3 Reasons Why You’re Falling Behind with Business Process Management

3rd May 2023

by Chris Green

Business Process Management success is not an unattainable goal, you just have to make the correct adjustments.

You may have already been working on your business processes but seen little engagement or adoption from your organisation. Or worked with experts and still remain confused as to where the value of this exercise lies?

Then this blog is for you.

Here are three reasons why you might be falling behind  in business process management that you should consider.

Lack of standardisation

One of the biggest headaches when it comes to business process management and business process mapping is standardisation.

And making sure your processes are standardised starts at the very beginning of your endeavours.

Take your process mapping notation. If your business’ notation is not standardised, then no one is on the same page. Describing your processes can be wide open to interpretation and at risk of confusion especially if you revisit something that was mapped out a year previously.

As you are probably aware, there are different ways to map out your processes, flowcharts and swim lane diagrams to name a few examples. Plus , there are different ways to approach completing those processes, such as BPMN or UPN.

The overwhelming issue, however, is the lack of standardisation. Mapping diagrams and BPMN leave too much to the interpretation of each individual either reading or capturing the process for the first time. In the case of BPMN, the  additional symbols and signs require studying and understanding. Over time, this becomes a problem as different iterations of workers in the same role may understand and reinterpret certain parts of the process differently.

It is in this search for standardisation from the get-go that Liberty Spark was based on Universal Process Notation (UPN). Liberty Spark is our process improvement solution. UPN is a notation that is easily understood and which leaves no room for re-interpretation, it is the cornerstone on which you can begin to standardise all of your processes. No more inaccuracies or uncertainties when running workshops, analysing your data, or training new hires.

Liberty Spark also encourages your team to engage and collaborate more. The work you do to capture processes means you will discover differences in how different workers perform tasks in different locations, as well as unnecessary tasks or paperwork being completed that are time-consuming and serve no purpose.

To find these bottlenecks, it is essential that as you map out everything you talk to all involved parties – the subject matter experts. After all, they are the ones completing these steps on a daily basis.

Based on what you find, you can then make the appropriate changes to each process that best fit. Employees will discover who does what and areas of duplication or confusion. Once you have a master process in place, you can begin to examine your behaviours throughout the company.

It’s easiest to do when you first start mapping out your processes, but it can always be revisited over time, and it should if you want to keep improving. After all, new technology or methods are always available, so continuously re-visiting and re-standardising your existing processes is key to success.

Standardise your business processes from day one, and your business process management will be a success.

Lack of clear responsibilities

Another major hurdle for business process management is a lack of clarity when it comes to roles and assigned responsibilities.

If there is any uncertainty regarding who is responsible for approval or for finishing a certain step, a process will grind to a halt and move at a glacial pace. This inefficiency is the last thing you want, as it will negatively impact the rest of the business.

There should be complete transparency and clarity regarding which role is responsible for what tasks, and what they look like. The best way to overcome any uncertainty is to assign a role to each step so it is really clear.

Other options for mapping out your processes present responsibilities in a typically confusing addition. At Netcall, we knew how important this aspect of a process map is, so we include it right below the activity box, and we base it on a person’s title. After all, an employee may leave, but the title will remain.

Additionally, we recommend RATSI notation as a way to further ensure a quick understanding of the role a title plays in the process. RATSI stands for:

• Responsible – who is the person making sure the activity is done satisfactorily enough to move on to the next part of the process, typically a manager or director figure
• Authority – ultimately, who is in charge of the activity or decision should anything need to be elevated, usually not your everyday worker, more of an executive.
• Task – who is actually doing the activity, your everyday frontline worker.
• Support – a support figure that can provide input in particularly exceptional situations or cases, for example, a subject matter expert (SME) being invited to a sales call to support the sales team.
• Informed – someone who is informed when an activity or task is completed, whether successfully or not, most likely someone that is part of your analytics team.

In Liberty Spark, when you are assigning a role to a task, you will see these letters next to the role, providing a wider picture of what their involvement may be. You can also look at role descriptions and the similar tasks those roles fulfil to double-check that the role being assigned a task is correct. You can use any responsibility matrix you like for example RACI, RATSI etc.

As Spark is a collaborative tool, everyone involved in a process can then see who is responsible and contact them directly or ask them for guidance if needed. This is especially important for retaining knowledge as well: new hires can access the process library during training and ask the correct person questions, and so can company leaders when evaluating processes.

Spark is also capable of providing a bird’s eye view of this to make sure everyone is completing their tasks through its Quantify analytics.

Lack of good analytics

Business process management involves decision-making, and to make the best decisions, you need data.

A business process map is extremely useful, as are the conversations that arise during the mapping process, but you cannot know the exact effects your change will have without having access to numerical data. And even then, if your processes are delayed, you may be missing out on key data necessary to truly make decisions.

If you’re slow, then your stakeholders will be even slower. After all, you need data to convince them to make a change, and that data will be studied closely by them. Anything that may not add up will result in questions and a further slowing down of the entire process.

Access to immediate, high-quality analytics is absolutely crucial for business process management success.

Fortunately, Liberty Spark has Quantify.

Unique to Spark, quantify allows you to input all your processes and data into the platform before running all of the analysis that you may need. As soon as all the information is in, you will have a dashboard with all the relevant data displayed, plus delays, costs, and spots for improvement highlighted.

With Quantify, you can study your process data quickly and determine where you want to try to improve. Once you’ve found those areas you can then also run an analysis to see what making a change will look like in the future. The platform will take into consideration your capacity and help you understand what is possible as well.

Based on different scenarios, you can then select which one is best for you to move forward with. The Quantify feature will then help you create a business case for change that you can present to your stakeholders. With this data readily available, you will significantly cut down on wait time for approval and be able to enact the changes as needed confidently and securely in your decision.

When building Spark, we were well aware of the necessity for quality data and analytics to achieve business process management success. Quantify is a testament to this awareness, and we are proud of its unique capabilities and how it has helped our clients across the board.

Business process management success in your grasp

Business process management success requires dedication and work, and it must be continuous. With the right tools, however, a lot of it can become significantly easier.

One such platform is Liberty Spark, our process improvement solution, designed specifically for business process mapping and with management in mind.

If you’re determined to meet and exceed your business process management goals this year, we’re here to guide you.