How to Spot a Broken Process in Under 5 Minutes
Let’s be real for a moment: every council team has that process.
You know the one. It starts as an email, gets tracked in a spreadsheet, involves a few hallway conversations, and somehow still manages to get missed. Deadlines fly by, fingers point, and the process limps forward until someone quietly mutters, “There has to be a better way.”
Good news: there is. But before you can fix a broken process, you need to spot one. And the best part? You don’t need to run a workshop, gather metrics, or even open a spreadsheet (phew).
All it takes is five minutes, a few honest questions, and maybe? a strong cup of coffee.
1. Does anyone actually own the process?
If the answer is “kind of,” “depends who’s in the office,” or “I think it’s Karen’s? – that’s your first red flag.
Processes without clear ownership are like council bins without labels: everyone assumes someone else is handling it. That’s how things slip through the cracks.
Clear ownership means accountability. If you don’t know who owns it, chances are… no one really does.
Broken process signal 🚨
No one knows who’s meant to start, finish, or approve the work.
2. Are you still relying on spreadsheets and email chains to run it?
If a process is being tracked across a spreadsheet, your inbox, and a post-it note on your monitor – it’s not a process. It’s a scavenger hunt.
Email-based workflows and manual trackers might feel manageable, but they’re prone to errors, delays, and missed steps. And don’t get us started on version control. Was it “FINAL_final_updated_v3.xlsx” or “Copy of final_v2”?
Broken process signal 🚨
If one person’s away, no one else knows where the process is at.
3. Can a new staff member follow it without asking five people?
Tribal knowledge might work for Friday lunch spots, but not for workflows. If the only way to understand a process is to shadow Sandra for three weeks, it’s time to rethink it.
Well-mapped, clearly documented processes should be self-explanatory. Think step-by-step, with clear actions, ownership, and guidance – even for someone who just walked in the door.
Broken process signal 🚨
New staff are constantly asking “How do we usually do this?”
4. Does everything grind to a halt when someone’s on leave?
If a single person going on leave means everything stalls, your process is built on shaky ground.
You shouldn’t need a backup spreadsheet, six Teams messages, and three calendar reminders to reassign a task. Leave-resilient processes are flexible and can be picked up by others with minimal fuss.
Broken process signal 🚨
Staff spend more time covering gaps than doing their own work.
5. Could you audit this process tomorrow?
We’re not trying to give you heart palpitations. But if an audit came through next week, would you be ready?
A healthy process should leave a clean, trackable trail. You should know who did what, when, and why – without having to dig through old emails or cobble together a timeline.
Broken process signal 🚨
Audit prep turns into a week-long panic attack.
So… what’s actually causing all these breakdowns?
Nine times out of ten, it’s not your people. It’s the lack of structure. Manual handoffs, inconsistent workflows, no system of record – these are the usual suspects.
Other common culprits:
- One-size-fits-none software
- Complicated tech stacks no one wants to touch
- Processes built on “how we’ve always done it”
The fix? Bring structure, visibility, and simplicity back into the way your team works.
Fixing it doesn’t have to be hard
This isn’t about launching a massive digital transformation project. It’s about taking one clunky, frustrating process – and making it better. Then doing it again.
With Flowingly, councils are:
- Mapping broken processes in minutes (without needing to book a BA)
- Automating tasks and approvals to reduce email ping-pong
- Creating audit trails and clear ownership paths
- Empowering non-technical teams to fix their own workflows
We’ve seen teams cut process times by 75%, go paperless, and reduce audit stress – all by fixing processes one at a time.
And the best part? No developers, no code, no “we’ll get to that next year.”
Real talk – your process might be broken (and that’s OK)
Spotting a broken process isn’t an admission of failure. It’s step one toward building something better. Something your team actually wants to use. Something that works.
So go ahead – take five minutes today and run the test.
Ask your team:
- Who owns this process?
- Where does it live?
- Could someone new run it tomorrow?
- What happens if you’re away?
- Could we audit it next week?
If you’re getting nervous laughter or vague shrugs, congrats—you’ve found your first fix.