How Asking ‘Why?’ 5 Times Can Potentially Save Your Business (Free 5 Whys Template)

Thom James Carter March 16, 2020

Business Processes, Checklists, Processes

5 Whys Template

Business-related problems not only crop up constantly, but they can also have massively negative impacts if not resolved promptly.

In fact, problems related to cash flow are why 82% of small businesses fail.

The good news is there’s a nifty way to get to the bottom of roadblocks quickly: 5 Whys.

According to Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota Industries and inventor of 5 Whys, asking ‘why?’ 5 times can help you get to the root cause of the issue or problem you’re facing.

In this post, you’re going to learn more about the 5 Whys process, why it’s so beneficial, and you’ll even get your hands on a 5 Whys template, courtesy of Process Street.

Read through these sections to get the complete lowdown:

So, why are you waiting around?

It’s time to become a pro at finding out why problems occur!

The 9 Best Websites for Hiring Freelancers (Who You Can Depend On)

Thom James Carter March 5, 2020

Business, Onboarding, Productivity

Hiring Freelancers

This is a guest post by Ivan Boychuk. Ivan is a freelance writer who specializes in creating quality SEO content that ranks high in search engines like Google.

“Do what you do best, and outsource the rest.” – Peter Drucker

Peter Drucker, who was a legendary thought leader in the area of marketing, understood that outsourcing work to freelancers can be an effective strategy to increase overall business productivity.

Why?

Because hiring a freelancer can save you time, money, needless headaches, and it can bring fantastic outside talent onboard. But with so many people chasing after the freelance lifestyle, it can be a daunting task to sift through countless candidates and hire a quality freelancer for your business.

Don’t worry, though.

In this guest post for Process Street, I’ll explain what a freelancer is, what to look for when hiring a freelancer, and show you 9 great websites for hiring freelancers! Just read through the following sections:

Let’s get started.

Operational Level Agreement (OLA): The SLA’s Kick-Ass Sidekick

Thom James Carter February 28, 2020

Document Management, Management, Processes, Project Management

Operational Level Agreement

Let’s face it.

Delivering stellar services to customers and clients can be tough.

And with villains such as poor communication, stress, and human error constantly rearing their ugly heads, it makes that job even harder.

In fact, a study by Quantum Workplace found that more than 80% of people thought miscommunication happened very frequently, frequently, or occasionally in the workplace, while Identity Guard uncovered that the average American employee makes 118 mistakes per year.

So that mistakes are quashed, miscommunication is thwarted, and that everyone is on the same page so the objectives, targets, and goals defined in your service level agreements (SLA) can be upheld, an OLA is the answer.

An OLA is to the SLA what Robin is to Batman. Superboy to Superman. Chewbacca to Han Solo. And by reading through the following sections in this Process Street article, you’ll discover why an OLA makes for a kickass side-kick:

Now, don your cape and let’s fly through this post! ⚡️
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The 10 Best Productivity Apps Every Content Marketer Needs

Thom James Carter February 13, 2020

Marketing, Productivity, Software, Writing

Productivity Apps

This is a guest post by Travis Taborek. Travis is a content marketer and copywriter based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a graduate of General Assembly’s Digital Marketing Bootcamp and has done SEO and content work for business ranging from small tech startups to corporations like TiVo. Read his work here.

Content marketers have their work cut out for them.

They’re tasked with generating fresh ideas for content that stimulates interest in a brand and demonstrates thought leadership consistently, frequently, and at scale.

Fortunately, there is no shortage of productivity apps out there to help keep your mind focused, your writing clear, your headlines eye-grabbing, and your calls-to-action compelling.

To help you do your best work possible, I’ll show you the 10 best productivity apps you need in your digital toolbox.

Specifically, after explaining what productivity apps are, I’ll break each app down into one of four categories – brainstorming, focus, creation, and general productivity – then highlight their features, use cases, and pricing plans.

Just read through the following sections in this guest post for Process Street:

Let’s get started!

The Different Types of Checklist Teams Should Use (& How They’ll Help)

Thom James Carter February 11, 2020

Business, Business Processes, Checklists

types of checklist

Picture this: You’re on vacation.

(Sounds good already, huh?)

It’s summer. The sun’s shining. You’re on a beach with white sands and an ocean so clear you can see the coral.

You think, “Hey, I wouldn’t mind an ice cream right about now.” So you go to the ice cream kiosk before it closes for the day, choose your flavor of choice, go back to your towel, and eat it.

It’s the best ice cream you’ve ever had.

You want more.

But it’s gone. (And the kiosk is shut, too.)

Your vacation is ruined. R U I N E D.

Sometimes, one of something isn’t enough. Not just when it comes to delicious food, but also concerning more practical things like iPhone charging cables (why are they so flimsy, Apple?!), and of course, checklists.

Having multiple checklists holds you and your team in incredibly good stead when it comes to all kinds of business-related activity, no matter if the team works in marketing, engineering, sales, or customer support.

But don’t take my word for it.

Take the word of the 30+ businesses who’ve offered their insights to the Process Street community regarding the types of checklist they use (and why). Read through the following sections to get the complete lowdown:

Now, forget about that ice cream – there’s work to do!

Writing Checklists: Tips & Tricks From 15 Thriving Businesses

Thom James Carter February 4, 2020

Business Processes, Checklists, Productivity

writing checklists

In 1836, Edward Bulwer-Lytton came up with the adage “the pen is mightier than the sword“.

Bulwer-Lytton was referring to good writing and effective communication being the most powerful tool of all. So powerful that it could win wars.

In business’ modern-day war against tough deadlines, seemingly never-ending workloads, and stiff business competition, Bulwer-Lytton’s adage still rings true.

Particularly when it comes to penning checklists.

Here at Process Street, we’d go far as to say that checklists are something of a secret weapon hidden in plain sight. They maximize productivity, minimize stress and anxiety, and can keep perilous human error at bay.

But the rewards can only be reaped if checklists are well-written.

Not sure how to write checklists properly? Confused whether you’re penning checklists the right way or not?

I’ve got you covered in the following sections where you’ll learn what checklists are used for, why they’re so useful, on top of being given tips and tricks for writing checklists from 15 thriving companies:

Now, it’s time to march onwards!

SaaS Onboarding: The Strategy We Used to Triple Conversions

Thom James Carter January 30, 2020

Business, Onboarding, SaaS, Startups

SaaS onboarding

This is a guest post by Daniel Ndukwu. Daniel has extensive experience in digital marketing and is the Founder of KyLeads. There he helps business owners and publishers increase their leads and audience engagement with smart popups, interactive quizzes, and surveys.

In 2017, I had a brilliant idea.

Many of the tools for conversion rate optimization are point solutions. They make popups, landing pages, quizzes, surveys. Very few of them – if any – combine those functions into one.

I decided I would tackle the challenge by building a tool (now called KyLeads). It would allow people to create surveys, popups, and quizzes for lead generation and customer research.

After going through two development teams, rebuilding our user interface, and learning first-hand how hard it is to make software, we launched.

There was little fanfare and only a few customers when we started. But my team and I kept going. We knew it would be a long journey to success – and it’s paying off.

This article shares the best practices, tactics, and processes we used (and are still using) to improve our SaaS onboarding and grow our business into something spectacular.

Want to turbocharge your business’ onboarding successes and conversion rates in half the time?

Just read through the sections below to uncover these insider tips and tricks yourself:

Now, let’s get stuck in.

How to Use Checklists in the Workplace for Maximum Success

Thom James Carter January 28, 2020

Business, Business Processes, Checklists

checklists in the workplace

At Process Street, we’re all about checklists. We use them for absolutely everything.

I have a checklist for my daily tasks, a checklist for writing this blog post, and even a checklist for planning our monthly sprint!

Basically, no task is too big nor too small for a checklist.

But it got us thinking – what are the best ways to use checklists to get maximum value from them?

My personal view is that they’re most useful for highly regular recurring tasks, like a sales call or dealing with an IT support ticket.

My reasoning here is that following the checklist gives you incremental benefits, so the more you follow it the more you benefit. Moreover, the more you follow a business process, the more you understand it’s faults and failings, allowing you to make improvements. Therefore, using a checklist to follow a business process for a task which you do multiple times a day will give you the highest efficiency savings and output increases.

This is compounded if you use a tool like Process Street due to its automation potential; you can automate data entry for data gathered during the task, you can trigger another action in another app, or you can automate the approval process for a completed task.

So I think I have a pretty strong case for why the most common actions benefit most from checklists, but that doesn’t necessarily tell us how they can work best for you.

In this article, you’ll look at a few different ways of employing checklists and get great insight and input from across the industry, as part of Process Street’s original research.

Let’s get started.

How to Take Back Control of Your Work (& Life) With Digital Minimalism

Thom James Carter January 20, 2020

Personal, Processes, Productivity

Digital Minimalism

Modern technology is extraordinary.

After all, without the advancements that have been made over the last 50 years, you wouldn’t be reading this post!

This is exactly why, when asked what has brought the biggest improvements to our lives, four-in-ten Americans said “technology”.

But we’ve reached a critical juncture.

There’s so much technology now. I would dare to say there’s even too many apps, pieces of software, and gadgets we’re using.

From different teams in an organization all using varying project management software, to spreading important information that really should be hosted in one place across a multitude of platforms, using too much software in the workplace can make things incredibly confusing. Not to mention overwhelming.

In reality, we could all do with a digital declutter, using only the essential applications, and ensure we’re utilizing those applications (such as Process Street!) intelligently.

This, in a nutshell, is digital minimalism – and it’s what I’ll deep dive into during the following sections:

Ready to take back control of your work and life with digital minimalism, feel less like a robot, and even find a little zen along the way?

Let’s go.

How an Employee Task List Helps Crush Duties & Deadlines

Thom James Carter January 14, 2020

Business, Checklists, Project Management

Employee Task List

Duties. Deliverables. Deadlines.

No matter if an employee is working as part of a tiny startup based in the CEO’s basement, or a multinational company with offices across the globe, there are important tasks that each and every employee needs to knock out the park.

But how can companies ensure their employees can complete tasks effectively? And that employees aren’t creating a backlog of work for themselves, which could decrease overall productivity by up to 68%?

Answer: An employee task list.

At least, that’s what countless top, thriving companies have told us after we asked them about their task list and checklist habits.

In this post – which is the next part in Process Street‘s series investigating how, why, and in what ways successful businesses use lists for their workflows – I’ll deep dive into the nitty-gritty of employee task lists. Plus, you’ll get the exclusive opportunity to discover the never-seen-before findings from our in-depth research.

Just read through the following sections:

However, before delving into our findings, I’ll first define exactly what an employee task list is.