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What's the first step for business process improvement?
I want to streamline our business processes and make them efficient as possible. What's the first step I need to take?
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7 Answers
Dale, as the aphorism goes, you can't manage (or improve) what you can't measure. So an important first step should be to capture everything you can about the processes already in place, and how well they are (or are not) serving the business. This latter bit requires meaningful metrics, which can range from customer retention to prospect conversion rates and even Net Promoter Score (NPS) information, depending on the business and its specific goals. But by starting with documenting what's in place and assessing effectiveness, you will have built a more solid foundation upon which to build your process improvement and optimization efforts. If you want to contact me directly at mdortch@focus.com, I'll be glad to point you at resources at Focus and elsewhere that might help you. Good luck, and please keep the Focus community apprised of your progress!
You have already determined a need to improve the process.
1. Commitment to improve is first
2. Statistical Analysis - How did you arrive to that decision?
Risk, OOS reports, failure rates, resources optimization requirements, new technology, emerging methodologies, beat the competition etc.........., indicators analysis is the base in supporting first step to embrace improvement.
I will be delighted to provide further insight toward your process improvement goals.
I think the first task is to get commitment from the management and consensus among others. Once that's done the rest would be easy. You may also go through this: http://systemdioxide.com/content/business-process-documentation
I agree with the need to document your existing processes fully as a first step. You need a baseline to measure against, but more importantly, you will find that through the process of documentation, (and you need to have this done by a non-expert asking questions and observing what the process staff actually does), you will discover the hidden components of your processes. You can then use a tool such as value stream mapping to look for waste. You should also look to dissolve problems (rather than mitigate) where you can through modification or elimination of process steps. Reading any good 6 sigma book can help you to plan your journey. I also highly recommend some education in Systems Thinking. Many times the best intentions, when applied to only one component of a system, result in unintentional consequences elsewhere in the system.
According to your profile, you're a CEO, and that's a good thing because this sort of initiative has to begin at the top. Process improvement is two things in an organization: (1) a state of mind that must become part of the organizational culture, and (2) an initiative that drives waste and inefficiency out of processes. The first step is to be sure your organization is ready for and capable of process improvement. Assessing the capability and capacity of your organization to change will provide valuable information when you begin to decide HOW you'll drive change in your company. This isn't easy for the inexperienced practitioner, but, without this step, you can waste a lot of time, money and effort and find yourself six months down the road wondering why you havn't been able to implement sustainable improved processes.
My suggestion as a first step is to identify criteria that you can use to prioritize which business process you should focus on first. Identify your business processes and then apply the criteria. You might think of impact, implementation, current state, and/or benefit/return as potential criteria. I list 10 steps to BPI at my web site: www.powerofbusinessprocessimprovement.com
Assess where you are at; determine where you want to be.
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