tell me about a time you improved a process

Interview questions help employers learn about the skills, training and experience of applicants. Effective questions also demonstrate the thinking processes of candidates by having them describe how they solve problems and address issues that come up on the job. For example, interviewers might ask you how you made a positive difference in the workplace in a previous position. In this article, we explain how you can respond when asked the question, “Tell me about a time you improved a process.”

Explain the benefit to yourself and the company after the process improved. Use statistics if available, such as how much production increased. If you don’t have specific statistics, share general information about how the improvement made the process more effective.

“Tell Me About A Time You Improved A Process?” (INTERVIEW QUESTION and TOP-SCORING ANSWER!)

How to Respond to “Tell Me About a Suggestion You Made to Improve Business”

Your answer to this question should show that you are willing to go above and beyond your regular duties to make a difference at your job. Use the STAR method to describe a specific moment when you suggested a way to improve business.

S = Situation: Set the scene by mentioning your former employer and job title.

T = Task: Talk about the challenges and concerns that prompted your suggestion.

A = Action: Explain how you addressed this concern with a manager or supervisor.

R = Result: Discuss the positive changes that happened after your suggestion and how it improved operations around the job site.

Job Interview Question & Answer: Tell Me About a Time You Made a Suggestion to Improve Business

Employers want to hire candidates who have both ambition and problem-solving skills. When they ask, “Have you ever suggested an improvement to help business at a previous job?” they are looking for an answer that demonstrates your ability to take the initiative and make a positive impact on your workplace.

Example Responses for “When Have You Made a Suggestion to Improve Business?”

It can be tricky to come up with a specific answer to this question. However, the following samples can give you some ideas for responses that will impress your interviewer. Just be sure to use your own experiences to shape an honest answer.

Sample Job 1 – Department Store Manager

“When I started my first job at a clothing store, the company was trying to come up with a way to boost their declining sales rates. I had the idea to start a competition among the team where the person with the highest performance rating won a prize at the end of each week. The idea excited and motivated the staff so much that sales went up about 30% within the first month.”

Sample Job 2 – Restaurant Cook

“The last restaurant I worked for was a small family-owned business. Since the place was so popular, we would sometimes be too busy to stop and answer the phone for carry-out orders. I mentioned to the owners that putting an online ordering portal on their website could help manage the influx of orders a bit better, and they thought it was a good idea.”

“With the online system, we were able to get all of the orders that we had been missing out on before. The restaurant was able to bring in more money, and the customers were happier as well.”

Sample Job 3 – Tutor

“When I was in high school, I used to dread group assignments. I hated when one person refused to do their share of the work, and their actions would affect my grade. I talked to my teacher about having a system that allowed group members to rate each other’s contributions to the project. She liked the idea, so she added a review rubric to our group assignments.”

“Being able to rate your team members on their participation in projects added accountability for everybody in the group. It also prevented other students from losing points due to someone else’s lack of effort.”

Describe the benefit

Explain the benefit to yourself and the company after the process improved. Use statistics if available, such as how much production increased. If you dont have specific statistics, share general information about how the improvement made the process more effective.

Manufacturing example:

“I currently work for a large manufacturing company, and the team I manage struggled with the inefficiency of our production process. As a team, we brainstormed ten different ways to improve the process. After analyzing our solutions for the most realistic options, we tested three of these solutions over the next six weeks. After that period, we implemented the best process, which increased production output by 12% and reduced errors by 3%.”

Administrative assistant example:

“I enjoy it when a system works effectively and efficiently, but when a process frequently has problems or takes longer than expected, I think that its a sign theres room for improvement.

“Heres an example from the team I currently support. Our team meetings always ran over the designated timeframe, and we didnt stick to the agenda. I suggested we add a short team brainstorming session at the end of each meeting about how to improve meetings. It actually worked, and it developed into a permanent agenda item for improving the effectiveness of the team. We address the topic for five to 10 minutes each meeting, and weve implemented a variety of ideas from this regular brainstorming session.”

Share a story

If possible, choose an example story that relates to an aspect of the new position, as this may add significance to the interview. Consider a time you improved an individual responsibility or group function of a similar role. Or if you dont have relevant industry experience, you can relate an example of improving a personal process, like creating a more effective study schedule. As you communicate your experience, explain why you think its important to think analytically about existing processes and how to improve them. Add details to help make your story clear and understandable.

7 sample answers to “Tell me about a time you improved a process” interview question

I recall such a situation from my last job of a logistics coordinator. I came to the company as a replacement for a woman who left after three months, struggling with the workload. After first few days I realized that the invoicing processes were overly complicated. The invoices were processed in both SAP and Excel, and an awful load of tasks was carried out manually, though it could be automated. I raised the issue with my superior, and got a green light. Digging into SAP and consulting a couple of colleagues, I managed to automate several processes. It saved me at least an hour a day, and it also saved time of my colleagues. I am proud that I made this contribution to the business, and sure enough they still benefit from it.

The only job I had so far was a part time job of a cashier in a supermarket, while I focused primarily on my college studies. However, I wasn’t complacent with the training, or with my speed at work. I didn’t want to let the customers waiting longer than necessary. Hence I experimented with subtle changes. For example, the way I took the groceries from the belt, or how I scanned the bar code. Whether it was more effective to help the customer place the goods in the bags, or let them do that while I focused on other tasks, and so on. Eventually I managed to improve the efficiency of each step at the checkout, which helped me to become the fastest cashier in the store. I want to stress that I enjoyed trying to improve the processes, and definitely want to try something similar in my new job.

This is my first job application, so I cannot really talk about an example from work. Having said that, I was a quite busy at the college, trying to learn two languages, and having many after school activities. Hence it was crucial for me to not waste time, to manage my day effectively. It forced me to improve the very basic processes of my everyday life, such as cooking a dinner for example. I started to listen to French podcasts while preparing the food, and while waiting for water to boil or something else to happen I also did some other basic chores around the house, such as tiding the bathroom. It helped me to get more things done on any given day, and it is definitely an attitude I want to stick to in my new job.

Well, I’ve worked as a process manager for five years already. I can tell you about dozens of examples when I improved the effectiveness of some process by 1, 5, 10, or sometimes even 100%, in the production plant. It was always the same story. I broke down the process to smallest parts, individual steps. Then I looked at each step, considering the materials, the human factor, and other things, looking for areas for improvement. Typically I found just something minor, because you cannot expect a big factory having poor processes in place. However, if you improve this detail by one percent and that detail by two percent, the snowball effect takes place. As a result the effectiveness of the entire process improves by, let’s say, 5%, and that is huge when we talk about mass production. Such an improvement can sometimes save a business thousands of dollars each month, or more…

Working as a correctional officer, I didn’t have many options to improve processes in work. Rules are set in stone in every detention facility. You have to follow the exact procedures during every shift. Of course it makes sense, because if we tried to improve this or that thing, we might easily find two or three prisoners missing at the end of the day. And that would be a disaster. Having said that, I focused on other form of improvement. I simply tried to improve the way I handle the processes, making sure that I do not neglect anything, and do what I have to do in the shortest possible time. Perhaps I can benefit from this experience in the job I try to get with you now.

I recall such a situation from my last job in sales. Big corporation, excellent training program, processes in place for everything, as you can surely imagine. And I followed them at the beginning, saying exactly the same thing on the phone to each and every customer, having an answer ready for every objection. Soon enough I realized that some of those answers didn’t work, however. At least not as well as I hoped they would. And so I came with my own responses to certain objections, my own sales pitch. Needless to say, my manager did not like it. Because it was a big corporation, and they had processes in place for everything, and as a new employee I was supposed to stick to them invariably. But I achieved better results than my colleagues, converted more leads, and my sales process worked. Still they did not like it, we had a lot of arguments about it, and I eventually left the company. And it is the reason why I am sitting here with you today, applying for a job in your company, a much smaller one. I believe I will get more room for my creativity with you.

There is one good example from my last job of a market research analyst. I’ve been working with lot of data, doing plenty of manual calculations. That’s how they told me to do it. Being an expert user of MS Excel, however, I quickly realized that many tasks could be automated, that the program could do many calculations for me. And hence I improved the process of data analysis, which allowed me to get more work done on each shift.

Be as Specific as Possible

Remember that the interviewer is likely most interested in the results of your suggestion. It can tricky, but the best answers will have concrete, quantifiable evidence of the change that was made. If efficiency was increased by a certain percentage or you saved the organization a certain amount of money each month, you should absolutely include these numbers. If the nature of the improvement you made does not lend itself to hard numbers, you can still show the results in a concrete manner. Describe the specific way it made doing the work simpler for each employee. You cannot be too specific, so include as many details as you can.

Not everyone has the opportunity to make a suggestion that saves a company thousands or completely revolutionizes the way the organization functions. However, even without these kinds of contributions, you can always find some way you made an improvement. Simply saying that you have not made such a suggestion will only hurt your chances of being hired. It is acceptable if your contribution was small, but you should describe the actual change it made. Small improvements in efficiency can still make a big difference over time.

Question forms part of:

Have you ever initiated and delivered a change to the way of working within your organisation? Do you have any suggestions for how to improve your current role? Can you give an example of a time you streamlined a process?

FAQ

How do you answer a process improvement question?

The best approach to answering this question

The best way to approach this is to first discuss your thoughts on process improvement. Talk about how you feel strongly that all colleagues should take the time to review their processes to identify areas of improvement.

How have you improved a process at work?

One of the best examples of process improvement projects centers around waste. Specifically, if you can identify and eliminate areas of waste within your processes, you can save time and produce higher quality end results. One of the best ways to eliminate waste is to rely on Lean principles.

Can you give an example of a time you streamlined a process?

A streamlined process means fewer errors and delays. You probably use dozens of business processes every day. For example, you may go through the same steps each time you generate a report, resolve a customer complaint, contact a new client, or manufacture a new product.