There are many tools and digital solutions out there that can help businesses through business process planning and maximizing the efficiency of each process.
The improvements in business processes for businesses depend on the tools they choose and its aspects, departments they consider, which are some reasons why planning is essential when it comes to business process efficiency optimization.
Here, we got the top business process planning tips you should be considering even at the very early stages of improving your business processes.
1. Define clear goals and outcomes
During business planning, businesses should define measurable targets to achieve. Targets that go with new process designs and improvements, instead of just trying to improve without a goal.
For example, if enhancing customer service processes, improvement customer satisfaction can be the goal, and you can measure the percentage of satisfied customers before and after implementing the new customer service solution.
2. Estimate the ROI
When it comes to new business implementations, or even marketing campaigns, ROI is an essential aspect to look for. During process planning or reengineering and when thinking of investing in a new technology to enhance your business processes. ROI is an indicator you should consider.
The return on your investment in a technology to improve processes or workflow can be in the form of saved costs, reduced wasted time, better opportunities that are more rarely missed and so on.
3. Consider technology as a means
Technology is not a goal. It is just a means of improvement when it comes to businesses and a means of making life easier when it comes to anyone.
When planning for business process transformation with a new software product that you will introduce to customers or employees. Always remember that technology has to be up to date and effective to have real impacts. Relying on just using technology for the purpose of using technology is not a great idea.
4. Focus on sustainability
Approaching business process improvement without focusing on the continuity of the processes with their new improvements can be a big mistake.
Business process planning should consider business process improvement as a journey, and not as a one time shot. Every single process has impacts on other processes and on people. Only a sustainable approach can help businesses keep their processes efficient.
This never means huge investments in business process planning or improvement. It only means that, for example, approaching software solutions with agile methodologies. Then flexibly changing the product according to feedback and arising challenges.
5. Make processes that are optimized for people
Even early during business processing planning, you should always consider what people need. Whether those people are your customers or employees.
Gather feedback as early as possible. Then make communication a key part of your process planning and improvement journey.
Are multiple repeated tasks exhausting for your employees? Here is a start. Customers are always complaining about waiting times? That’s a great opportunity to improve your processes that affect waiting times, and so on.
