Effective work processes: How to maintain quality from project to project
A project manager in the oil and gas sector told us about his action sheet. An Excel sheet where he kept track of what came in and went out. «Follow-up is slipping,» he said. «When we're talking about as many as 100 documents a week,",
So...» He didn't need to finish the sentence.
His company had documented work processes. Everyone knew it. Few followed them. The procedures lived somewhere no one went. In a folder, in a system, in a binder. Approved, sanctioned and forgotten.
It's a classic growing pain. What worked with ten employees doesn't work with fifty. And the problem is rarely the procedures themselves. It's the distance between the procedure and everyday work.
Hva er en arbeidsprosess?
A workflow is a defined sequence of steps to complete a task or deliver a result. Who does what, in what order, and what is required at each step.
In practice, a work process can be anything from how you handle a bid to how a project is handed over from sales to execution. The process must be described well enough that two different
people do the job in a similar way.
Good working processes are practical, not theoretical. They are developed by people who know how the work actually flows, preferably experienced line managers who are familiar with both the procedure and the shortcuts.
Map and terrain: Why are work processes not followed in practice?
A client used an image we've been thinking about since. «You have a map and a terrain. Some people know the map exists. Others know it partially. And then there are those who know it exists, but don't follow it anyway.»
It's not ill will. The procedures are inaccessible. They're in a document library that no one opens between revisions. And even if someone finds them, they aren't linked to the workflow. A procedure that lives
Separate from the project it concerns, is a procedure that is not used.
The result is predictable. Each employee develops their own variant. A project manager told us, «People save extra sheets on their hard drives so they can find them again. So people don't work with the same
the documents. Then you can suddenly misprice.»
A managing director at another company said, «Checklists were very important for us. But I can't manage it, I'm going back to the old way.» The tool was too cumbersome. When it requires more effort to follow the process than to not, the old habit wins. Every time.
The actual cost when work processes are not followed
Some people are using the wrong version of the spreadsheet and are pricing incorrectly. An experienced project manager leaves, and with her goes the process knowledge that was never written down. A plumbing company «sits on many hours of simple
tasks» because documents are produced locally and duplicated into customer systems.
The most vulnerable point is the handover between departments. A customer wanted «one place from sales, through projects, and on to logistics» because information disappeared during the transitions. The salesperson promised something. The project manager didn't know about it. The customer noticed.
For ISO-certified companies, failure to comply with their own work processes is a direct audit finding.
This is how you map work processes
Mapping work processes is about describing what actually happens, not what should happen.
Start with the processes that have the biggest impact on quality and profitability. For most, this is project delivery, the tendering process, onboarding, and deviation management.
Involve those who do the job. A work process developed without input from those who use it will not be followed. Use line managers who know both the formal process and the shortcuts people actually take.
Each step needs three things: what needs to be done, who is responsible, and what result the step should achieve. You don't need more than that. A process that is too detailed will be as useless as one that is too vague.
A project handover example from sales to execution
This is what happens in many businesses. The salesperson wins the project, sends an email with the offer attached, and gives a verbal briefing in the corridor. The project manager interprets the offer in their own way and starts the work. Three
months later the customer complains about something that was promised during the sales process.
With a defined workflow, handovers look different. The entire flow from initial customer contact to completed delivery is visible in a process diagram:
Process Diagram (BPM) — Project Handover
Each step has linked documents and governing procedures. Handover (phase 4) is highlighted.
The seller completes a handover checklist covering agreed deliveries, special conditions, and customer expectations. The project manager approves the handover. The checklist is in the project and can
opened by all involved throughout the project period:
Quality Control Checklist (QCP) — Handover
The checklist follows the project from handover to completion. Each step logs who did what and when.
The difference is not more work. It's the same work, structured.
See how Izomax handles its work processes
Growth company Izomax manages daily work processes that require good handovers between sales, the customer, the project, and the workshop. Read more about how they have established effective work processes in a busy daily routine.
Effective work processes in Business Online
Business Online is built on Microsoft 365 and connects work processes directly to the projects they concern.
Process diagrams (BPM)
Offers visual representation through the entire workflow with governing documents linked to each step. The procedures appear where the work happens. Not in a separate folder, but within the process.
BPM stands for Business Process Management (BPM). In practice, it's about mapping, visualising, and improving business processes within a company. In Business Online, BPM is built in as interactive process diagrams where governing documents are linked directly to each step.
Quality Checklists (QCP)
This means the process documents itself. Each step has an owner, a status, and a logged history. Deviations are captured as they occur. Employees do not report afterwards. Documentation happens as part of the job.
Handover between departments
It works because the information follows the project. What was agreed with the client is visible to those who are to deliver. Notifications are sent automatically when a step is completed and the next person needs to take over.
Summary
No one has ever complained about the work processes being too simple to follow.
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