Technical training process consultant

Introduction

The technical training programme to become a process consultant consists of a number of training units:

1. process structuring,
2. inventory and visualisation of the current situation,
3. analysis and reflection, and
4. design and improvement of processes.

In a first step, participants take stock of company-specific processes. They are then assisted in employing proper methods to identify improvement potential in current processes and to develop measures suitable to their improvement. After completing the programme, they will be capable of developing new or improved target processes on their own, based on visualising and reflecting on actual processes and calculating improvement potential.

Participants receive a documentation of proven and tested, immediately applicable methods and procedures as well as other materials suited for practical application, methodical descriptions, digitised materials suitable for copying as hand-outs for participants, checklists and exercises.

Advantages and benefits of our qualification programme to become a process consultant

Qualifying employees to become process consultants in the context of projects aimed at process improvement has a number of advantages:

• The qualification programme is modular and coordinated with a possibly ongoing process improvement project, thus allowing to immediately apply knowledge gained.
• Specific know-how is incorporated into the organisation in the long-term. Accordingly, it will be readily available to the company on a day-to-day basis and can be immediately utilised for prevention purposes as well as in critical situations.
• Step by step, independence from external consultants and trainers is established.
• Process consultants do not just receive regular training. Rather, know-how and field-tested tools are imparted, enabling ongoing process consultants to conduct workshops on their own.
• Process consultants will be able to immediately apply knowledge acquired ("plug and play").
• Cascading the external knowledge into the organisation by internal process consultants is a very efficent way to reach larger groups of participants (the longer the process consultant is available and the more he/she is utilised the more economical is his/her qualification)
• A transfer of know-how will take place in accordance with the idea of “helping to help oneself”
• Process consultants are encouraged to mutually coach one another and, at least initially, workshops are to be conducted only in teams of two. Due to this arrangement, process consultants quickly gain certitude and, after a short period of time, are able to achieve really remarkable success.
• Experience shows that since the process consultants are at the same colleagues from their own ranks, persons and contents meet a higher degree of acceptance as compared to consultation originating from the outside.
• Moreover, according to our experience, process consultants will show great motivation since consulting represents a challenging new task, which goes along with sophisticated qualification and fun, paired with an opportunity to grow as a person.
• The approach supports the company’s development toward a learning organisation.

Description of services

Our qualification programme does not depend on use of any specific software. Our standard version is visualised in Visio. The application of Aris, for instance, is possible as well.

1. Process training – “Visualising the Current Situation” - 2 + 1 days

In various individual and group exercises, participants learn to precisely determine and describe current processes (at the level of tasks and data units). To verify the successful acquisition of necessary skills, participants are required to successfully complete an assignment for certification.

During the follow up trainings participants receive feedback on their first attempts at identifying and documenting current processes. This is complemented by advanced exercises.

On this basis, facilitation skills are imparted and immediately applied in the context of developing initial measures for improving processes.

Contents of the 1. module of the process consultant qualification programme: 2 days of current process visualisation / basic training

• Significance of transparent processes and consequences of failing to establish transparency
• Rationale of process management
• Method of process visualisation, understanding the required quality standards and exemplary application in simple cases
• Application in complex cases and particularities in cases of processes branching out and displaying loops
• Identifying the length of processing times
• Monitoring learning progress by way of group exercises including plenary presentations
• Assessment by the trainer
• Individual exercise and certification or arrangements for additional training

Contents of the 2. module of the process consultant qualification programme: 1 day current process visualisation / advanced training based on one’s own practical examples

• Presentation of current process outcomes
• Feedback as practical means of learning
• Consolidation of acquired knowledge in the course of the module “Visualisation”
• Demonstration of specific problems of presentation by participants drawing on their practical examples
• Presentation of processes to various target groups
• Facilitation of immediate measures (quick wins) and ensuring their implementation
• Monitoring the implementation of agreed-upon immediate measures
• Group exercises aimed at developing improvements and immediate measures addressing actual processes

Training during the 1. phase is of utmost significance for process improvement since all subsequent phases build on sound visualisation of current processes.

2. Process training “Analysis and Reflection” - 2 days

In the course of the first training module, participants will learn to utilise appropriate methods to identify potential for improvement in current processes as well as suitable measures for deriving alternative process designs.

• Feedback on what has been learned so far
• Reflection on visualising current processes according to basic principles of organisation
• Significance of process hierarchy in reflection
• Levels of process management in reflection
• Process design according to basic principles of organisation
• Assessment of potential for reflection based on various success factors
• Review of the logical provability of the identified potential for savings
• Manual process costing
• Monitoring learning and certification based on individual exercises

3. Process training “Design and Improvement” - 2 days

Participants learn to model, present and argue for target processes based on results of reflection. For participants to present and assess the utility of process improvements, we provide a tool for process assessment free of charge. This tool allows calculating processing times and processing costs and can thus be used to calculate and simulate improvement potential.

• Participants demonstrate specific problems of implementation drawing on practical examples
• Paradoxical interventions and provocations
• Evolutionary versus revolutionary approach
• Defining demands on a new design (framework conditions)
• Structuring simple and complex target processes drawing on the cases referred to in step 1 and 2
• Assessment of target process potential according to rationale, time, space, person, tools and supplies, systems, structures, economics
• Assessment of target processes drawing on “key performance indicator” assumptions (rationale, time, space, costs)
• Spelling out deduced demands on the IT system
• Monitoring learning by group and individual exercises
• Establishing and applying assessment tools
• Improvement and simulation examples

Please request further information here