Business Process Optimization
Streamline processes and equip team members to focus on delivering sustained value, often through using technology more effectively
Driver
Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a process – registering your car in a new state, figuring out where to vote – and thought, “there must be a better way”? Us too. That’s why we care deeply about process optimization. It’s not for the purpose of having beautiful process maps; it’s because time is valuable, and the moments spent navigating inefficiencies don’t seem well allocated.
But documenting and optimizing processes is rarely the most important thing in someone’s day, and asking questions like “wait, how do you do this again?” can prompt defensiveness.
That’s why we find a focused business process optimization effort can yield real results. We can get relevant stakeholders on the same page around solving a specific challenge or taking advantage of a particular opportunity, then take focused next steps toward mapping out processes, evaluating them, and implementing improvements.
Outcome
We’ll work with you to simplify and streamline processes, potentially taking greater advantage of system integrations or automation.
We’ll flag areas that rely on effective collaboration across teams so that team leaders can put special focus on those. And we’ll deliver update process documentation (editable in your preferred process mapping tool) that you can steward going forward as you continue learning and optimizing.
Approach
In our experience, simply the activity of process mapping is illuminating. We’ll work under your direction with subject matter experts across domains to illustrate major steps, highlighting hand-offs across teams or platforms, and making very clear where those hand-offs are manual (that is, subject to someone’s skill and attention).
We’ll connect process maps into a web of activities that contribute toward a similar purpose and ask why some teams or individuals deviate from the prescribed process. (Often, these workarounds hold a story — about not truly adopting a new solution or process, about system performance, about not having enough information or access to succeed — we’ll work to get to the root cause.)
We typically rely on methods and tools from Lean Six Sigma, though we can certainly fit into your organization’s approaches and templates. We’re ultimately aiming for the pillars of Lean Six Sigma: customer value delivered through efficient operations and quality standards.
Efficient operations tend to minimize delays, errors, and waste, while customer value is delivered through consistent quality.
You’ve likely seen some of the tools used — our favorite is value stream mapping, which often includes mapping out current processes, getting really clear on what’s of value (and what isn’t!) in the flow, and drafting a future state map that maximizes value after specific improvements.
Click on the graphic to read this client success story
Interested in learning more?
