Why the People Defining Success Need to Hear From the People Doing the Work

When an organization decides to improve a process or implement new software, there's usually a clear objective. Maybe it's greater efficiency, better visibility, or creating a consistent way of working across departments.

But I've learned one thing from working in different roles throughout the project lifecycle: Before defining what success looks like, we need to understand how the work actually gets done-not just from the people leading it, but from the people doing it every day.

Both perspectives are important, but they don't always reveal the same information.

When a successful solution becomes a challenge

I once worked with a department to develop a system to manage a key part of its operations.

This engagement was particularly successful because of my relationship with the department lead. She valued my input, trusted her team, and encouraged me to speak directly with the people doing the work.

She jokingly told me something along the lines of, "My team does an amazing job. I don't need to know how they do it. Just make their lives easier."

And that was exactly what we set out to do.

Through those conversations, I discovered that some employees had developed their own workarounds. One was an exceptional professional who wasn't particularly comfortable with technology.

We needed to understand these things before designing the solution. Not just how the process worked, but how the people responsible for it worked.

The result was a solution that worked well for the team and, most importantly, achieved its original objective.

Later, leadership saw an opportunity to expand the solution across the organization. The goal made sense: create a more consistent approach that multiple departments could use.

However, the team developed the expanded solution without speaking directly with the people doing the work in those additional departments.

The result was a more complicated system that didn't account for some of the operational needs it was intended to support.

One department ultimately continued using its original solution while entering the same information into the new company-wide system.

Instead of eliminating work, the expansion created more.

What was missing?

Standardizing a process across departments wasn't necessarily the problem.

The missing piece was hearing directly from the people doing the work.

You can understand a department's objectives, review its documented processes, and speak with its leadership without fully understanding what happens during a typical workday.

That's because the people doing the work often have information that isn't captured anywhere else.

They know which steps require extra effort, where exceptions occur, and what adjustments they've made to get the job done.

And unless we speak with them directly, we may never discover those details.

When those perspectives are missing from the conversation, the solution may miss important needs.

Create an environment where people can be honest

Another important part of understanding current operations is how we approach the conversation.

When employees are asked to explain their processes, they may naturally describe how things are supposed to work rather than how they actually work.

Especially if they believe they're being evaluated.

That's why I believe these conversations should begin with a clear purpose: We're here to understand the work, identify opportunities, and learn what needs to improve.

Ask people to walk through real examples. Invite them to explain exceptions and workarounds. And when something differs from the documented process, resist the urge to correct it immediately.

Instead, understand why.

A workaround may reveal a process gap, an unmet business need, or even a better way of doing something.

Of course, not every workaround needs to be incorporated into the new solution. Some may be eliminated through automation, others may reveal opportunities to improve the process, and some may not need to be accommodated at all. The goal is to understand why they exist so we can make better design decisions that support the business and the people doing the work.

A better starting point

Whether you're implementing software, improving a workflow, or standardizing operations across departments, include the people who do the work before finalizing the future state.

Leadership brings the strategic direction. The people doing the work bring an understanding of the operational realities that direction must account for.

Both perspectives matter.

And bringing them together early can help organizations avoid unnecessary complexity, duplicated effort, and solutions that look successful on paper but struggle in practice.

Because you can't improve a process you don't fully understand.

Taitt Solutions helps organizations better understand their operational challenges and design practical, sustainable improvements.