Recently, I was in Miami on vacation and decided to stroll over to Subway for a quick lunch.  Little did I know that frustration and misery were in my immediate future, not to mention hunger pains.

As I entered the yellow and green shop, I noticed four employees on duty prepared to make their famous foot-long subs. Like anyone familiar with Subway, I imagined the service would be quite speedy. After all, Subway is an assembly line style shop and with a well-equipped staff of four manning the appropriate stations (bread, meat, veggie and cash register), I was sure to be in and out in record time. Right?

Wrong.  Like teen girls at a Justin Bieber autograph session, a line immediately formed and within minutes was out the door. What I thought was going to be a speedy lunch purchase became an epic failure because only two of the four employees worked on making sandwiches. The other two decided they had more important tasks and went to the back of the store to do God knows what.

It became painfully clear that this particular Subway lacked a plan of attack. It made me wonder if this was a unique problem for this particular store or if the entire chain was lacking a smart process. For that matter, how many other businesses lack intelligent processes?

Whether you work at a fast food restaurant or an advertising agency, you need a solid process.  Here are a few tips to use when planning projects.

1. Define roles, expectations, and deadlines.It is important to share details of the entire project from the beginning. Team members must be made aware of everything as early as possible, thus allowing for personal work schedules.  While some people work best under pressure and wait until the last minute to complete tasks, others may want to begin working immediately.  Whatever the style, make sure everyone is on the same page and clearly understands individual tasks…and deadlines!
2. Know limitations.In order to insure quality work, it is vital to know each person’s limitations. It is also important to understand when one person’s role ends and another’s begins.  Limitations might be something as mundane as scheduling days off (nothing throws a wrench into a process more than an unexpected absence) or more complex like work preferences, familiarity with the type of project, or required skills.
3. Take a step back.Some sort of review, editing, and/or critique system needs to be established.  Often individuals become too close to the work and fail to correct small mistakes. It is important to play “Devil’s Advocate” from time-to-time to help the team think from the client’s perspective.
4. Observe others.Every company has their way of doing things, but it’s nice to take a look at other processes and build on the positives of each to make your system better. Take a look around and peer into other’s processes. Your colleagues might be able to teach you a few things to improve the way you handle tasks or an entire project.
5. Anticipate problems or issues.
   Before beginning projects, teams need to proactively prepare for any speed bumps that may occur.  What happens if a project is coming in over budget? How does a missed deliverable impact the overall project deadline?

In my time with TrendyMinds, I’ve been astonished at the capabilities of a smaller agency.  When everyone is on board and working with perfect processes, our firm can accomplish a lot more than others can imagine. What tips do you have for improving operations?