What is Process Management?

What is process management? Process management, have you ever heard of it? Or heard of it and have no idea what it is and whether it has any relevance to you or your business?

Think about it every business is just a vast number of processes. You process orders; you process invoices, you process payments; you process customer enquiries, you process employees, you process… you get the picture. Most businesses have hundreds of processes, some good and some bad, without realising it.

Processes are the lifeblood of your business, whether you are a huge corporation or a small business. They drive everything that happens and the speed at which everything happens. So if you can speed up your processes, you will see an increase in revenue and profits. The thing with processes is that you need to know what works and doesn’t to improve them.

This article will explain precisely what process management is and how it can benefit all businesses.

Let’s get started; what is process management?

What is Process Management?

Process management is about identifying repeatable processes, and documenting, improving, and managing processes.

The primary goal of process management is to ensure that processes are executed efficiently and effectively and that business resources are used optimally.

Think of them as a checklist, a how-to guide of how your business runs best.

Process management is also known as business process management, identified by the acronym BPM — the definition business process management (BPM) is the practice of improving, optimising, and automating business processes to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve overall organizational performance.

Why process management is important

So many business processes are hard to manage when hidden within employees’ heads. This is called Tacit knowledge know-how without being aware that we have it, and this is why process management is important.

When processes, procedures and best practices are not documented, and a person leaves or gets sick, that knowledge disappears from the business.

Process management is important for a number of reasons. Some key benefits include:

• Efficiency: Managing processes in a systematic and organized way, businesses can improve efficiency, reduce wasted time and save resources. Potentially leading to cost savings and an overall increase in productivity.
• Quality: Creating clear and well-defined processes, businesses can ensure that tasks are completed consistently and to a very high standard. Leading to improved quality and customer satisfaction.
• Flexibility: Processes can be easily adapted and modified, and businesses can respond far more quickly and effectively to changing business conditions.
• Compliance: Having processes that are compliant with laws, regulations, and industry standards, businesses can minimise the risk of legal and financial penalties.
• Innovation: Continuously optimising and improving processes, businesses foster a culture of innovation and improvement, which can lead to new products, services, and revenue streams.
• Collaboration: Involving individuals and teams in the process of design and management, businesses can foster better collaboration and teamwork, which can lead to improved communication and decision-making.

Overall, process management is essential for organizations of all types and sizes as it helps them to operate more efficiently, effectively and in compliance with the regulations while fostering innovation and collaboration.

How many stages are there in process management?

The steps of process management can vary depending on the specific methodology or framework being used, but generally, they include the following:

What are the steps of process management?

• Process Identification: Identifying and defining the process that needs to be managed. This includes identifying the process boundaries, inputs, outputs, and key stakeholders.
• Process Planning: Create a plan; what processes, and who will be the “owner” of the process?
• Process Design: Designing how a process should best work. Designing the new or improved process, taking into account the results of the analysis and the goals and objectives of the organization. This includes defining the process flow, roles and responsibilities, and performance metrics.
• Process Documenting and Mapping: Documenting the process flow, including all the activities, decisions, and tasks. This can be done using flowcharts, process maps, or swimlane diagrams.
• Process Analysis: Analyzing the process to identify areas for improvement and optimization. This includes measuring performance, identifying bottlenecks, and identifying opportunities for automation.
• Process Implementation: Implementing the new or improved process, including training employees, updating systems and procedures, and testing the process to ensure it works as expected.
• Process Monitoring and Control: Monitoring the performance of the process and making adjustments as needed. This includes tracking performance metrics, identifying deviations, and making course corrections.
• Process Continuous Improvement: Continuously improve the process based on feedback, performance data and new requirements.

It’s worth noting that some process management methodologies may add or combine some steps and some of them may be omitted depending on the organization’s specific needs and the maturity level of the process management.

Examples of process management

Some examples of business processes that can be managed using BPM include:

• Recruitment Process: This process includes recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding new employees. Streamline and automate the process, reducing the time and resources required to recruit a new team member.
• Human Resources Processes – HR processes have many processes to ensure employees’ happiness and welfare.
• Order fulfilment Process: These multiple-stage processes include receiving customer orders, processing payments, and shipping products. BPMS can ensure steps are not missed and can be used to optimise the process even more, making it more efficient and reducing errors.
• Accounts and Finance Process: This process includes receiving invoices, verifying their accuracy, and processing payments. Automating processes and allocating the right person to the task, reducing the time and resources required to process invoices.
• Supply Chain Management: Managing all the activities involved in the sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics management of goods, services, and products. BPM can be used to optimize the process, making it more efficient and reducing errors.
• Customer Service Process: Handling customer inquiries and complaints and providing support and assistance.
• Compliance Processes – Process management helps track and follow compliance guidelines and create an audit trail. Knowing steps are not missed and who completed each task is essential.

These are just a few examples; many other processes, like financial reporting, inventory management, performance management, project management, etc, can also be managed using BPM.

Types of Process Management

Now we have explained what is process management you need to expand your knowledge by knowing the different types of business processes. There are several different types of process management, but the most common ones:

• Operational process management: Operational process management focuses on the day-to-day operations of a business. Managing resources and processes that are essential to produce goods and services. Processes essential for the business’s daily functions, such as production, logistics, and customer service.
  Goal – Operational process management optimises these processes and makes them as efficient as possible.
  
• Strategic process management: Strategic process management focuses on businesses’ long-term goals and objectives. It involves managing processes critical to the business’s success, such as product development, innovation, and market expansion.
  Goal – Strategic process management is to align these processes with the business’s overall strategy and ensure they are aligned with the overall business objectives.
  
• Business Process Management (BPM): Business process management focuses on improving and optimising business processes. It involves using methodologies, tools and techniques to design, model, execute, monitor and analyze business processes. BPM systems are a way to implement, manage and improve processes using automation where ever possible.
  Goal – BPM is to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve overall organisational performance.

It is worth noting that some organizations or experts may classify or define these types differently, but the general concepts are the same.

Types of Business Process Management

Now let’s break business processes up into types and ways to manage business processes. Every business has some level of BPM running in their business, whether they know it or not. What is process management going to be used for?

Integration-centric BPM, Document-centric BPM, and Human-centric BPM are different approaches to Business Process Management (BPM) that focus on different aspects of the process.

• Integration-centric BPM: Focuses on integrating different systems and applications to automate and streamline business processes.
  Goal – Connect different systems and applications to create a seamless workflow.
  Benefits – Improved efficiency, reduced costs, and increased automation.
  
• Document-centric BPM: Focuses on managing and automating the handling of documents within a process.
  Goal – Ensure that documents are properly stored, tracked, and retrieved as needed.
  Benefits – Improved compliance, better document management, and increased efficiency.
  
• Human-centric BPM: Focuses on involving people and teams in process design and management. Identifying tasks, activities and human skills involved in processes, then creating automated processes to support human tasks and actions
  Goal – Ensure that processes are designed with the end-user in mind, considering their needs and capabilities.
  Benefits – Improved user satisfaction, increased productivity, and better collaboration.

It’s worth noting that these three approaches are not mutually exclusive and can be used together as well. An integration-centric BPM can be used to automate the document-centric process and a human-centric approach can be used to design and optimize the process with the end-user in mind.

In any case, the best approach to BPM will depend on the business’s specific needs and goals and the processes being managed. Some businesses may benefit from a more integration-centric approach, while others may benefit more from a human-centric approach.

Optimise your process management

All processes need to be continuously improved, and here are a few things you need to consider when optimising your business processes.

Process Owner – It is important to have a process owner giving someone responsibility for the process design and improvement.  Familiarity with the process from end-to-end and continuously assessing the need for improvement and optimisation.

Continuous Improvement – It is essential to create a culture of continuous improvement where people are encouraged to give feedback and comments are taken on board.

Document Reapable Processes – Standardise repeatable processes to reduce failures, errors

Automate Processes – Automate repetitive tasks to free up time to focus on tasks that can add additional value to the business.

Checkify Process Management

Process management software should support and handle a company’s process management needs. Help you manage any type of business process you throw at it. This is where Checkify can help you manage your business processes.

Implementing process management software tools like Checkify across your company offers so many benefits like having how to knowledge at everyone’s finger tips, accountability, reduced errors, assigning the right person for the job, and knowing who is doing what when.

One of the biggest benefits is for constant process improvements and optimisation and the ability for everyone to have access to the best possible way to complete a task with the best outcome can drastically improve productivity and reduce the chances of human error.

Team members can have quick access to business processes, ability to design processes, learn to manage their own processes and optimise and improve processes constantly. What is process management going to be used for in your business?