When looking at processes and how they need to change it is a common mistake to select one member of staff to investigate and recommend a solution. With medium sized companies the task may be given to the relevant department to resolve, also a mistake. Key Elements advise that whenever possible a cross functional team should be formed to look at the issues.

The advantages of using teams at ground level are significant. It means that staff are involved in the process design, they will need to keep colleagues informed, as well as voicing their colleagues' concerns and opinions. Being cross functional allows potential problems to be avoided, for example, using a sales issue - Sales change their paperwork to improve efficiency but further down the line accounts are no longer getting a vital piece of data. If the changes were decided by a cross functional team then the member of accounts involved would have pointed out the potential problem before any changes were considered, let alone made.

Key Elements can help you select a suitable team for process re-engineering as well as facilitate the meetings they hold. This allows them to operate effectively as they will be more open with an independent facilitator compared to a senior manager from your company.

It is important to understand that if you wish to benefit from the staff involvement then you will need to consider staff empowerment.