What is enterprise aerial mapping (EAM)?
It sounds like a technical, academic model, but it's far from it. It's a wall-to-wall, bottom-up look at your business, both good and bad, looking through a people-first-focused lens.
Think of it like you would a helicopter view, seeing how everything connects and works, and where there are interfaces between process, function and people. It takes into account the true value stream and individual processes. It then reviews how you manage your business, what tools you use, what your customer and supplier touchpoints are, what are your regulatory issues and requirements, what communication points exist, and what technologies are in use and how they work with the rest of the business. Once you've done this, you start to have a better picture of your current-state operating model and what results it's giving you. It can be very revealing.
Add to it the behaviours your employees are demonstrating and their perceptions and attitudes, as well as the results they are achieving and the cost of any unintended results like waste or lost time, then add safety, as well as what's happening beyond the gate in your community, and you'll have a very comprehensive understanding of your business.
Couldn't you just process map and get the same understanding?
No, far from it. Anyone can process map. It's not the same. Process mapping is a linear view of processes, mapped out through the lens of the process. Often, it's made even more linear doing the maps in software applications like Visio, which is fine once you've completed the exercise but not before.
While aerial mapping starts with the process, it can often end in a complex pile of spaghetti we call the real world. Imagine doing 10 traditional process maps, even worse if you do them by 10 different people or teams who don't speak to one another. You'd end up with 10 isolated maps that may not connect - you would lose the ‘between the cracks' view of the business, where things can really break down and where your advantages in cost, service or even innovation points can be lost.
What's the key factor in EAM versus process mapping?
Aerial mapping is so much more effective than process mapping - it's an employee engagement exercise that creates real business advantage. It encourages business-forward discussion, debate and critique of your current ways of working, but, more importantly, it focuses on looking at what the model should be. It looks for improvement as well as innovation. It also looks at automation, which in today's world of skill shortages can be a formidable replacement for the lack of skills; it asks the question: "Can this skill be automated to enable us to no longer need it?"
An aerial map is touched by many more people than the traditional process owners. It is created by absolutely everyone who in some way has an impact on or is impacted by the process. These people are then engaged in discussions about what needs to change and what is working and can be leveraged.
What key steps does EAM entail?
Because EAM is a key engagement tool and richer than a traditional business process improvement activity, the key steps are focused on people as much as tasks. Here are the four things you need to line up well for it to be a success:
1. Secure the enterprise-wide scope and select the key people influencers who work within the scope, then open the doors to full-on collaboration. You need to get everyone bought into and aligned around the fact that EAM is a team sport - the teams need to be ready to open their eyes and minds to beyond the door to their department.