Process at the North Pole
The very idea of Santa Claus seems magical. Conversely, process seems ordinary and mundane. You would think it unnecessary at a fantastical place, but Santa himself emphasized it, constantly reminding his team, “Is process important? Ask a nice child mistakenly placed on the naughty list.”
Plecheim, Santa’s Chief Process Officer and the leader at NaNe (Naughty–Nice) Central, showcased one critical North Pole process improvement example: Santa’s Christmas Eve North America Roof Run.
Plecheim explained, “Everything we do succeeds or fails depending on how effective the process is. For instance, Downer’s complained that—”
“Downer?” I asked.
“That’s Santa’s reindeer Donner. Always complaining. Easy to ignore. Everyone calls her ‘Downer.’”
“Her?”
“Male reindeer don’t have antlers in late December. The team flying the sleigh is all female. Anyhow, she complained that there was very little for the reindeer to do during the run, and I listened.
“I have found,” he continued, “that some of the best changes happen when you listen to those complaining. Oh, sometimes it’s just noise, but no one knows like those pulling the sleigh. In this case, Downer’s observations led to a task force and several key improvements.
“During an initial process evaluation, we discovered that Santa directed the sleigh, AND decided which house to visit next, AND determined the best way to enter each house, AND identified any obstacles and children at each house, AND picked up the correct toys for those children.”
“Wow. That’s a lot,” I remarked.
“Yes, it was. We now have an advance team flying with Santa. They dry-run the route in November. On Christmas Eve, they stay one stop ahead. Meanwhile, Santa’s reindeer are on headset and know which house to fly to next and where to land. Santa doesn’t have to drive anything. Instead, he reads a sleigh display telling him who’s in the next house, which entry method to use, and what issues he might encounter, a barking dog, for instance. It saves so much time that he can get a sip of hot cocoa between homes.”
“There’s something I wondered about. How does Santa get into each house? Chimneys? And what happens when there is no chimney?”
“I am sorry,” he said with a hint of a smile. “That’s a trade secret. If people knew, there would be many Santa disruptions and the chance of not visiting all the homes on the list.”
“Okay. I understand,” I replied and switched subjects, “So, Santa and his bag get into the house somehow. Does Santa just know who gets what toys?”
“Usually, he does, but to make it easier on him, the bag now organizes itself. All Santa does is reach in, and the toys he needs fly into his hands. Oh, and one last thing. We mentioned the advance team. There is also a follow-up team ready to intervene if there is any trouble or an emergency.”
“Those sound like sensible precautions.”
“Never too much when the big guy is involved. The result of all this is smoother, quicker roof runs. We’ve even finished early the last few years.”
“And all that happened because Donner complained?”
“Yes, and because leadership listened. We still call her ‘Downer,’ but it’s definitely an indicator of respect and affection now.”
Process Improvement Steps
Plecheim then explained the process improvement steps he and the team followed to achieve these results.
- He listened to Downer’s complaint and determined it was likely legitimate.
- He formed a task force to study the problem. The group did a timing study and discovered that a few seconds were wasted at every stop. It wasn’t much, but when you consider the millions of homes Santa visits on the run, it added up to hours of wasted time.
- The task force talked to Santa. He said he wished he didn’t have to carry so much in his head and asked two questions: “What happens if I can’t make the run?” and “How would someone else know what to do?”
- Plecheim expanded the task force, and it got to work.
- The task force reviewed its results with Santa, did a test run with his backup team, then one with him, and codified the results.
- The team shared the results with everyone and, importantly, celebrated Donner and the task force to thank them for the vital work they did.
Plecheim was a very impressive and articulate spoke-elf for the value of process improvement. Most people, if they even think about Santa’s Christmas Eve roof run, imagine the simple scenario described in 1823 Clement Moore’s poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” But, as Plecheim explained, the actual process is so much more detailed and refined. Indeed, if that annual run is to succeed in delivering all its gifts in one night, it would have to be.
A key learning I took away from the roof run example is the need to involve employees in process improvement, especially those who are perceived as meritless complainers. Process improvement is often the most critical element in an organization’s success, and the internal complainers, although not always right, can identify issues that happier, more complacent employees miss or dismiss.
When thinking about your organization’s processes and improvement efforts, consider the following:
- Do your processes make it easy for your employees to deliver customer service? Do your customers complain about your processes? What can you do to make your processes more employee- and customer-friendly?
- When a new situation occurs, do you document the process you used to solve the problem? Do you improve that process, so you are ready for any reoccurrence?
- Does your organization have a structured effort to find and fix broken processes? Are your employees involved in fixing those broken processes? Do you reward employees who offer process improvement suggestions? If not, why not?
You may not have a fantastical, magical organization, but an effective process can create magic for your customers and employees.
