Business processes can fall into several types of difficulties:

• Loss of focus on the purpose of the process: the organisation is still completing the tasks it traditionally completed, but the reasons for the work (e.g. market needs) have changed.
• Many tasks do not add value (these may be the result of old habits, or the use of outdated methods).
• Insufficient visibility and control of the process so that the results have become unpredictable or unreliable.
• Techniques used are not best practice.

Given these difficulties, a formal review of business processes should be undertaken at least every five years. Correction of the difficulties will improve quality, reduce costs and cut cycle time.

The starting point of a business process review is documentation of the existing process. There are many ways in which this can be done, including the use of ‘post-it’ notes on brown paper, and the use of appropriate software. The advantage of brown paper (while it might seem old fashioned) is that the people who are actually engaged with the process can construct it, agree it, and critique it, together, with the consultant’s help. When brown paper is used, the organisations actual documents / computer screens can be shown in context, and are also subject to review and critique. Other individuals in the organisation who are affected by the process can ‘have a look’ and add their comments.

Brown paper completed for a client - click on it to view larger image.

Once the existing process has been documented and critiqued, the desired process is to be designed. This can be done by a team of employees, led by the consultant, or it can be done by the consultant, and critiqued by the employees. The choice depends on the skills of the employees and their availability.

When the involved employees are satisfied with the redesigned process, the process is documented. Employee ownership of the redesigned process is essential if implementation of the new process is to be successful. Typically, the new process is documented in a work instruction, or as a section of the quality manual. Click here to download a best practice sales process developed for a capital goods manufacturer.

The action plan (prepared by the employees and consultant) may include training / coaching, and it should include the installation of metrics, so that management and employees can see how well the process is working.

The use of metrics should lead to continuous improvement of the process.