(taken from the Mar/Apr 2006 issue of On Balance magazine)

Leveraging technology
to streamline processes
By Robin Reicosky
 

Inefficiencies drag down your bottom line.  With increasing competition in the marketplace, organizations are under constant pressure to reduce costs and improve products and services. One important way to achieve both of these goals is by streamlining business processes through self-service applications and workflow automation.

Take the following steps to learn how to automate workflow.

Step 1: Understand the process
Starts with a thorough understanding of the business process so that technology can be applied where it matters most. Design a flowchart to better understand the complete process. Answer the following questions to ensure that all aspects of the process are included:

• What data is needed to accomplish the desired business objective
• What individuals or groups manipulate, review or act upon the data in some way
• What decisions affect the data in the process or the manner in which the process is conducted, and who makes those decisions?

Step 2: Review your current software
Review technology currently at your disposal and assess whether you are getting the most out of it. This can range from an e-HR system to Microsoft Outlook. Questions to ask include:

• Are you making best use of the management reporting data provided by the system
• Have you had sufficient training in the software to understand all of its features and functions
• Is everyone able to access information to do his job efficiently 
• Do you need to adapt work habits to get the best use of the system?
• To answer these questions you need to take into account not just how you are using individual programs, but whether those programs are working together as efficiently as possible. You want your software system as a whole to be greater than the sum of its parts.

Step 3: Considerations when automating processes
Self-service (Web) applications
Web-based applications can give your employees a single source for all their business information and processes. Enabling employees to look up customer, supplier, inventory and other information will increase the quality and speed of decisions, as well as reduce the cost of information support in your business.

Giving employees single-source access to policies, procedures, announcements and news will help each individual stay informed and effective. Delivering easy on-line access to processes such as sales entry, requisitions, expense and time reporting, etc., will reduce processing time, eliminate repetitive tasks, and free administrative staff to drive business forward instead of pushing paper around.

Workflow automation software
The benefits of implementing workflow automation software are significant. Work is prioritized because tasks are assigned priorities. Higher priority processes get done faster because users, through their task list, can see each task's priority. As one user completes a high priority task, the subsequent task in the process becomes visible to the next user immediately. If the task is not completed within a designated amount of time, it may be escalated.

User calendars ensure that tasks are not sent to those who are out of town or on vacation, and balancing can spread the workload across multiple users who are capable of doing the same task. Tasks may be linked across an organization and even between organizations. As companies become increasingly dispersed geographically, the ability to seamlessly link processes is a competitive advantage.

Step 4: People factor
Although software can address process issues, you cannot install the application, walk away, and expect the company to automatically run better. At the heart of every process is a human, and that person has to understand why the software was implemented in the first place. A common misconception is that a company can simply install software and have better processes. If the processes are still broken it is assumed that the software does not work the way it should.

Do not underestimate the softer side, which is communication between people. The software will provide a tool, but ultimately the individuals have to know how to use it. More important, they need to know why they should rely on it to collaborate.

Organizations that take this holistic approach to the project will be rewarded with business processes that achieve desired results quickly, are highly integrated, and produce information that enables management to identify problems early and make changes rapidly.

Robin Reicosky is the marketing coordinator at SVA Consulting LLC in Madison. She can be reached at reicoskyr@svaconsulting.com or (608) 826-2372.

 

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