Process improvement
Lean process improvement and workflow redesign
When good people keep producing frustrating results, the process is usually doing exactly what it was built to do. Lean improvement looks at the work itself: where it waits, where it doubles back, and where the official way and the real way stopped matching.
Book a free 20-minute discovery callMichele Smith, MHA, PCC, brings a Lean background from healthcare operations, where a dropped handoff is not an inconvenience but a safety issue. The method travels: the same approach works for an intake process, a billing cycle, an onboarding run or a referral pathway in any organization where work passes between people.
The work starts by following one real case from beginning to end, with the people who actually touch it. That is where the surprises are: the spreadsheet somebody keeps because the system does not do what they need, the approval nobody can explain, the rework caused three steps upstream. Mapping it together is usually the first time everyone involved has seen the whole thing.
From there the group decides what to stop, what to simplify and what to standardize, and tests the change on a small scale before it becomes policy. Measures are kept deliberately simple, so a team can see for themselves whether the new way is faster and less annoying than the old one.
The point is not a binder. It is that the better way becomes the easy way, and that the team keeps improving the work after Michele leaves rather than waiting for the next outside review.
Walk the actual work
Following a real case with the people who do it, rather than reading the procedure.
Map and find the waste
Waiting, rework, duplicate entry, approvals that add delay but no judgement.
Redesign with the team
The people who will live with the process decide what changes, which is why it holds.
Test, measure, standardize
Small trials, simple measures, then writing down only what needs to be the same every time.
Process work in Sacramento and beyond
Michele works on site with Sacramento and Northern California organizations, where walking the process in person is usually worth the trip, and remotely for teams whose work already lives in shared systems.
- On site process mapping across the Sacramento region
- Remote sessions for teams spread across locations
- Healthcare, public agencies, professional services and family-owned businesses
- Scoped to your organization after a free 20-minute discovery call
A few honest answers
Do we need to know Lean to work with you?
No. Nobody has to learn the vocabulary. The sessions are run in plain language, and the only preparation is a willingness to say out loud how the work really happens rather than how it is supposed to happen.
How long does a process redesign take?
A focused process can often be mapped and improved in a few sessions. A pathway that crosses several departments takes longer, mostly because getting the right people in one room is the hard part.
Will this mean job cuts?
That is not what this work is for, and Michele will say so to your team. The aim is to remove the steps that waste their day, so the capacity goes back into work that matters rather than into a headcount calculation.
What if we have tried this before and it did not stick?
Usually because the change was designed away from the work, or because nothing reinforced it after the kickoff. Both are fixable, and change management is often the missing half of a process project.
Can you work with our existing systems?
Yes. The work starts with what you already have. If a system genuinely cannot support the better process, that becomes a clear, evidenced recommendation rather than a complaint.
What does it cost?
Consulting engagements are scoped to your organization after a free 20-minute discovery call, so you see the approach and the price before you commit.
Start a conversation
Describe the process that keeps causing trouble. Twenty minutes is usually enough for Michele to say whether this is a process problem, a people problem, or both.
Book a free 20-minute discovery callOr call or text 530-570-0120.