Whatever the size of your business, if you want it to be a success, you need to have a series of effective business processes in place. Furthermore, if you’re going to stay at the top of your game, streamlining and improving those processes is essential.
If you’re wondering how to improve business processes, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll look at what you’ve got to do to improve those processes and what steps to take.
Why You Should Improve Your Business Processes
A business process can be either informal or formal. Formal processes tend to be documented and follow a series of well-established steps. On the other hand, informal processes tend not to be written down, and it’s more likely that you would have created them yourself.
Whether a process is formal or informal doesn’t matter. But, for them to be effective, their design has to effectively streamline how you or your teamwork.
When a business process is in place, you can expect fewer delays and errors, reduced duplication, and increased customer satisfaction.
If, on the other hand, a process doesn’t work, it can lead to the following problems:
- Customer complaints about the quality of your products or service
- A frustrated workforce
- Duplicated work or work that’s not done
- Increased costs
- Wasted resources
- Bottlenecks that result in missed deadlines
How to improve business processes?
If you experience any of the problems mentioned above, take the following steps to improve your processes.
Mapping the process
After determining the process that needs improvement, you first have to document each step carefully. You can doing process mapping using a flowchart or Swim Lane Diagram. Each of these methods will provide you with a visual representation that you can then explore in more detail.
Looking at your processes in more detail may uncover some sub-steps you were unaware of. To ensure that you’ve not overlooked anything important, communicate with those who use it regularly.
Analyzing the process
Once you’ve created a process map, you can investigate any problems. Find out the steps at which team members are getting frustrated. Determine which steps are creating a bottleneck. At what stage in the process are costs increasing or quality decreasing? Are there any steps that require more time or lead to more delays?
It’s also important to talk to the people who are involved in the process.
Redesigning the process
Step number three is to redesign the problematic process and to ensure that the identified problems are eliminated. The redesigning should involve all those who might be directly affected. Their input will be very beneficial as they may be able to add ideas. It will also ensure they buy into the changes if you’ve involved them in the process’s design.
Secure the necessary resources
To implement your new process, you may need to secure specific resources. Make a list of everything you need.
Implementation and Communication
Improving the business process will probably mean that you need to change existing systems, processes, or possibly even teams. When you want to roll out your new process, planning and managing it carefully is critical.
Allow time to deal with any teething troubles and perhaps consider a dry run first. It’s also vital to remember that change isn’t the easiest thing for people to deal with, and you may find some resistance.
Conclusion and Reviewing Process
If your new process works perfectly from the beginning, that’s brilliant. However, there are very few occasions that this happens. Therefore, you should closely monitor how it is going to ensure your new process meets expectations. Close monitoring of the process will mean you’ll be able to fix any problems quickly.
These sets can help you understand how to improve business processes?
Improve Business Processes Methods
There are three types of processes in a business process design, Operational process, Supporting process and Management process.
How to improve business processes? Business Process Improvement Tools, Methodologies and Techniques
- Six Sigma –
Two six sigma sub-methodologies
DMAIC – Improving existing processes.
DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Optimize and Validate) – Creating new processes.
DFSS (Design for Six Sigma) – Helps organise and create new products, services and processes.
SIPOC diagram Analysis (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs and Customer) – Showing a full process summary of inputs and outputs of one or multiple processes. - Lean – Process eliminating business waste, and thus increasing output.
PDCA (Plan, Do, Check and Act) – Process of improving any one of the seven waste types. - Process Mapping –
- BPMN ( Business Process Modeling Notation) –
- TQM (Total Quality Management) –
- DRIVE ( Define, Review, verify, and execute)
- Simulation –
Improve Business Processes with Checkify
Checkify is a business process management software (BPM or BPMS). BPM is a fundamental business tool to help keep business running smoothly.
Business processes are guides of steps by step repeatable instructions to enable the business to reach a goal. Checkify offers you a way to document processes using checklists.
Great business processes offer businesses a way to improve efficiency, effectiveness, productivity, reduce mistakes and reduce waste. Poorly functioning processes can cause frustration, disruption, and incur increased costs.
Improve the business process by identifying what needs changing. Evaluate and analyse what processes work well and which needs improvement. Examine how each process affects your business and customers.
Checkify can help analysis and give you a simple way how to improve business processes?
Process management software and task management software like Checkify makes daily workflow more productive.