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7 signs that you need to streamline your processes
In an ideal world, there would be no need for this article.
That’s because all businesses should prioritize continuous process improvement and streamline processes on an ongoing basis. Gradual, incremental changes, such as removing redundant tasks and unnecessary steps, are the best way to maintain operational excellence and unlock value trapped in complex processes.
However, that’s not how things go in reality. Some companies put process improvement efforts further back in the business transformation queue. Others simply don’t know where to start with streamlining processes. And that’s if they recognize processes as the source of a business issue in the first place – instead of misattributing the root cause to employee management, for example.
So what signs should businesses look out for that there’s value hiding in their processes?
Here are seven common indicators that it’s time to optimize.
1. Slow resolution times
Service requests — whether in relation to internal projects, and handled by IT, or from external customers and handled by customer support — are one of the lifelines of day-to-day business operations. Bottlenecks and delays in either type of service request can not only severely hold up the process, but can also create delays that ripple across the business.
Tickets going missing, sitting in limbo, being investigated multiple times, or being reassigned over and over again all point towards an improvement opportunity.
On top of qualitative impressions across the business about how effective the resolution process is, IT and customer support teams can analyze metrics including response times and ticket volumes to assess the need for streamlining.
2. Duplicate tasks
To be clear, we don’t mean repetitive tasks (that’s our next point!) – we’re talking about processes and activities being repeated unnecessarily. Examples include the same reports being generated or the same documents being issued multiple times.
These duplicates typically result from a lack of business process visibility. If processes are overly complex or you don’t have end-to-end transparency across your operations, it becomes all too easy for teams to unknowingly perform a task that’s already been completed — like paying an invoice twice. It’s equally possible for an existing process to contain repeated steps, prolonging cycle times and embedding avoidable delays in system latency.
3. High volume of manual tasks
Contrary to some of the overexcitement around technological advancement, business processes won’t ever be completely free of human involvement. But that doesn’t mean human intervention is necessary or valuable in every process.
One of the most obvious telltale signs of processes in need of streamlining is a series of repeatable steps that remains reliant on a human to perform. And you might be surprised how many of these exist. The good news is any team will be able to tell you if they spend an unreasonable amount of time on these administrative (and often tedious) tasks.
Cases of this commonly appear in data entry and analytics. It’s not just about implementing standardized processes and a centralized data repository. Automation tools can also streamline data-dependent processes, instead of teams logging and pulling data from disparate systems and spreadsheets.
Business process automation tools can also perform these repeatable, manual tasks more efficiently, consistently and accurately. Rather than continuously checking operational efficiency metrics, for example, teams can set up custom alerts to automatically flag system issues. This also frees up teams’ time and productivity for higher-value activities like strategic planning, technical upskilling, and working on innovation projects.
4. Frequent rework
Businesses can sometimes chalk up data entry and reporting issues to employee error, when these issues actually stem from overly complicated or disconnected business processes.
If teams are spending a lot of time correcting these problems, it’s a sign of a more systemic issue, such as inconsistent data sources or disjointed processes that mean teams arrive at different results.
Either way, streamlining business processes not only takes rework off teams’ to-do lists, but unifies them and your business intelligence systems. Every component of the organization is then able to run off up-to-date, aligned data.
5. Technologies not reaching their full potential
Another consequence of siloed data and disconnected processes is limited impact and ROI from technology investments. However, not all businesses connect these dots.
Technological innovations and investments like AI and business process automation need the right data from your organization in order to work well — especially the right process data, providing crucial business context. Without it, these technologies have no way of understanding how the business runs, or deriving relevant, useful insights. Any use cases become generic, imprecise, and less targeted to your business’s specific needs.
So streamlining business processes ensures organization-wide systems can support teams more effectively – all while helping prove value to stakeholders and gain buy-in for further tech investment.
6. Major change projects taking longer than expected
Many large change projects — like major alterations to software, hardware, overall systems, or general ways of working — come from urgent business needs, like customer service failures or revenue leakage. This means time is nearly always of the essence. The ramifications of having to wait lengthy periods for these projects to be completed can be seismic, both financially and reputationally.
Any major change project within an organization involves executing a series of processes and steps. But these processes and steps are also inherently interconnected with a network of other business processes. A migration error or an extension in a project timeline, for example, is often caused by a process visibility or connectivity issue, such as a blindspot that throws a wrench in the gears. Simplifying processes not only reduces the number of project management variables to account for, but also makes it easier to have comprehensive process visibility (and, ultimately, control) over them all.
7. Low conformance
Process deviation and process non-compliance aren’t just headaches for teams to monitor and address — they can also have serious consequences for highly-regulated industries like finance or healthcare.
While the focus can fall on the teams and employees not adhering to a process, low conformance can equally speak to a lack of process clarity and simplicity, especially if particular processes pop up as repeat examples of conformance issues. Streamlined processes lead to more consistent outcomes, aligned with any protocols and regulations that need to be followed, and make it easier for teams to measure execution and compliance.
How can businesses streamline processes?
If these signs sound familiar, you’re likely wondering how to address them. It’s important not to dive straight into overhauling operational processes just because you believe that’s where an improvement opportunity lies.
First, you need visibility over your end-to-end business processes so you can plan how to streamline them. And that’s what Process Intelligence is designed for. It helps you pinpoint the root causes of inefficient processes by constructing a real-time digital twin of your operations.
But that’s not all. The Celonis Process Intelligence Platform can get to work streamlining processes for you – from uncovering strategic optimizations with artificial intelligence, to implementing suggested actions through workflow automation. This lowers the burden on project management teams, helping make continuous improvement efforts more effective. With Process Intelligence by your side, the process efficiency issues in this list are likely to become a distant memory.
Take a closer look at Process Intelligence in action.
