Process-improvement interview questions for your employees

Process-improvement interview questions help your organization gain a better understanding of the role employees play in optimizing elements of the business.

Process improvement should never be a top-down initiative that doesn’t involve the employees who actually participate in the processes. Instead, it should include their feedback and suggestions as they can provide details that others may not have considered.

Whether you’re checking in with your existing employees about process-improvement ideas or hiring new employees and want to learn their experiences with process improvement, these questions can help guide your conversation.

Process-improvement interview questions

Why?

This simple question is one of the best ways to understand potential root causes for issues your organization is facing. If something goes wrong, ask your employees why they think it happened. Based on their answers, ask why again. Continuing to ask why can lead to a foundational understanding of the issue.

What defines the success of our process improvement?

The results of a process-improvement initiative are key, and employees and business leaders should be on the same page.

Higher profitability or increased efficiency may be the results business leaders seek. However, talking with an employee involved in the actual process may reveal other suggestions, such as higher customer satisfaction scores or less employee burnout.

How can we increase the impact of our process?

When you’re making changes to business operations, it’s vital to ensure these changes have their intended effect. Ask employees about their ideas to increase impact with process-related changes. They may share ideas for communication or change management that can be valuable to growing the positive effects of the process-improvement initiative.

In an ideal world, how would you redesign this process?

Give employees the ability to think big without boundaries, as that’s where you’ll discover some of the most creative solutions. See what kind of suggestions they provide, and decide if you can turn them into feasible solutions for the specific process-related issues facing your organization.

Who should be on the process-improvement team?

While it’s important to include knowledgeable and experienced people on your process-improvement team, consider opening up the team to diverse thinkers or people from different business groups. Your employees may suggest people who they feel can best support your efforts.

How can we avoid low adoption of our process?

Sometimes, employees may not easily adopt a new process for a variety of reasons. Ask your employees how the organization can avoid this. Perhaps previous processes weren’t adopted because they were too difficult to implement or employees lacked the necessary details to fully execute them.

Do you feel comfortable sharing process-related issues with your manager?

This is a critical question to ask if you want to understand your organization’s cultural approach to problem-solving. If your employees don’t feel they can bring up process-related issues to their managers, you may be dealing with a problem that requires immediate intervention on a larger scale.

Tell me about a process you’ve helped improve

Success leads to success, and asking employees about their recent wins helps increase motivation. By giving them a platform for celebrating their victories, you encourage future successes, increase employee engagement, and build employee loyalty.

Have you suggested a change that wasn’t implemented in a process?

Organizations may uncover some hidden gems from this approach by learning about previous ideas employees suggested that weren’t ultimately implemented. Perhaps there wasn’t enough time dedicated to process improvement when employees made suggestions, or maybe the suggestions just fell through the cracks.

Tell me about a process-related mistake you’ve made at work

This question is an effective way of figuring out where processes may be too confusing or risky. If you notice employees making errors along the same places in the same process, a change is likely needed.

What’s your least favorite process to follow? Why?

Some processes may have cumbersome steps, while others may use resources ineffectively. Pay attention to the reasons why employees don’t like to follow certain processes to determine areas of improvement.

Involving employees in your process-improvement initiatives can help uncover valuable information and feedback from your team. Be sure to ask these process-improvement interview questions frequently and consult different teams for the best responses.