Business processes are essential to any organization that wants to operate efficiently and scale according to need. And the level of complexity of your business processes is one of the primary factors in determining how difficult it will be to scale your business in the future.
However, many small businesses don’t think about creating business process management (or BPM) tools until they grow beyond their initial capacity. This is actually a bit sad because a systematic approach to business processes can help you foresee risk plus save time and money in the long term. And since processes is a favorite topic of mine, this article details why you should create systematized business processes, why it’s so helpful, and examples of businesses that have seen success by implementing BPM.
What is business process management?
Business process management (BPM) is the practice of creating and optimizing organizational process for the purpose of increasing efficiency, scalability, and quality. I know, big words, but the TLDR is that BPM is the process of creating documented and systematized procedures. So this is a list that allows you to accurately and consistently execute your core business functions. This includes everything from the way you onboard your team members to how they interact to the order in which certain actions occur.
BPM is often confused with workflow, but they’re actually two distinct concepts. While workflow is the path that work travels through an organization, BPM is the process that determines how that work travels.
Why is BPM important?
BPM is important for a number of reasons, including:
It helps ensure consistency across your organization. When you create systematized and documented business processes, all team members will be working from the same page. This will help prevent errors due to miscommunication and ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to the direction of your company. It allows you to scale more easily.
To grow your business, you’ll likely have to hire more employees, create new products and services, and generally expand your team. If you have no formalized business processes, however, it’ll become much more difficult to manage the added complexity that comes with scaling your organization.
BPM reduces risk. Since business processes are designed to address common issues and scenarios, you can use them to mitigate risk. If you’ve used a BPM platform to create a formalized process for a specific issue (e.g. handling customer complaints), you’ll be able to follow the same steps every time something similar comes up.
Three reasons to start creating BPM now
Business Processes Give Your Team a Foundation
– A foundation is essential to any structure. If you want to create a successful business that can sustain long-term growth, you need to have a solid foundation. This includes having a robust and efficient system for executing your business processes.
Business Processes Make Expansion Easier
– When you begin expanding your business, you’ll likely be spreading yourself thin. This can lead to mistakes, which may be costly and time-consuming to repair. By systematizing your business processes, you’ll be able to scale up much more easily.
Business Processes Help Reduce Risk
– Business processes are designed to mitigate risk, and if you’ve created them correctly, they will. When you create a BPM platform, you have a chance to avoid common pitfalls that can cause your business to stumble. – Business Processes Help You Stay Focused – Creating business processes is a great way to stay focused. You’ll be able to work on the big picture while still checking off the smaller tasks that keep your company operational.
How can a BPM platform help?
Building a BPM platform will involve more than just creating processes and documenting them. It will involve finding the right software that allows you to create those processes easily and efficiently. A BPM platform will help you navigate the following three elements of process creation:
Process Planning
– Before you begin creating your business processes, you’ll need to first plan them out. This will include outlining the goals of your processes, deciding which team members will be responsible for managing them, and identifying the resources that each process will require.
Process Design
– Once you’ve planned your business processes, you’ll need to design them. This will include outlining how each process will work, how long they’ll take, and what the deliverable will be. You’ll also need to create a roadmap for rolling out your processes across the organization.
Process Deployment
– Once you’ve completed designing your processes, you’ll need to deploy them across your organization. This includes training your team members on the processes they’ll be responsible for and managing any initial issues that arise.
2 more reasons to build a BPM platform
Increased Employee Engagement
– One of the best ways to increase employee engagement is to give them more control over their work. When you create business processes, you’re giving team members more ownership over the work they do. This will lead to increased engagement and a happier workforce.
Better Customer Experience
– When you create business processes, you’re not only standardizing your internal operations, you’re also creating a blueprint for delivering services to customers. A BPM platform is designed to create consistent and reliable customer experiences.
Conclusion
Business processes are essential to any organization that wants to scale efficiently. While workflow is the path that work travels through an organization, BPM is the process that determines how that work travels. A BPM platform is the best way to create and manage business processes. It will help you navigate the three elements of process creation: process planning, process design, and process deployment. Business processes help ensure consistency across your organization. They allow you to scale more easily, reduce risk, and help you stay focused on the big picture. Building a BPM platform is the best way to create and manage business processes.
