The science behind productive business processes

The setup and optimization of business processes in a company is the key to its productivity. In order to achieve the best results, we should consider several details while constructing the working process. The first and the most important thing is to set priorities, based on the list of the company’s key performance indicators (KPI).

The ability to construct tasks and distribute those within the team will also contribute to the productivity of your business. Additionally, the company’s productivity will benefit from the analysis of the previous actions and timely work on existing issues.

Now, let's take a look at further details of these aspects.

1. Multitasking is not efficient

   Suppose the organization has to optimize its business processes. At this stage, the manager is responsible for identifying the aspects of the work that needs additional adjustments, setting them as priorities and directing the focus of the team on those aspects. In this scenario, multitasking can lead to insufficient concentration on the most pressing issues for the company. This approach will also bring to a non-efficient allocation of the team’s resources and affect the quality of the work done.

   To highlight the priority tasks and be able to focus on those, keep the key performance indicators updated for all of the ongoing projects. The most convenient way to do this would be using KPI dashboards. Automation of the result calculations and visualization of the current state of affairs in the business play an important role in the optimization and enhancement of productivity. Visualization of the metrics based on your data will help to form a better understanding of the existing issues, and to identify which aspects of the business are worth focusing on at the moment.

2. Break down the tasks into smaller pieces

   When planning large processes, it is important to understand that considering every detail is what will give you the best results. In project management, this method is called decomposition. Instead of calculating the KPI of the entire project, you can break it down into several smaller parts and track the performance indicators for each selected subtask. This way, you will be able to reduce the effect of possible errors on the entire process. This means that by working on the issues more efficiently, analyzing those and drawing conclusions you can take the past experience into account and benefit from it in the future.

   Breaking down into stages and subtasks will also allow you to see a comprehensive picture of the project. You will be able to follow through with every small goal used to achieve the main ones. The division into subtasks gives a clear picture of how the team’s temporary resources are distributed and how to optimize those later. Another benefit of project decomposition is that it enables to implement the subtasks of earlier projects in the future more complex tasks.

3. Learn to delegate

   Delegation is one more effective tool to increase productivity. In other words, it is the proper distribution of duties in order to increase the company’s performance. The scope and complexity of delegated tasks are determined by the professional hierarchy. By doing so, managers don’t merely delegate, but also manage the project.

   In addition, you can delegate tasks “for growth”. This will give the performers an opportunity to learn from the tasks executed under the manager’s responsibility and develop professionally. They will certainly need acquired skills in future projects. So next time, while performing the same task, their speed and quality will most likely improve. And for the manager, this will also mean they have optimized their time and achieved higher KPI levels after the successful performance of similar tasks.

4. Tracking and analyzing your actions will help.

   Business process management doesn’t only include not only the organization of teamwork. The project manager should be aware of all the tasks assigned to any of the team members. This will allow the manager to keep track of how well the tasks are being accomplished and be highly responsive to difficulties that arise along the way.

   It is recommended to use KPI dashboards for these business purposes. Having structured information will help simplify the tracking process. In that case, everyone will be able to record their results, and the management can track their performance. Monitoring the status of the tasks will give managers the ability to observe all the necessary indicators for every employee. Moreover, visual metrics majorly simplify the comprehension of the performance indicators. With the help of the visual representation of the metrics, you will not only be able to monitor the results, but also support the reorganization of tasks backing you statements with visual materials and optimize time for analysis through automation.

5. Implement, communicate, change

   It is always advisable to experiment with process building formats. Long meetings with several dozen employees waste man-hours, the most valuable resource of the company. Every industry is developing rapidly, so, in these conditions, it is important to be able to make decisions on the go. At the high rate of development, you will have much more mistakes. This method of testing whether you are on the right path is called Fail Fast. While applying the method it is important to take into account two basic rules that will increase the efficiency of your business processes. Firstly, you shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes. And secondly, is to draw conclusions from every failure and learn.

   Another significant factor affecting efficiency is feedback. The presence of feedback helps to identify the aspects of the business which need to be developed. You should seek feedback not only from the clients but also from the team members. Feedback identifies the causes of failures, increases employee motivation and allows them to take part in making adjustments and optimization of business processes. Feedback also allows the management team to receive information about the current tasks and meet the interests of all parties involved, including the company itself.

All the above examples can be used to improve the efficiency of building business processes. The most important thing is to remember that there are urgent tasks that need to be completed in a timely manner. Use the KPI dashboard tool to track performance, identifying project strengths and weaknesses of the process. Another responsibility of the management team is to improve the business processes, this can be done using the method of decomposition and delegation. And of course, all parties should be involved in giving and receiving feedback to make sure the business is on the right track and take immediate actions if necessary. Openness to change and taking actions in a timely manner is a direct path to having high KPIs and an efficient business.