All business is undertaken as processes, regardless of industry, locale or language. Within most organizations, some processes are computerized, and so dictated by the application software. Many processes are manual and the process is determined, at best, by a procedures manual, or most often, local knowledge. Typically, manual processes are a combination of both written procedures and unrecorded personal experience.
An organization that conducts its business using processes that are efficient, controlled, flexible, well documented and regularly reviewed is in control of its operation, able to satisfy its customers, minimize costs and overheads, and thus maximize profits. The organization has a blueprint of how everything works, who does what, under what circumstances, where the interactions are, and can adapt to change while at the same time being aware of the implications of that change.
With the involvement of staff who are directly involved in the process, an overview of the process is developed in diagrammatic form that is easily understood by all participants. The process is then discussed and reviewed to identify:
Areas of duplicated effort
Actions that can be eliminated by changing the workflow
Opportunities to reduce the participants in the process
Inclusion of control points to ensure that what is to be done is in fact done
Inclusion of checks to identify those situations outside accepted limits that can be handled as they arise
Provides a clear "blueprint" of the organization's processes
Extracts knowledge from key people, to provide continuity of operations in their absence
Simplifies and improves existing processes, with identification and elimination of redundant and incorrect activities
Makes induction of new staff easier, and allows greater use of temporary staff by providing accurate procedure manuals
Staff buy-in to the tasks in which they are involved, both through their participation in defining their own process improvements, and through having a better understanding of the business as a whole and the role they fulfill
Raises the value of your business - helps with “staging” in preparation for future sale
