Building a Team That Doesn't Break Under Pressure

Progress doesn't always equal productivity. When your team spends hours on low-value tasks such as manually processing documents, chasing approvals, and fixing avoidable errors, you might feel like you're making progress yet still fail to meet your business goals. Why? These chaotic processes often create the illusion of hard work without producing desirable results.

That's why, if you want operational reliability, you need an automated system that supports your team's unique workflows even when pressure mounts.

The Pressure Test

Six out of ten AP teams process invoices manually because it seems manageable. However, manual workflows that rely on memory to track document versions or endless email chains to coordinate approvals could bring your operations to a standstill if obstacles arise.

For instance, if your accounts payable (AP) team members receive numerous invoices and can't retrieve them because they rely on manual, paper-based processes, you might fail to pay vendors on time. When you can't pay your vendors promptly, you might erode your relationships with them and incur late fees. 

With a resilient system, you can prevent these and other hurdles that could significantly impact your operations.

Shifting From Reactive to Reliable

When you rely on manual workflows, you're constantly in flux. Your team spends substantial time and effort addressing problems such as searching for missing files, coordinating approvals, or fixing errors. 

This leaves little time for tasks that drive business goals, such as developing new products or refining existing processes. Given that one in four AP teams faces staffing shortages, manual processes can significantly impact productivity. 

Fortunately, you can improve team performance and go from reactive to proactive by implementing these measures:

• Centralize documents: Use a document management system to consolidate documents, so teams can retrieve information quickly, even when workloads spike.
• Automate routing: Ditch manual routing. Instead, implement workflow automation and rule-based routing to prevent documents from being misplaced or stuck in inboxes.
• Standardize processes: Standardize workflows to prevent human error. For example, implementing an AP automation solution can help your AP team standardize invoice approval workflows, expediting invoice processing.

Integrating these measures into your workflow can help your team withstand pressure, whether they're stretched thin or facing time constraints.

Tools That Make Reliability Possible

Relying on manual processes often leads to errors, delays, and duplicated tasks. Manual workflows also lack integration with essential business systems, such as CRMs, ERPs, and EHRs, resulting in disconnected operations.  

When systems aren't integrated, data silos may arise. Data silos are isolated collections of data that are accessible only to a particular team, department, or system within an organization. If your data becomes siloed, your teams may struggle to collaborate and make data-driven decisions. This may disrupt critical workflows, leading to breakdowns. 

Implementing an automated system that integrates with your existing business tools can eliminate repetitive, mundane tasks and ensure data moves smoothly across your operations management ecosystem.

Worldview's Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system can automate workflows and centralize documents, enabling teams to retrieve information quickly when needed. The platform also integrates well with multiple business tools, so you won't have to worry about teams working in silos.

For instance, using our ECM, your AP team can easily retrieve invoices from a centralized database instead of scrolling through long email chains. This can allow your team to route invoices to the correct approvers quickly, resulting in faster invoice processing.

Leading for Calm, Not Chaos

As a team leader or manager, you set the tone for your team. If you're frequently pulling all-nighters, rushing to meet deadlines, and resolving preventable issues, you're creating a culture where chaos feels like productivity. But it doesn't have to be this way.

Here's how you can create a calmer environment:

• Implement automation: Automate repetitive, tedious tasks to ease pressure and prevent avoidable mistakes.
• Reward outcomes over effort: Recognize team members for results, not the number of hours they put in. 
• Prioritize process consistency: Encourage team members to follow the same steps for all tasks and not take a haphazard approach. This can ensure everyone remains on the same page and reduces the chances of missing information, relieving pressure.
• Set clear expectations: Categorize tasks by urgency instead of treating every task as urgent. For example, you could categorize tasks as urgent, important, or not important to help team members prioritize them.
• Serve as a role model: Lastly, remember that your team mirrors your behavior under pressure. So, if you want your team to become more resilient and better able to handle pressure, you must lead by example.

Conclusion

Building a team that doesn't succumb under pressure might feel like striving for perfection. But it isn't. Instead, it's about creating systems that remain sturdy, even when workloads spike. By implementing automation and integrating your tools, you can reduce your team's reliance on chaotic, manual processes that reduce productivity.

Contact us today to learn how our solutions can help you build a team that stays calm under intense pressure.