How ParcelPoint Cultivated a Winning Culture by Streamlining Operations

Last Updated on September 20, 2020 by Owen McGab Enaohwo

Introduction

With no previous experience of using workflow management systems, ParcelPoint Operations Manager Charlotte Wallwork took the bold step to streamline her team’s business processes. The back and forth while executing simple tasks was evidence that her team members could do with some help. And with the company growing rapidly, they needed a solid system to match their growth; otherwise, it would not be sustainable. She took the proactive measure to structure their operations ahead of time by adopting SweetProcess. Charlotte shares how she was able to improve their performance seamlessly using SweetProcess. First, let us get an idea of the business for a better understanding of their journey.

About ParcelPoint

ParcelPoint, a logistics and supply chain company, has given delivery services a whole new meaning by creating corner store connections among people, bringing communities closer in helping one another. It creates a sense of belonging in communities by closing the disconnect that may exist by moving parcels from one point to another.

The company has a network of over 1,400 locations in Australia for the delivery and return of parcels to locations that include convenience stores, service stations, and pharmacies that are open until late at night, where people can walk in to either drop off or pick up a parcel. By doing this, they get to interact with locals in the community and build interpersonal relationships.

Founded in 2011, ParcelPoint is based in Australia.

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The Breaking Point  

When everyone is just doing whatever they can at work, without a guide in a specific direction, things become upside down. One person does one thing and another person does something else, producing different results.

“It just gets disorganized and chaotic,” Charlotte laments.

The operations department she heads is a moving train. Things happen very quickly. New products are introduced, and processes need to be implemented rapidly. Team members were constantly playing catch up to keep up with the updates. Charlotte was saddled with the responsibility of mitigating the impacts in the business. Part of her efforts was spending half of her day explaining things and answering the same questions for the umpteenth time.

So much time was invested.

“You pay for it with time. The extra amount of time for training and all that kind of stuff as opposed to actually paying for a product.”

Signing Up for SweetProcess: Good Value for Good Pricing

The necessity to tie up loose ends in their departmental operations propelled Charlotte to search for a helpful system on the internet, and then she found SweetProcess. She signed up for a free trial, and it proved to be very useful.

“I just did a free trial and then it turned out to be really easy. It’s a good price as well.”

Did she have any skepticism?

“To be honest, not really. It was very simple to use. It was fun,” Charlotte says.

But that was not enough to sign up for it yet. Working in a corporate organization, she needed to convince the finance team why they should pay for it.

With the results from the free trial, she did not have to do much convincing. They could see the benefits of the system in the short period it was used.

“Because we did the free trial, I was able to already set up quite a lot of stuff, and they could see how it was actually going to work. It wasn’t just in theory, they could actually see how we were already using it. I think that helped with getting the buy-in for the signup.”

Affordable pricing also helped.

“Again, because the price is pretty reasonable, there were no issues.”

The Easy Ways SweetProcess Made Their Organization Function Better

Despite not having previous experience of creating systems, Charlotte understood the importance of systems in business. They help to organize the workflow and promote efficiency. Focused on the bigger picture, she wanted to put in the work to prepare her team members for growth.

“For me, it was just looking into the future, bigger picture stuff like, let’s spend the time now to get this all set up properly for when we do have a team of thirty, fifty, however big it gets, then we’ve got standard processes in place to hold that up basically.”

SweetProcess is helping the organization foster growth in the following ways:

1. Fast-track employee onboarding and training

Efficiency among workers begins with laying a good foundation in the beginning, during employee onboarding. There are always several items to cover, and that takes a long time to complete. In the absence of adequate training tools and materials, it is difficult for the trainees to truly understand what they are being taught.

“Onboarding used to take three to four weeks…and now with the help of SweetProcess, it probably takes five to ten days.”

The reduced onboarding period helps the company save time and resources.

Charlotte is also able to train her team members without doing it painstakingly.

“It’s part of our induction plan now as well. Part of the induction plan is to spend time reading through the processes.”

With most of her team members in another country, she is able to onboard and train them remotely using SweetProcess.

“I’m based in Sydney and the majority of my support team are in the Philippines, and through the use of SweetProcess, we are able to onboard and train a whole remote team. Without the help of SweetProcess, we wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

2. Document and update business processes

Documenting processes helps team members to know exactly how to execute their duties. Doing this effectively involves using the right system with a variety of tools for different functions.

The team is making use of the various features in SweetProcess to meet their business needs.

“Currently, I’ve divided it up into different categories and within those categories, I’ve got different sections. I think there’s still a lot more I can do with it. I need to work out how to use the tagging and I think I need to play around the team setting a bit more.”

Documenting processes is not the end of it all. There is the need to constantly update them in line with changes in your business, otherwise, they become obsolete.

SweetProcess helps Charlotte and her team to manage the rapid developments in their department.

“It’s a startup, we get products aboard quickly and new things get implemented all the time, things don’t take months to happen. It’s all very quick. This has really helped with that as well.”

3. Create a knowledge base for reference

Employee efficiency is a product of knowledge capacity. People can only perform as well as they know. An employee who is privy to a lot of work information is more efficient than one who has limited information.

When workers do not have the information they need to operate, they feel inadequate, and turn to others for help.

“I used to spend most of my day answering questions, and now while everything is documented, I can refer everyone instead. I have changed the pattern of behavior that everyone will now check SweetProcess before they need to ask questions. So, it just saves a bit of time for everyone.”

Under normal circumstances, no one would want to ask questions when they have access to the information they need. There is a sense of pride that comes with working independently, and most employees want that.

Having a knowledge base that employees can go to for whatever they need is a win for everyone. The employee is more confident in their abilities to work independently and the leader has more time on their hands.

“When we first took on the Philippines team about a year ago, I was spending probably 70% of my time managing the team because they had lots of questions, they needed more training. The knowledge wasn’t really there. And now they all go on SweetProcess every single day. Now, my time has probably cut down from 70% to maybe 40% team management and that gives me the extra 30% of my time so I can focus on project work.”

The Goal: Implement SweetProcess Across the Entire Business

Having recorded great results from using SweetProcess in her department, Charlotte cannot wait to get the entire business on board.

“At the moment, we are all working solo using different systems. No one else is using a program like SweetProcess.”

She has succeeded in introducing the sales team to SweetProcess and hopes to enroll other teams to ensure equal distribution of knowledge across the company as it grows.

“As the company is growing very quickly, we’ve had quite a lot of new staff joined. There’s a big risk that knowledge is going to get lost. I just want to make sure we capture all of that information.”

Are you interested in systematizing your business?

Charlotte was able to bring her team up to speed by empowering them with the right system. Besides making employees efficient in their duties, there is a structure in place to sustain growth in the organization.

There is so much you and your team can achieve when your business is systematized. Unlock your potential by signing up for a 14-day free trial on SweetProcess. 

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