As President of CRE8 Independent Consultants, I work with CEOs, C-Suite, and Directors of companies to solve organizational problems and identify new opportunities.  With COVID-19 causing shifts in profitability, increased number of employees working from home, use of online systems, and changes in how services/products are delivered, I have put together my top three C-Suite Checklist improvement ideas for 2021.

1. Reduce Friction.  Assess where friction exists between the customer and your organization, between internal departments/groups, and with your vendors.  In today’s, quick-moving split-second world, it is not enough to look at customer reviews or internal suggestions.  Be proactive. Avoid employee “work at home” burnout by reducing friction, especially during peak work volumes. Avoid customers buying from someone else by reducing friction in service/product information, ordering, creation, delivery, billing, and customer service. Tip: Start with a high-level discussion/map of processes; and use the map to identify process friction, stresses, cycle time, costs, and ideas for improvement.  Drill down and improve as required. 
2. Innovate through better use of existing (owned) technology and new advanced technologies.  Evaluate how changes in the configuration of current systems and new advanced technologies (e.g., digital signature, content management, workflow, and bots(RPA) can improve organizational processes and the customer experience. Examine incremental and radical change possibilities.  Tip: Before jumping to prototyping, identify at the process level (maps) how the change will accomplish the goals and cost/benefit required. Document software application requirements before purchase/ implementation to ensure what is delivered is on time, what you require, and on budget.  
3. Lead, sustain, and accelerate customer, process, and technology improvements.  In conjunction with solving specific problems, develop an enterprise-wide improvement plan.  Use the enterprise plan to identify a top twenty process list, roadmap, priorities, costs/benefits, and timelines.  Focus on how procedural changes, currently owned technologies, and new advanced technologies from a process and an ROI perspective.  Tip: Gain external consulting assistance from a subject matter expert that can help your organization quickly improve specific processes and develop an enterprise plan.   I do happen to know of one😊.

For more information on how to reduce friction read more.  For information on how CRE8 Independent Consultants can be of assistance and a free consultation, contact us.  

About the Author: George Dunn, President of CRE8 Independent Consultants, is a worldwide recognized process improvement and advanced technology planning consultant, speaker, and author. George has assisted hundreds of organizations ranging from 25 to 250,000 employees across all industries and trained thousands of individuals. You can contact George as follows and on LinkedIn.