Business process transformation can seem like an overwhelming task. With a focus on modern techniques and approaches to process management and transformation, this blog delves into how to be successful in your journey.
Business process transformation is “a significant change or leap in the design, flow, activities or implementation of a process.” Usually, business process transformation focuses on achieving important business goals such as driving up efficiency by becoming digitally focused. Therefore, it is not surprising ‘Digital Transformation’ has been a necessary disruption for many organizations.
Although transformation can be labeled as a ‘big shift’ activity, more and more organizations are taking a ‘big picture, small steps’ approach for their business transformation projects. This focus on setting a big vision and delivering it through incremental steps makes the journey more manageable by team members and allows for learning to be captured and used in successive stages.
You may be wondering, “What is the business transformation process, and why is it important?” Read on for some insight into business process transformation methodology and why it is vital to your business.
Processes are at the heart of every organization’s operations and company culture. Due to changes in the internal or external environment, or a lack of coordinated improvements, a transformation program can focus the organization’s energy on making tangible leaps forward, effectively supporting the organization’s mission and substantial cost reduction.
For example, COVID has caused many organizations to become more adaptable and rethink the way they do business. This dynamic requires companies to think holistically about their business model vs. just doing departmental process improvement projects.
When an organization makes this realization, it is time to embrace a transformation mindset. But how?
Start by understanding the context and drivers of the transformation process. Answer questions such as:
With an understanding of these drivers, you can begin mapping strategy to execution and identifying areas ripe for automation, simplification, oversight, etc. Using this insight, you can set quantifiable goals and target outcomes and build a transformation map that synchronizes efforts across the organization, track benefits and progress, and identifies additional opportunities for a successful business process transformation.
Transformation involves setting up the team members initiative and approach. To ensure a successful transformation, the core team should engage the key SMEs and stakeholders – people with a real vested interest in getting it right.
Keep the team tight and focused. Create an organizational transformation plan – this is especially important if working across multiple processes or business areas to ensure strong communication channels.
Define the approach for working through the transformation initiatives. Ideally, work in a test-and-learn mode that allows you to focus on small increments of work that can be set-up, delivered and reviewed before the next phase starts. This will help ensure that you do not get bogged down in creating detailed plans that get scrapped, heavily adjusted or stalled due to analysis paralysis or planning perfection.
What is the transformation process in business?
Then repeat.
It is really true that in modern business practices, ‘big picture’ thinking, coupled with ‘small incremental steps’ has significant value to offer transformation initiatives that reach that big end goal through taking lots of little steps that each deliver incremental value resulting in business growth.
