If you’re chronically ill, pain medication will help but not solve the issue. Just like if you’re experiencing abnormally high customer churn, the last thing you want is to spend all your time firefighting.

You need to find the cause.

That’s exactly why root cause analysis is a vital process. It helps you to understand the causal focus and underlying issues behind your biggest business problems.

For example, Eastman Chemical‘s customer complaint numbers were cut in half after conducting a logic tree root cause analysis to pinpoint their deeper issues. Clipper Windpower saved $1 million in lost revenue by identifying the underlying causes of their turbine malfunction.

In this Process Street article, we have a root cause analysis template for you to follow. Our aim is to give you a comprehensive overview of the root cause analysis process, from a simple introduction and break down of the key principles to when and why you’d want to perform a root cause analysis.

We’ll be covering:

• Root cause analysis template
• What is root cause analysis (RCA)?
• Why conduct a root cause analysis?
• Key principles of root cause analysis
• How to conduct a root cause analysis that actually works
• Root cause analysis tips
• Using Process Street to conduct a root cause analysis

Let’s take a quick look at the root cause analysis template.
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You’ve heard of the moonwalk. But have you heard of the Gemba Walk?

From a business standpoint, the Gemba Walk is infinitely more useful (though the moonwalk is pretty cool).

Specifically, the Gemba Walk allows businesses to continuously improve how they do things by remedying their processes, procedures, and workflows for recurring tasks. The continual process improvements that Gemba Walking brings helps businesses exponentially – 1 in 4 improvements save time, and 1 in 10 improvements save money.

And this is all achieved by simply stepping back, rather than blindly pushing forward.

Want to know more?

I thought so.

In this post, I’ll tell you what Gemba Walk means, the origins of it, its benefits, and how Process Street can help both remote and physical businesses do the Gemba Walk.

Just read through the following sections to get clued up:

• What is a Gemba Walk?
• The origin of Gemba Walks
• The 3 elements of a Gemba Walk
• The benefits of Gemba Walks (& lean management)
• Undergoing process improvement with Process Street!

Now, let’s sprint through the rest of the post! ‍♂️

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This is a guest post by Bryan Christiansen from Limble CMMS – a modern and easy to use mobile maintenance software. Over the years Bryan evolved from a simple software engineer with a spark of entrepreneurial spirit into a confident leader that manages a whole team of people, moving the maintenance industry forward.

When production is expanding, it’s great news for the business. However, this rapid expansion brings many challenges. Properly preparing for each challenge will be important so that production processes run smoothly.

The maintenance department is no exception. As your operation grows, there will always be some difficulties adjusting to the increased maintenance load. This is where maintenance management as a discipline comes in.

Despite its importance for efficient expansion, a HubSpot survey found only 6% of respondents considered their maintenance department well-established.

Maintenance management looks at the steps you can take to prepare and scale your maintenance capacity.

In this Process Street article, we will present to you our 6 top strategies you can implement for efficient maintenance management.

Click on the relevant subheaders below to jump to that section. Alternatively, scroll down to read all we have to say regarding the topic of maintenance management.

• What is maintenance? The importance of more efficient maintenance processes
• Maintenance management concept #1: Using a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS)
• Maintenance management concept #2: The proactive maintenance approach
• Maintenance management concept #3: Continuous improvements with a DMAIC Process
• Maintenance management concept #4: Cleaning out your deferred maintenance backlog
• Maintenance management concept #5: Setting up proper inventory management practices
• Maintenance management concept #6: Adding resources through hiring
• Use Process Street for the management of your maintenance processes

Let’s begin!
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90% of the largest companies are filing sustainability reports, with 80% of mainstream investors considering environmental, social and governance information when making decisions.

Understanding and practicing correct corporate sustainability strategies has never been more important.

In this article, we at Process Street explore what corporate sustainability is, taking a system thinking approach to acknowledge the complexity of the problems.

We then turn our attention to top business owners and employees across the globe, asking the question: How are you managing sustainability in your business day-to-day?

Here you are provided with our top 5 never-before-seen best practices to achieve corporate sustainability.

But before that, we begin this article with Process Street’s 6 leading corporate sustainability templates, which you can access for free.

Click on the relevant subheader below to jump to that section. Alternatively, scroll down to read what we at Process Street have to say regarding corporate sustainability.

• Corporate sustainability templates
• Corporate sustainability definition
• How to be more sustainable: System thinking
• Capturing opportunity for corporate sustainability
• Use Process Street as a tool to help you achieve corporate sustainability

Let’s jump straight to it!
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This is a guest post written by Alexis Humphrey. Agency owner turned business coach, Alexis Humphrey is on a mission to help freelancers and agency owners maximize their potential by showing them how they can earn more and work less so they can create a life they love. Connect with her on Linkedin or join her private Facebook group.

Steve Jobs built his empire around one clear principle – simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

In his own words:

“Simple can be harder than complex: you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” – Steve Jobs, Apple’s Steve Jobs

And Warren Buffet agrees…

What does Buffet look for when he invests in a business?

The answer: Something that is simple and reproducible, like Coca Cola, McDonalds or Gillette. These businesses work like machines – the production process is repeatable, and the output is always the same.

In this Process Street article, you will learn how to fine-tune your service-based business into simple and reproducible processes, building a remote agency machine.

This transformation requires consistency and the consistency of processes. With Process Street, this consistency becomes easily attainable. Learn how to set up Process Street processes and establish a solid ground to build your remote agency machine. A remote agency that works on automation, documented processes and requires very little of your time. A remote agency that brings in money, whilst you lay back sipping pina colada’s on a Brazilian beach.

Sound appealing?

Of course it does.

Click on the relevant subheaders below to jump to that section. Alternatively, scroll down to read all we have to say.

• Building a remote agency: Maintaining consistency and documenting recurring tasks
• Building a remote agency: Treating your service as a product
• Building a remote agency: Customized chaos
• Building a remote agency: Repeatable systems
• Building a remote agency: Customized chaos vs repeatable systems
• Building a remote agency: Business processes
• Building a remote agency: Why do business processes matter?
• Building a remote agency: How to get started
• Building a remote agency: Embedding processes in your business
• Building a remote agency: The secret sauce

Let’s get started!
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Call center agent: “Ok Brenda, can you please close all windows and then restart your computer”
Brenda: “Ok, no problem”
2 minutes later…
Brenda:“Ok, that’s done. Do you want me to close all the doors too?”

Even in the current digital climate, the majority of people (not just the Brenda’s of this world) still prefer being assisted by phone.

In fact, a study by Harvard Business Review found out that 57% of customers move from the web to the phone when they need support. Not only that, but the global call center software market size was valued at $18.1 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $72.3 billion by 2027.

I don’t know about you, but these statistics were a shock to me.

With the stigma attached to call centers and the introduction of Live chat, forums and IM platforms, I thought call centers were dying a slow and painful death?

This couldn’t be further from the truth. They’re back! Better than before and here to stay, thanks to call center software.

Join me on a journey of discovery where we will look at the following topics to find out how call center software has brought call centers back from the brink:

• What is call center software?
• Why do I need call center software?
• How would I benefit from call center software?
• What are the top five examples of call center software?
• How can I use Process Street with call center software?

Ready to go?

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This is a guest post by Kristen McCabe, a global marketer. She has marketing experience extending from Australia to Chicago with expertise in both B2B and B2C industries, specializing in content, SEO, and events. Kristen spends her time outside of work acting, learning nature photography and joining in the #instadog fun with her Pug/JackRussell, Bella.

We have one reason marketers host and sponsor events.

Whether you want to get more leads, increase brand awareness, or meet with current customers to upsell and build customer lifetime value, marketing events ultimately leads to the same destination: increased revenue for a greater Return On Investment (ROI).

Despite this common goal, according to The Event Marketing Evolution, a research report by the Harvard Business Review, only 23% of companies can track event ROI.

Notice here that we say can rather than do track ROI, making these results even more concerning and surprising.

So our question to is this: How will you ensure you’re in the elite group of marketers who:

• Can track the success of their event sponsorship?
• Regularly track event results, and improve their strategy as needed?

In this Process Street article we will answer these two questions, and walk you through the steps that ensure you aren’t throwing your previous marketing dollars down the drain.

To start at the beginning, we find our selves before the day of the event.

With that, let’s not waste any more time, and get straight to it. Click on the subheaders below to jump to the relevant section. Alternatively, scroll down to read all.

• Event ROI: What it is and how to measure it
• Event planning: The pre-event strategy and planning stage
• Event partners: Your internal and external event partners
• Event ROI: Choosing an event that obtains a strong ROI, must-ask questions
• Event data: Capturing event data
• After the event: Measuring and building your success after the event
• Marketing events with Process Street

Let’s begin! Continue Reading

There are countless ways employees can be thrown off their A-game – from anxiety to altercations at work, pandemics to problems at home.

But how can employers improve the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of their staff?

By implementing an employee assistance program (EAP).

According to the International Employee Assistance Professionals Association, 97% of U.S. companies with over 5,000 employees already have an EAP program in place. Small and midsize businesses realize the huge benefits of EAP programs too, as 75% of businesses with 250 – 1,000 employees also make use of EAP programs.

Hasn’t your business instigated an EAP program already?

If not, it’s about time you thought about it.

By reading this post, you’ll understand what exactly an EAP program is, the history of it, why it’s beneficial for employers and employees alike, and even gain access to EAP templates created by Process Street. Make your way through the following sections to get clued-up:

• What is an employee assistance program (EAP)?
• The history of the employee assistance program
• Employee assistance program benefits
• Process Street’s EAP program templates
• Use Process Street to ensure your workforce are safe, secure, and stable

If you’re in a rush, here are the links to the free EAP templates:

• Critical Incident Stress Management Checklist
• Achieving Work-Life Balance Checklist
• Work Anxiety Resolution Checklist
• Daily Schedule Template
• Office Conflict Resolution Checklist
• Lisa A. Romano: Overcoming Negative Self-Talk
• Mental Health Risk Assessment Checklist
• SMART Goal Setting Checklist
• Records Disposal Checklist

There’s a lot at stake, so let’s get started with the rest of the post. ⏳

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This is a guest post from Derek Gallimore from Outsource Accelerator. Derek’s blend of extensive international business and travel experience means that outsourcing came relatively naturally to him. Derek has been in business for over 20 years, outsourcing for over seven years, and has lived in Manila, Philippines – the world’s outsourcing capital – for over five years. He has worked and lived in five countries and worked and traveled through dozens more.

A great business focuses on building customer relations. They need to reach out to their customers to fulfill their service needs, such as inquiries, service-related concerns, and marketing offers.

Someone needs to follow up on billings and collections. Another person needs to send out newsletters to its clients. When a new product or offer comes out, someone must inform the customers either through calls or emails. In some cases, someone also needs to gather data regarding customer satisfaction and commentaries on what needs to be improved in their products.

It can be tedious, especially for startups and small businesses with a few people on it to man these tasks at once, so strong customer service and sales teams are needed to fulfill these tasks.

Good thing is, businesses can rely on call centers to manage these activities. This article will tackle:

• Pros and cons of call center outsourcing
• Costs of an outsourced call center team
• How to find and hire a call center
• Best practices in hiring a call center

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This is a guest post from Stella Lincoln who works as a Business Executive at Academist Help. She is a passionate blogger and owns the blog Educator House. Lincoln has many years of experience in digital marketing and specializes in search engine optimization (SEO).

In this era of globalization and digitization, marketing takes many forms. We at Process Street recommend one marketing strategy: Make sure you strongly focus on email marketing, or more specifically, your email conversion rates.

Why?

Email marketing is a successful strategy. Done correctly it can bring in the highest Return On Investment (ROI) relative to other marketing channels. Email marketing offers a return of 30x your initial investment.

Wow.

But let me emphasize, such a high ROI is only possible if you get your email marketing right.

How do you get your email marketing strategy right?

One aspect is through email Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).

Through intuition, I am guessing you are ready to optimize your email conversion rates – after all, you came here. Well, reader, you can use this article as your top-tip list for all things CR and email optimization.

In this article, we give you our 12 top ranking tips to optimize your email conversion rates. You can click on the relevant subheaders below to jump to that given section. Alternatively, scroll down and read all we have to say.

• Optimize your email conversion rates: CRO meaning
• Optimize your email conversion rates: Email optimization and why it is is important
• Optimize your email conversion rate with these conversion rate optimization best practices
• Use Process Street to optimize your email conversion rates

Let’s get started!
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