Procesgaming: focus op samenwerking

Despite the increased attention, process-oriented working in many organisations remains a theoretical and sometimes even a stagnant subject. It is talked about, manuals are written, but that is often where it ends. People say ‘yes’, but they do not act accordingly. Why are only twenty per cent of the potential benefits so often realised?

Does this sound familiar? During a meeting, or perhaps throughout an entire project? Weick recognised this as well: “Jan says ‘yes’, but it turns out to be ‘no’.” In hindsight, he concluded that behaviour and beliefs are often decoupled: what people actually do and the opinions they express are not consistent with one another. This explains why there is often a significant gap between what people say they will do and what they actually do.

Simulation games connect behaviour and beliefs. It becomes immediately visible, happening right before your eyes and there for all to see. That is why simulation is a powerful mirror for making the weak link between intentions, objectives and actual behaviour open to discussion.

Process management is more…

A second reason lies in remaining stuck on the ‘business administration’ side of the discipline. The concept of Horizontal Organising states that process-oriented working must be approached from both a blue and a red perspective: a business-oriented and an organisational-psychological orientation.

From a business administration perspective, organisations are primarily seen as systems, with structures and subsystems. Everything can be explained through models and analysed and designed as a kind of blueprint. The emphasis is mainly on the rationality of organising.

From an organisational psychology perspective, the organisation is much more a collaboration of people aiming to achieve a particular goal, in which emotions and passions play a role and human dynamics are a given. The emphasis here is on the emotional side of organising.

Through optimal design and collaboration, products and services can be delivered quickly and effectively to the customer at low cost. This means focusing not only on the blue side (processes and control), but also on the red side (communication, collaboration, mindsets and ways of thinking). A means of developing as an organisation, particularly on the ‘red side’, is process gaming: the dynamics of collaboration are made tangible and perceptible.

Functions of the process game

A process game is a distinctive form of simulation gaming. It involves simulating a work process and running it as a game with a group. The work process can be replicated in all its aspects, including the activities, the output, the roles, the forms, the timing and the location, as well as the external and internal customer. Participating in a simulated work process serves several functions.

Firstly, it is used to raise awareness. It creates an understanding of both future opportunities and current shortcomings. For example, as a starting point for a reorganisation, a process game can make the concept of process-oriented work more tangible or highlight the pain points in the current situation. Necessity drives change. When a group collectively realises that producing a single product reveals a hundred issues, it prompts action.

Secondly, there is the experiential aspect, which is a powerful and effective way of learning and development, and of making process-oriented work concrete. The impact of an experience alongside a theoretical perspective is significant. Individuals become so involved that it leaves a memorable, personal and lasting impression. In this way, the underlying principles become internalised and are no longer experienced as externally imposed rules, but as self-chosen guidelines. This forms an excellent basis for further learning, in line with Kolb’s theory. In a game setting, raised voices or moments of visible tension are evidence of this deep engagement.

The final function is collective learning. The strength of collective learning lies in the shared sense-making within the group. A shared metaphor emerges, which is also highly valuable later on for embedding the outcomes. This happens through exchanging and building on each other’s perspectives and interpretations of the work process, their own actions, those of others, and the group as a whole. Expressions that arise during the game, such as ‘not right now’, ‘is this lean?’, ‘the woodcutter must sharpen his axe’, and ‘think first, then act’, become collective terms that continue to be used long after the game itself.

Elements of the process game

Experience shows that a good process game contains a number of essential ingredients. First, it includes a work process with clearly defined steps. It also simulates time and, in a highly compressed form, creates a sense of work pressure. In addition, process misfits are important, such as differences in pace, suboptimal thinking, and inventory imbalances, as these also occur in real life.

A good process game incorporates a translation of the process-related issues faced by the organisation or its client. Recognising bottlenecks and being confronted with familiar problems in a safe simulation environment provides strong opportunities to learn how to improve one’s own work process. Experiencing the effects of a process misfit from, for example, a customer perspective or that of a ‘complaining colleague’ can be particularly insightful.

Alongside the ‘work’ during production time, collaboration during the ‘quiet time’ is crucial. How do you evaluate together and how do you improve the process? The joint analysis of bottlenecks, the prioritisation of improvements to be implemented, and the preparation and implementation of ‘organisation Round 2’ are the key elements of the improvement process. A process game setting allows the group to practise these as well. By working together in a safe environment on analysis, reflection, intervention, and ultimately process innovation, the organisation’s capacity for improvement is both activated and strengthened.

A powerful mirror

Process gaming is an excellent way to engage both the minds and the emotions of individuals and groups with the process. Internalising process-oriented thinking is the crucial step in bringing the concept to life and in actually reaping its benefits. Process gaming acts as a powerful mirror when behaviour and beliefs clash. It creates a focus on collaboration across the chain, the human side of the organisation. It raises awareness, the experience leaves a lasting impression, and the shared learning experience carries over into the workplace. Develop through experience!