Procesess (activities) are the lifeblood of businesses - the mechanics of how they tick, or do not ?
All too often when attempting to prompt change, or improve performance, organisations concentrate on the output (the effect), and not on the input (the cause). All too often the root cause of organisational issues are poor processes, poor controls within processes, or poor measurement and management of process efficiency. The key to addressing such issues is to:-
For purposes of clarity, each of the examples in the sections to follow are explained using illustrations for three types of business - a service business (recruitment); a distribution business (logistics) and a manufacturing organisation (automotive component supplier). Although these business types are not exhaustive they will cover the vast majority of business types and, therefore, highlight the subtle differences in associated processes.
The following symbols will highlight the business types for the linked examples:-
The software used to create all illustrative examples is Microsoft Visio. It is not essential that this software is used - Microsoft Excel, Word and Powerpoint all have the ability to draw basic shapes and link them with lines / arrows - alterntively another graphics or flowcharting tool is equally applicable.
There are various methods for creating the documentation below e.g. dedicated process analyst, external consultants, functional champions. Whatever the method deployed, a cross-functional team should be consulted and used as a reference point in documenting; reviewing recommended changes; and, implementing new or revised business processes. This is done in an attempt to gain functional buy-in for all processes, and ensure that all aspects of the organisation's activities are considered.
BUSINESS PROCESS MAPPING
The starting point for business process mapping is to create an overall graphical representation of a business's core activities. This will focus minds onto a company-wide perspective and away from functional prespectives.
Click on the following ICONS to review Business Overviews for a specific business type:-
BUSINESS OVERVIEWS
DETAILED PROCESS REVIEWS & ANALYSIS
The next step is to produce detailed process maps for each of the core business processes identified in the initial overview. An example follows for one process in each of the different bsuiness types as an illustration. The process reviewed has been chosen as a result of its critical impact on overall business performance.
Candidate registration process
Service Level Agreement review process
Sales & Operational Planning process
PROCESS RE-DESIGN
Each of the core business process maps should then be annotaed (graphically, colour coded or annotated with text) to highlight issues which need to be addressed. The list of issues for annotation is not intended to be exhaustive, but will cover most generic issues expected in this phase:-
Core process review annotations
TEAM PROBLEM SOLVING
Once issues are identified they should be OWNED and REVIEWED by cross functional teams. If their suggested impact is appropriately validated approprite actions should then be put in place to complete the proposed activity e.g. change, remove, add.
A variety of problem solving tools may be utilised to ensure the changes are implemented on a timely and effective basis e.g. root cause analysis. Involving people who DO activitie sin the selected process will provide a high probability of successful change implementation.
The long term aim should always be to create a vehicle which will facilitate company wide problem solving and empower teams to automatically review issues which arise from time to time on
KPI's to MEASURE & IMPROVE PROCESSES
KPI selection and utilisation to manage performance are covered in other Management sections. The importance, however, is to select measures of performance which do not merely measure performance. They should ideally indicate issues with, or flaws in, processes and prompt process improvment via their measurement..