basic things like grocery shopping or ordering at a restaurant would require a lot of energy to be successful.
So, for 2022, maybe it’s time to worry less about processes and procedures and start with some simple fundamentals to get all your teams speaking the same language.
Communication gets easier once everyone has the same standards, teams are more productive, and everything takes less energy.
Small efforts lead to tremendous results in a short period of time when you’re focused on these fundamentals.
How do you create standards? It’s a simple 3-step process:
- Document the standard (role expectations, terms, best practices, etc.)
- Communicate the standard (who, what, when, why, and how) and have group Q&A sessions to maximize clarity
- Make it accessible (if people can’t find it, they won’t use it)
Need a tool to help make creating standards super easy? Check out Arvo, our platform that’s designed to make creating standards painless.
