Unlocking the secrets of business process management

The ever-growing trend of globalization has led to increased competition for businesses all around the world. In order to stay ahead of the curve, it is important for companies to find ways to operate more cost-effectively. This is where business process management (BPM) enters the picture. If you're like most business owners, you're always looking for ways to make your operations more efficient and cost-effective. That's where BPM technology can help. BPM is a set of techniques that can help organizations better organize and automate their operational processes. By doing so, businesses can reduce waste, become more efficient, and ultimately save money. And as we all know, in today's economy, every penny counts. So if you're looking for a way to improve your business’ bottom line, then you need to start using BPM. It's a must-have set of techniques for any company that wants to stay competitive in the global marketplace.

Unfortunately, many organizations experience hindrance and even failure when trying to implement BPM solutions. Perhaps, because of the complexity of the new process deployed, communication, unengaged employees, or maybe something as simple as lack of monitoring after deploying the strategy by the leadership. 

So how can you make sure your BPM deployment is successful? Here are 6 ways to truly unlock the potential of Business Process Management:

• Set specific and measurable goals: There is a reason that business process management is such an important tool for any organization - it can help you achieve your goals in a more efficient and structured manner. However, in order to reap the benefits, organizations need to set specific and measurable goals. Setting specific goals not only helps better deployment of the strategy but also in setting clear accountability. They should also be quantifiable and attainable within the set timelines for better efficiency. 
• Unengaged employees: Many companies are using business process management software to increase efficiency and optimize workflows. However, what is often overlooked is the importance of employee engagement. As a business leader, you must learn to recognize this and ensure that your teams are developing industry-leading solutions to achieve desired results. The key to solving the problem of unengaged employees is to harness the energy of that set of employees who are actively taking interest and charge of the project to carry the project to success- in part by encouraging them to work with their colleagues who are not opposing it and provide them time to adapt to it. And this is possible by deploying the solution of Workforce Engagement- which will not only help your organization to optimize labour costs but also helps in streamlining compliance and empowers agents to make better point-in-time decisions to support business goals.
• Promoting a collaborative culture: A well-oiled flexible business process management (BPM) strategy is as important as ever in today's business world, but the true transformation only comes from involving business people in the collection, analysis, simulation, and optimization of the processes of the enterprise. Allowing any employee the opportunity to directly impact and improve business processes is the key to unlocking improved performance. It promotes an idea-sharing culture, even if some ideas are challenging, by channeling each idea to the appropriate decision-makers in an efficient and non-confrontational manner.
• Selecting high-value, simple process: Choose processes that have high organizational value but are not overly complex. An ideal BPM technique, for example, might be as simple as automating a process. When deciding on a process, an organization should consider how it can be streamlined or simplified. Choosing simpler processes to deploy accelerates development and testing. It necessitates a smaller implementation team and allows the team and organization to become more comfortable with the tools, resulting in on-time project completion. In call centres, for example, deploying List Management Service assists the organization in simplifying their data management and business processes; thus, leveraging an industry equivalent, such as such, and simple yet high-value solutions make the process more efficient.
• Don’t follow the herd: A BPM strategy is only as good as its results. A BPM consultant who insists on an organization investing in a tool that does not benefit them is not doing them any favours. If a company simply buys a tool because everyone else does, they will not understand how to use it. To ensure that the software works for the organization's benefit, a BPM strategy must be aligned with the company's values and goals.
• Performance governance: Finally, performance governance is where your solution will bring its true value to your C-Suite. It is critical to continue to improve on old processes, even if they appear to work for the time being. It is necessitated by changing circumstances, disruptions, and new competitors. BPM solutions can help an organization innovate and grow if an effective leadership team is in place.

How an organization goes manages its routine processes has a large impact on how efficient and effective those processes will be.  For an organization to perform like a ‘well-oiled machine, the business processes implemented therein need to be managed in such a way that it reaches operational efficiency.  Inefficiencies will undoubtedly surface if a well-considered business process management plan isn't in place. The workforce will be wasting time on repetitive, low-value tasks that could otherwise be automated. Process management enables business owners to turn processes into visual flows and flows into automation.  

The article has been written by Uthaman Bakthikrishnan, Executive Vice President, ClearTouch