Although the last few years have been good for your business, you have started seeing growing pains in several areas. Your company is transitioning to bigger things, but your employees are still operating under the small business mindset. Before you make any major changes, however, you should consider undergoing a thorough Business Process Review first. The review will give everyone in the company a chance to contribute and will make major changes run more smoothly.
A business process review includes the following steps:
Mapping your current processes
A lot of work goes into producing your products and services. Have your employees list their critical business processes and the pros and cons in relation to the current system. The lists should then be shared with the entire team so that related departments can compare lists and evaluate the most common issues. Sometimes this will show that rather than completely changing software systems or revamping entire procedures, more training may be needed to fill a gap instead, saving you time and money.
Identifying potential changes
Some problems are more common than others, and you will often see that you are having consistent delays in receiving orders, delays in processing orders, and/or supplier quality issues. Transactions related to revenue and expense recognition may not be timed correctly or could be flowing to the incorrect group. Identifying issues before beginning the process of large-scale changes will make them that much easier – and faster – to solve.
Designing a new process
When implementing a new system that will integrate business processes across the entire company, you will need a cross-functional implementation team. This team will need to examine departments and identify potential problems or conflicts that might arise when trying to combine those departments. When the results and recommendations are agreed upon, the information should be shared with all employees.
Change is often challenging. The process can be long and complicated, and people will be nervous about how their jobs will change and how well they will be able to perform their daily tasks in the new environment. Keeping employees engaged in all steps of the process will make them feel comfortable collaborating across departments and show them that their opinions and input are valued.
Please contact Oates & Company LLC to see how a business process review could benefit your company.
