People vs. Process: Which Truly Drives Success in an Organization?

Hi all...

Which is most valuable/important in an organization - PEOPLE or PROCESS?

Please set forth your valuable opinion on this topic.

Is it PEOPLE or PROCESS?

Looking for valuable justifications, guys...

Regards,

Haripriya P

Hi Hari Priya,

People are the working associates of the organization, and the Process is what we are following as the rules of the organization. I don't know why you are comparing these two resources of the organization at the same time and under what circumstances you estimate their worth.

I am explaining based on what I have understood from your question. Associates of the organization will be more valuable, whereas most of the organizations are hardly following the process, and many of them are just treating the process as a burdensome task.

It would be better to provide more clarifications if you come with an example for your question.

Hi,

People are more important in the organization than the process. Just as a cell is the minutest and basic foundation of the body system, the same goes for people. They are the building blocks of an organization. A process is a certain set of procedures which is a variable factor that keeps on changing. The success of a process depends on the people who are running it. I would opt for a people-oriented approach rather than a process-oriented one.

Regards,

Sumit Sharma
Deputy Manager - HR (Employee Relations & Grievances Redressal)

People and process are like husband and wife in a family. Both are important but have different roles. Maybe a read of the discussion at 2.1 Importance of process | IEA Community Learning Platform - Training - IEA Training Manual - Module 4 will help in appreciating that.

Simhan

Hi Haripriya,

You have chosen a very interesting topic. In this regard, I want to say that people are very important for an organization because only through the best efforts of people can any big organization do a good job. This is the process driven by people that allows an organization to run smoothly.

Regards,

Vikrant

Hello Haripriya,

Both people and processes are important.

If you don't have the right talent, there is no point in huge investments and expecting business to take place. Because business is not just an investment of money - it's also an investment of ideas.

And there is no point in having a brilliant idea/process/infrastructure without the right talent.

It's better to use a case study for such a query so that you can pose questions and people can provide you with more input. Otherwise, it does not help us understand your context.

Define what you mean by "people" here - is it the customer? Is it talent in the organization? Define your process here - is it with the entire support of technical/environmental infrastructure - or something else. Be more detailed; there is no harm.

Thanks

Hello,

Both people and processes are like two eyes and are equally important. Without valuable people, processes cannot take place. People are the key factors that determine the processes in an organization. Without people, an organization does not exist; therefore, people should be prioritized before processes.

Hi Hari Priya,

People and processes are both important. However, if you have to choose between the two, then the process is more important than people. A company runs on processes and it needs people to implement the process. People are an important resource, no doubt, however, processes top the list of priority.

An efficient way of working is to create a backup for every process. There should never be dependency on one person. So processes can run even in the absence of the concerned person. Trust me, it yields very good results.

Arpita

People and Process, both are important for the success of the organization. We can't compare them, as the process is executed by the people. We can say work should be process-centric rather than people-centric. It helps in the long run to achieve the organization's goals. :-)

Before, people are the resources/assets. Now we can say that they are the capital of the organization (not based on the accounting concept). Process tells us how to do things. People and processes are interrelated in terms of the smooth operation of a concern or performance.

BR
Jaleel

Dear Hari Priya,

You opened a good debate. You cannot differentiate and confirm the importance between the people and process because it is like the question of which comes first, the egg or the chicken. Without a structured process, people cannot move forward; that is why we write SOPs. People may change, which should not affect the systems and organizational processes and procedures.

On the other side of the coin, people are the ones who structure and improvise the systems and procedures. No modifications or developments in the systems will occur on their own; it is the people who drive these changes. In my opinion, there should be a bit more weightage towards the people because in new organizations, setting up the systems and processes is solely done by people.

Thanks and regards,
Kameswarao

My view is that both are like two eyes of a human being; you can't compromise either one. Both are important to the organization.

Regards,
Srikanth

Hi,

According to me, people are more important than the process because if you hire the right people, they will build the right process for the organization. However, if you have a very upgraded process but the people are not up to par, then it is just a waste for the company.

Dear Haripriya,

It's a good question, that who is important. According to me, we can make a process effective and productive if we know our people, what their set of requirements are. We can flow the process.