Are You Using BPM Strategies in Your Ukiah, CA Business?

Business process management BPM is the collection of activities that streamline your organization. It includes system automation and even directions for the humans that keep your business up and running. There are many perks, and all businesses can benefit from BPM.

Today, this article from the Greater Ukiah Business and Tourism Alliance skims the surface of business process management and why it matters to your business.

Analyzing Data With Process Mining

The idea of streamlining and improving efficiency is tempting. But, before you jump headfirst into implementing business process management strategies, you have to know where you get bottlenecked, which could be anywhere in your business. You’ll need to analyze all data available to you and then make changes based on your findings in order to figure out where you can improve. 

Process mining involves looking for patterns in data, and the data you utilize throughout the process helps you make more money, reduce mistakes, and create a happier customer base. Have your key personnel help you identify data sources and determine when and by whom processes will be recommended and implemented.

Types of BPM

There are three primary types of business process management: human, integration, and documents. These can be used in all aspects of your business. Appian offers insight into real-world cases, including how BPM can assist with acquisition, claims management, customer data, healthcare, lease management, marketing, inventory management, retail manufacturing, and even upselling at the point of sale.

Make sure that you talk to your employees to find out where things get bogged down. They are your eyes and ears, and they can help you create a plan by setting goals and deciding which software solution might be right for your business.

Benefits

While the potential benefits of business process management are virtually unlimited, three of the most immediate perks that you may experience include cost reduction, improved digital transformation, and happier employees.

• Reduce costs. Business process management often includes automation. ExpensePoint explains that automation can reduce the time it takes to complete certain processes. As such, it will reduce errors and take away some human responsibility for mundane tasks, including approving or denying reimbursement for travel expenses.

• Improve digital transformation. If you have yet to begin transforming your business from outdated/analog processes to modern/digital ones, your BPM can help. When you know where digitization can help, you can implement changes, like eliminating physical documents, which also eliminates the need to fax and email files when someone else needs to see them. Employees can access important documents directly from the cloud on a digital platform.

• Make employees happier. If your employees are constantly doing things that don’t directly affect the parts of their job they love, they’ll be stressed and experience low morale. When you have processes that help streamline and eliminate “busy” work, you’ll have happier employees who know that you value their time beyond acting as a file clerk or document babysitter.

As you continue to apply and learn from BPM, communicate your results clearly to your employees and other key stakeholders. Understanding why things are changing generally helps improve attitudes towards change. Try using a free PDF editor as you draft and revise your internal communication. You can even send copies to team leaders for review before distributing as the tool allows you to highlight, circle, annotate, and add sticky notes.

Ongoing Maintenance

You may have noticed that we haven’t mentioned any specific business process management software. This is because these will be different for all businesses. However, whatever you choose to invest in, you should maintain records that show whether or not it’s effective. 

Another important step that you can’t miss is to confirm that customer support is available. Remember, new software does not always integrate seamlessly, and something as simple as picking up the phone to see if a live human answers when you call can help you feel more confident as you get ready to make what may be a large monthly investment.

Embrace and Communicate BPM Strategies

Your BPM strategies can help you build a better brand by ensuring consistency throughout your business. It starts with process mining and knowing what you need and ends with happy employees and customers. In the middle, focus on the benefits your business needs most, and use PDF editing tools to create concise communication to your employees about upcoming changes. The more your employees know and understand, the more likely they are to support the changes. In the end, an adaptive work environment should lead to a more positive work environment, too,