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Business Process Improvement AFTER the Pandemic

8/9/2023

The pandemic is over. Employees are returning to the office. Things are returning to normal. Really?

I wonder if things will ever return to the way it was before the pandemic. Many employees enjoy working from home and managers developed more comfort with that scenario during the pandemic. Of course they did not have any choice for a while, but what about now? Well, from the people I talk to, many employees do not necessarily want to go back to the office, but some companies insist.

As I said before, change is a constant. Once change happens though, it becomes harder to rewind. Establishing business processes that support remote working can help retain valuable employees; and provide a wider pool of candidates to select from for future openings. Think about employee efficiency and how to support the idea of remote employees. Happy employees deliver effective processes, which support customer satisfaction.

Review your company’s business processes with the filter of remote workers. Think of the talent pool that could open up to you? Processes can bring structure and enable all employees to operate under the same rules no matter where they work, but perhaps in a healthier environment.

As a manager, if you feel uncomfortable with employees working from home, ask yourself “why?” Do you have a trust issue? If so, that is a totally different issue to address.

#BPI #BusinessProcess #Processimprovement ##process #leansixsigma #continuous improvement

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Business Process Improvement Brings Change

7/5/2023

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Does your company want to improve their business processes? Of course, right? Who doesn’t want to make their processes more effective and efficient? You want to deliver what customers want. You want to do so in the most efficient way. You want to be on the leading edge of the revolution. Or do you?

Many people say they accept the notion that change is the norm and they embrace it. Of course, that is what companies expect their employees to say. After all, we have heard for years, the only constant is change. But, how far have we really come as human beings to accepting this concept? Change is good as long as it does not negatively affect me, is probably the honest answer. How many of you can honestly say you hunger for change? Real change. Change that affects you personally? Even positive change disrupts your day-to-day life. While the theory sounds good, the reality challenges our private world.

Change though is inherent in business process improvement (BPI), so when you lead a BPI effort, prepare yourself for the natural angst you will observe from some employees in your organization. Your role in leading BPI is to display sensitivity and not take pushback personally. Recognize human behavior and know some employees place much of their personal value on their job. Listen to employees talk and explain how the changes will help the company remain competitive, which helps them retain a job in the end.

#BPI #BusinessProcess #processimprovement #continuousimprovement

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Painting a Vision for Business Process Improvement

6/13/2023

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Engaging employees in a BPI effort can appear daunting. We know most people do not like change, so how do you encourage employees to help change your company’s business processes? Telling them it’s good for the customer, while true, may not speak to them emotionally. Create a vision for the work that speaks to the emotional side of employees.

But how do you do this? This does not mean writing a vision statement and posting it on the wall. It means verbally describing the end state with words that help employees mentally “see” the future. Do you see the difference in these two statements?

After we improve this process, our company will experience a 20% decrease in customer complaints.
After we improve this process, our customers will send us testimonials, will follow us on Facebook, and will write positive reviews of our product on Amazon.

The first statement provides a quantitative statement that addresses the analytical side of an employee’s brain, while the second statement paints a picture that an employee can visualize.

Combine both analytical statements and descriptive statements when beginning a process improvement effort to effectively engage employees.

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Align Business Processes to Customer Value

5/24/2023

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Do your employees know what your customers value? Yes, you say. Are you sure?

Customer needs and what they value change. Did you see any changes to your customer’s needs during the Covid crisis? Part of continuous improvement includes reevaluating your customer’s needs to make sure your processes continually deliver what they value.

Empower your employees to think about how they do their work and allow them to align their work processes with customer value. Strive to ingrain process improvement into your company’s culture. While culture is one of the hardest things to change in a company, and it won’t happen overnight, think of the power of all employees feeling responsible for process improvement to achieve customer satisfaction. It might just become part of your company’s DNA.

And what is technology’s role in this discussion? Every year technology changes and it just keeps getting better and better. It can contribute significant savings if you have solid business processes in place that support the customer.

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Business Process Improvement AFTER the Pandemic

Business Process Improvement Brings Change

Painting a Vision for Business Process Improvement

Align Business Processes to Customer Value

Business Process Improvement Blog

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