Consulting · Process analysis
The process is the problem, not the people.
When things constantly stall, it is rarely down to lack of effort. We record how work actually moves through your business and name the points where it gets stuck.
Why bottlenecks stay invisible in daily work
In small businesses the process is rarely written down. It grew, it lives in people's heads, and it works as long as the right people are there. Which is exactly why it only surfaces when someone is off sick, the business grows, or a new hire has to be trained.
Three patterns are typical. Work waits for one person who alone can approve something. The same information is entered twice because two systems do not talk. And a case falls between two owners because each assumed the other had it.
None of these dissolve through more effort. They dissolve through clear ownership, a defined handover point, or removing a duplicate entry. Those are organisational decisions, not technical ones.
That is why this engagement deliberately stays technology-free. Only once the target process is clear is it worth asking which tool helps. Reverse the order and you buy software for a process that should not exist in that form.
The result is a description of the target process that is actually usable in the business, with the handover points and ownership that remove today's bottleneck.
What happens during the consulting days
- Record the actual process
- We follow two or three central processes end to end, for example from enquiry to invoice. We record what happens, not what should happen, including detours and workarounds.
- Name bottlenecks and causes
- Every wait, every duplicate entry and every unclear ownership is captured, always with the cause behind it. Without the cause, any measure is guesswork.
- Design the target process
- We describe how the process would run without the bottlenecks: with ownership, handover points and the information that has to be present at each step.
- Implementation guidance
- For each change: who implements it, what has to be decided, and in which order the steps go without stopping day-to-day work.
How the engagement runs
- Initial call, free of charge, about 30 minutes We narrow down which processes to look at. Everything at once produces a report nobody implements.
- Day 1: on-site survey Conversations with the people doing the work, and observation at the critical points. Usually the day that produces most of the insight.
- Analysis between the on-site days We map the current process, mark bottlenecks and design the target process. This time is not billed as a consulting day.
- Day 2: agreeing the target process Walking through it with those involved. A process the affected people do not support will not be lived, which is why this step is part of it.
- Report and handover You receive current and target process, the named bottlenecks with causes, and the measures with implementation guidance.
What you hold at the end
- Current and target process in writing
- Both in a form you can put on the wall or fold into onboarding for new staff.
- Bottleneck list with causes
- Each bottleneck with its cause and effect, so the prioritisation is traceable.
- Ownership overview
- Who decides what, who hands over to whom, and where cover is missing. Often the part that takes effect fastest.
- Measures with implementation guidance
- Concrete steps in an order that does not bring operations to a halt.
What is not part of this engagement
- No rollout and no training
- Introducing the new process, training and technical changes are separate services with their own quote.
- No software configuration
- If the target process needs a change in a system, the report says so. Making it happens separately.
- No employment law advice
- Where changes to ownership touch employment contracts, we name it and refer you to your legal adviser.
- No assessment of individuals
- We assess processes, not people. The report contains no statements about individual performance.
Effort and price
Usually two consulting days
Two to three processes can be surveyed and agreed in two days. Multiple sites or heavily branched processes add a third day. 1,250 euro per consulting day of eight hours, plus VAT, travel and, where required, accommodation.
1,250 euro per consulting day of 8 hours, plus VAT, travel and, where required, accommodation.
What that means in figures
| Consulting days | Fee, net |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1,250 euro |
| 2 | 2,500 euro |
| 3 | 3,750 euro |
| 4 | 5,000 euro |
| 5 | 6,250 euro |
1,250 euro per consulting day of 8 hours, plus VAT, travel and, where required, accommodation.
Process analysis: Frequently asked
What does a process analysis cost?
1,250 euro per consulting day of eight hours, plus VAT, travel and accommodation where required. Two days is typical, so 2,500 euro net. The analysis time between on-site days is included.
Does the survey disrupt operations?
Hardly. We work with conversations of one to two hours per person and observe at the critical points. No production stops or staff release needed.
Our people worry about being judged. How do you handle that?
We state at the outset that processes are examined and not people, and the report contains no assessment of individuals. That is not a courtesy: a team that is worried will not show you the workarounds, and that is exactly where the insight sits.
Do we need software for this?
No. Many of the most effective changes are organisational: clear ownership, a defined handover point, removing a duplicate entry. Whether technology helps comes at the end, not the start.
What if the target process does not work in practice?
Then it was designed wrongly. That is why it is agreed with those involved rather than imposed from a desk. A readjustment after a few weeks usually takes half a day.
Can you look at just one process?
Yes. A clearly bounded process, say from quote to invoice, is often surveyed and agreed in a single day. A good entry point if you want to see what comes out of it first.
Talk it through first
A 30-minute call clarifies whether an engagement is the right instrument. If it is not, we say so there.
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