I often hear people say that they have systems, but they can’t get people to follow them so today I’m going to give you 7 reasons why systems aren’t followed. I hope this will help you get clear about why it’s important to have systems.

Everyone knows that business needs systems. What do you do when you have systems that aren’t being followed, or when they’re being blatantly ignored? You go and find out why. You ask. It may be one of these reasons:

1. The staff just doesn’t see the point. Sometimes the system is put in for the sake of the system, and not much else. Or the reason is the outcome has never been properly explained. I once saw a system for the way the toilet paper was placed on the roller. It was important to the owner, but the staff thought it was a bit too…detailed.

2. It’s too complicated. When a system gets complicated and convoluted, it generally means that it’s actually a whole bunch of systems masquerading as one. Try breaking it down into a flow chart and then looking at each box on the chart as a system in itself. Or look at the outside systems that may be feeding into it. Simplify it wherever you can. Sometimes you can use checklists as part of a complex system to help people confirm that they’ve done it all.

3. It’s too vague. They don’t understand the result or the outcome and its relevance or its importance. Every system needs a stated objective or reason that it exists. If there is no clear outcome, can you blame anyone for not taking it seriously?

4. They can’t be bothered. If you have people with this attitude, you need to look carefully at why you hired them in the first place and why they’re still there. Why would anyone hire and pay people who can’t be bothered? Maybe it’s time for them to move on somewhere they can be bothered, or to an employer who doesn’t mind paying people with that attitude.

5. There was no training for it. Before you implement a new system, think about the best way to introduce and get buy-in from the people who are going to be driving it.

6. It’s never tracked or measured. If no one cares about the end result, why bother to do it. Track or measure the result and discuss them with those who are driving, or operating, the systems.

7. No understanding of the ramifications of what happens when the systems aren’t followed. If the system is important to the business, check in that the people are aware of the impact when something is not done correctly, when it’s missed, or it’s late. There’s going to be an impact on their workmates, the clients, the business, or all three. Talk it through with them.

Whatever the reason, the answer is going to come down to you as a leader and a manager. You need to ensure that they understand the big picture and their part in it. The outcome and how it affects the customer, the company and especially them and their workmates. If someone doesn’t follow a system, you can bet it’s going to affect someone else on the team who has to either allow for it, fix it, or deal with the unhappy customer. You also have to balance the outcomes for you.

If they won’t follow the systems you’ve decided your business needs to be the success you want it to be, then you’re going to have to keep jumping in to fix stuff and that’s going to slow you down and stress you out. If they won’t follow systems…as I said, it may be that they don’t make sense…again, as their manager, you need to get in there, ask questions, and understand what’s working, what isn’t, and why. It’s also going to depend on the way you introduce systems because simply imposing systems on people rarely works. You can take a collaborative approach. Say to someone, “I’ve been looking at this and noticing that maybe it could work better. You spend a lot of time in this area. Can we look at this and see how we can make it better? Can we work on it together?” When they have ownership of it, they’re going to be far more willing to adopt it.

Join me next week when I kick off the series, How to Fill Your Business ‘Bus’ with the Right People.

Until then….

P.S. Learn more about working ON your business–talk to the coach! Click here to connect with me!