Business processes are how you deal with processes and procedures within your business.
Have you had a bunch of tasks that you had cautiously planned to execute systematically but eventually it turns out there was an error in the accomplished tasks? You need to improvise a checklist.
Create a checklist to list tasks or items to be completed or to be done, fettles to be verified or viewpoints to be considered. Basically, a checklist is a check off for the successful completion of any task. Manage workflow business processes in a sequence of linked tasks or processes that need to be executed for the accomplishment of a goal.
Checklists, Workflow and Business Processes Management
Understanding the difference between Checklists, Workflow and Business Processes Management.
Checklist – A to do list to stop you from missing important steps but with detailed descriptions of how you need to perform a task or process. This is a defined best practice, a how-to guide of how to complete tasks and processes best
Workflow – Workflow is like a to do list or checklist of things you need to do in your day. A workflow is a series of steps within a process. .
Business Process Management – Checklists with superpowers are how we like to describe process management.
As you can see they are all similar in that they are a way of managing and remembering how to perform a process.
Effective management of business processes is essential for the success of any business. Business process management (BPM) is essentially operations management and involves the design, analysis, improvement, and automation of business processes.
This involves breaking down complex workflows into smaller more manageable parts, identifying areas for improvement, and using technology to optimise business operations and automate processes where a human is not essential.
Automating processes can be achieved using business process management software (BPMS). Using technology to automate processes, businesses can reduce man-hours, improve accuracy by reducing mistakes, and increase efficiency. Thus leading to cost savings, faster process turnaround times, and improved customer satisfaction.
However, not all businesses have the same processes, workflows, or needs. Some businesses may rely on manual procedures, using pen and paper forms, while others may have highly automated processes that require sophisticated management software. The key is to find the right balance between automation and manual intervention, depending on the specific requirements of the business process.
Checklists can play an important role in business process management, helping to ensure that all team members are aligned and working towards the same objectives. By defining a clear and well-structured workflow process, and implementing a checklist to guide team members through each step, businesses can achieve consistency and accuracy, and reduce the risk of error or oversight.
Effective business process management requires a deep understanding of the specific needs and requirements of a business process. Then using technology, automating key workflows, and adopting best practices in checklist management, businesses can achieve exceptional results and improve their operations.
Checklist and Business Process Management
Checklists, workflow automation and business process management software all tie together in the creation and accomplishment of a business goal. The incorporation of checklists in the execution of these processes optimizes efficiency by:
- Breaking complex tasks down – With a power of a simple checklist, complex tasks can be broken down into easy, more manageable tasks.
- Easing Communication – They ensure that in case of an inevitable difficulty, while tasks are being executed, professionals involved diligently consult each other and coincide on the way forward.
- Creating Order – Make a checklist help your business save time and money, you get a logical framework that ensures all tasks are arranged in a working order.
- Rousing incentives – They oversee the general progress of a business which in turn motivates you to push on.
- Enhancing and Increase Productivity – verifying accomplished tasks however small helps you get more work done at a higher rate.
- Ensuring perfection – They ensure that no task is forgotten or left unaccomplished therefore the aftermath is quality and magnificent work.
- Sparking up creativity – coming up with a checklist gets you thinking out of the box, opening you up to new ideas that you otherwise may not have thought of.
- Correcting allocations – while delegating tasks, checklists may help you realize that a certain member is more suitable for a particular task than another.
Checklists and Business Processes
If you want to run your business processes efficiently, using a checklist can work wonders and help perform magic. Whether you choose a “read-do” checklist where team members pause and quickly scan the checklist for confirmation, or a “do-confirm” checklist where team members perform tasks from memory and experience, both options promote consistency. By following the same steps every time, all team members execute processes in the same way, which leads to increased accuracy and fewer errors.
Additionally, both types of checklists typically include a section for checking off tasks once they are completed, which helps to track productivity and ensures that each team member is clear on their responsibilities.
One of the main benefits of using checklists is that they promote efficiency and reduce the likelihood of mistakes or oversights. When team members use a checklist, they are less likely to forget important steps or deviate from the established process. This can save time and resources, as well as increase the quality of the work being done.
In addition, checklists are a valuable tool for task allocation and delegation. By breaking down a process into smaller, more manageable tasks, you can assign responsibilities to different team members and ensure that everyone is clear on their role. This can help to prevent duplication of effort and improve communication among team members.
Finally, using a checklist can help to identify areas where a process can be improved. By analysing the results of completed checklists, you can spot patterns and identify areas where the process can be streamlined or made more efficient. This can help your business to continually improve its processes and stay ahead of the competition.
Workflow Process
In order to execute business processes with expertise and precision, you need a well-designed workflow management process. This refers to a set of sequential and repeatable tasks, rules, and decisions that are executed based on user-defined conditions, all aimed at achieving a specific business goal or outcome. By defining a clear and well-structured workflow process, you can ensure that all team members are aligned and working towards the same objectives and that the process is executed with consistency and accuracy every time.
In addition to ensuring consistency and accuracy, an effective workflow process can also help to streamline your business operations, saving time and resources. By optimising your workflows, you can identify areas where the process can be automated or improved, reducing the need for manual intervention and increasing efficiency. This can lead to exceptional results, faster turnaround times, and improved customer satisfaction.
Improving your workflow process is an essential part of continuous process improvement. By analysing the results of completed workflows, you can identify areas where the process can be refined or optimised, and implement changes to improve the overall effectiveness of your business operations. This can lead to long-term efficiency gains, cost savings, and a competitive advantage in your industry.
Overall, a well-designed and well-executed workflow process is critical for the success of any business. By adopting best practices in workflow management and continuously refining and optimising your processes, can ensure your business operates at maximum efficiency, with exceptional results and happy customers.
What Checklists Can Achieve
Using a checklist can have a profound impact on the success of your business. To illustrate this point, consider a fascinating study conducted by Dr. Atul Gawande, author of the Checklist Manifesto. Dr. Gawande set out to test the effects of using a simple checklist during surgery to reduce central line infection rates.
The results of Dr. Gawande’s study were nothing short of remarkable. By introducing a checklist into the surgical process, he was able to reduce infection and death rates drastically. This improvement in outcomes was achieved through a series of simple and easy-to-follow steps, including hand hygiene, using sterile drapes, and wearing masks and gowns. By implementing a checklist for these procedures, all members of the surgical team were able to follow the same process, reducing the risk of error or oversight.
Dr. Gawande’s study highlights the potential benefits of using checklists in a wide range of industries and applications. By providing a clear and consistent framework for carrying out complex tasks, checklists can improve accuracy, increase efficiency, and reduce the risk of mistakes or oversights.
Furthermore, checklists can be adapted to fit the unique needs of any business and most business processes. By identifying key stages, steps and tasks involved in any process, and then breaking them down into simple, easy-to-follow steps, checklists can be customised to meet any specific requirements of a business process. This level of customisation and standardisation can lead to significant gains in productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction.
In summary, the benefits of using checklists are numerous and well-documented and researched. By adopting best practices in checklist management and leveraging the power of documented processes, businesses can improve their operations and achieve exceptional results.
Checklists Reduce Mistakes In Study
The study was conducted in 8 different hospitals in several different countries. These hospitals had varying budgets and were of different types because Gawande also wanted to see if the checklists would prove effective regardless of these factors.
The checklist was simple and mostly included common-sense steps that were no-brainers to all surgeons. However, when one of these surgical checklists steps are passed over, it increased the patient’s risk of infection, longer hospital stays, and even death.
The studies were undertaken in hospitals in each of the six WHO regions. Analysis shows that the rate of major complications following surgery fell from 11% in the baseline period to 7% after introduction of the checklist, a reduction of one third. Inpatient deaths following major operations fell by more than 40% (from 1.5% to 0.8%).
WHO Surgical adverse events reduced by one third in trials in eight countries
So what happened when the checklist was implemented? There was a massive reduction in infection rates across all 8 hospitals. This shows that the power of a simple checklist cannot be overlooked. And the best part is that this not only applies to one industry, but to all of them, including business.
Surgical Checklist Saves Money and Lives
Pronovost’s simple checklist save lives.
Michigan introduced the checklist into their hospitals “their infection rates dropped by two thirds; 1500 lives and $200m [£100m; €126m] were saved in the first 15 months.”
WHO launches guide to safer surgery
In a study of 100 Michigan hospitals, he found that, 30 percent of the time, surgical teams skipped one of these five essential steps: washing hands; cleaning the site; draping the patient; donning surgical hat, gloves, and gown; and applying a sterile dressing. But after 15 months of using Pronovost’s simple checklist, the hospitals “cut their infection rate from 4 percent of cases to zero, saving 1,500 lives and nearly $200 million,”
A simple checklist that saves lives
Anesthesiologist and critical care specialist, Pronovost designed a small study using his checklist for central line placement, which had a very high infection rate in the ICU. Its implementation produced unexpected and dramatic results, a reduction of the ten-day infection rate from 11 to 0%.
The Surgical Checklist Revisited
Checklist Ensure Business Processes are followed
As you can see checklists are essential in all industries to manage and track business processes. This is why at Checkify we love checklists.
Checklists can make a huge difference in the success of a business by ensuring that key processes are followed consistently and accurately every time. This is where Checkify comes in. Checkify is a checklist software that allows you to create business processes, manage tasks, and workflow, collaborate and automate processes.
In many industries, failure to follow established processes can result in costly mistakes, missed opportunities, and damaged reputations. By implementing checklists, businesses can help to ensure that all team members know how to carry out critical processes according to best practices and standard operating procedures.
Checkify is a Business process management software (BPMS) that can help to streamline workflows, reduce manual intervention, and provide real-time visibility into key business processes.
Checkify Checklists are a powerful tool for ensuring that critical business processes are followed consistently and accurately. Checklists can be adapted to fit the unique needs of any business.
Why not see how Checklists can help your business by trying Checkify today?