Process management involves approaching and dissecting existing business processes in a systematic, defined manner to enhance effectiveness and efficiency.
As such, the continuous optimisation of workflows is a must.
Why? Because leaving your workforce to act without a consistent purpose puts your success at significant risk.
Across every aspect of your business, if you are not consistently moving forward, you are actually falling behind.
This includes regularly reviewing and developing your processes.
By tweaking for iterative improvements, no matter how small or large the organisation , you can remain ahead of the curve in an increasingly competitive business landscape.
“Process guides everything.
Each decision, each activity, each interaction.
For any business to run effectively, processes require crystal clear transparency and laser focussed clarity.”
Process Management 101
For every ambitious organisation, identifying and implementing your best possible processes is a clear priority.
And as the business landscape continues to evolve, and competition for customers becomes ever fiercer, naivety over best practice will no longer cut it.
As a result more and more companies are beginning to evaluate their processes to highlight and replicate the actions which generate maximum positive outcomes.
What Is Process Management?
According to the Cambridge Business English Dictionary, process management is…
“The development and control of processes used in a company, department or project to make sure they are effective.”
Cambridge Business English Dictionary
Breaking that down, process management ensures every action taken across the business is completed with a key aim in mind.
Without this alignment, the door is left open for time and effort to be lost on activities that won’t help you achieve your ultimate aims.
This includes designing and implementing process structures, establishing tracking systems that align data with organisational targets and educating staff across the business to manage processes effectively.
“When conducted effectively, streamlined processes can revolutionise a business, setting it on an upward trajectory to outperform all competitors.”
Implementing Your Best Practice Process
Adopting the mindset that process management is never complete is equally important.
When processes become clunky and outdated, business stalls, productivity drops and revenue slips through the cracks.
For many companies, especially those who have experienced regular, recent success, it can be easy to rest on your laurels.
The best organisations never allow this to happen.
Innovation was never born through comfortability.
By staying on top of your processes, you stay on top of your business.
Process management is the mechanism to achieve this.
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Why Does Process Management Matter?
Now, you might be asking so what?
Perhaps you’re thinking your processes work just fine. That you’re on top of everything and the business appears to be working well.
Consider for a moment, when was the last time your processes were reviewed or optimised?
“Process management doesn’t mean rigidity and inflexibility.
Rather it acts as a vital method of evaluating the relative effectiveness of each and every aspect of an organisation.”
The 10 Essential Skills For Process Management Success
What worked 10 years ago may no longer be the best practice approach.
Process management is a constant undertaking. It is defined by iterative improvement.
By fully embracing this fact, doors will continue to open to not only enhance profitability but expand your competitive advantage.
How?
Being process driven enables organisations to not just be better positioned to address current challenges but also take advantage of future opportunities.
Ask yourself, whilst operations still run in the day to day…
- Is your company stuck dealing with isolated, legacy applications?
- Do the same issues keep arising time and again?
- Can you tell who or what is impeding your progress?
- Is it difficult to tell who is responsible for certain processes?
- Do remote users have trouble tracking critical business processes?
- Can I guarantee a consistent experience for every customer?
So why does process management matter?
It enables your business to increase customer satisfaction, promote innovation and growth and decrease risk through continuous, iterative improvements.
Evolving Process Into Best Practice
Best practice is, by its very nature, elusive.
Constantly evolving trends and emerging innovations ensure that what is accepted as best practice often doesn’t stay static for long.
As such, seeking precisely how to maximise results must be viewed as an on ongoing process.
“In consistent times, there’s a lot to be said for investing in the status quo.
But when we’re unsure about where the next shift is going to come from, investing in flexibility is preferable.”
SETH GODIN
When looking toward identifying the proverbial holy grail, each industry can often form a collective ideology about their optimal way of operating.
Yet, best practice is inherently bespoke to each and every organisation.
What works for you, may not work for another company in your sector.
You can certainly draw inspiration from others but must also remember to view their actions through the lens of your business and, more importantly, your customers.
Sometimes, it takes an industry disruptor to truly shine a light on potential areas for improvement across a whole sector.
Process management, at its very core, simply means adopting a better way of doings things for producing superior results.
You can look for opportunities to enhance your approach and adopt best practice processes across the whole spectrum of an organisation.
“Not a day should go by without some kind of improvement being made somewhere in the company.”
Masaaki Imai
So what is best practice?
Simply adopting a continuous approach to process management until you find your optimal operation.
To fully understand this, and specifically what it looks like for your enterprise, you must first have a total understanding of your current process.
From here, you can make truly informed decisions on where, how and why you can tweak and alter to generate the greatest possible results.
Updated 11/8/2022
Ready to explore how Anthill can enhance your process management capabilities? Schedule a demo today.
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