I am VP of the CS division fo our company and to me the customer is first and foremost factor for the process. defining who the exactly customer is becomes the challenge.
obviously we have the end users of our products, but then we also have our staff(internal customers) of our systems and process flows. We have parallel customers who are our associates in other deparmtents(IT, Finance, HR, etc...)
And we can't forget that we too are customers of our vendors and other companies that we purchase from.
when we take all of this into consideration it is a very delicate process to be able to plan, implement and continuously improve our processes for the benefit of all participants.
vu,
Great points and how specifically does business structure come into the consideration?
Dr. Eric Goodman
customer focus, business struture these factor need to consider when redesign the process
Excellent point Harvey...any time there is a change in various metrics it should raise the flag that something needs to be examined...
When assessing is a need exist to redesign a business process when a noticeable decline in customer satisfaction and a consistent decline in performance results began to surface. These factors indicate that an opportunity is present for me to begin evaluating the existing business process to assess where the potential challenges exist.
I consider whether the process can be streamlined to improve work flow, eliminate frustration of staff and increase customer satisfaction.
Hi Marcia,
That is an excellent point and one that happens when there are interdepdencies in carrying out the process. So, knowing that, I'm curious in your organization whether there are mechanisms in place to help identify and know when work isn't completed on time so that you may proactively address this issue?
You are exactly right about the critical need to have accurate information so that you're not relying on faulty informaton. So, if you had the ability to change something in that regard what type of quality check would you put in place?
The symptom that is seen most often in my workplace is that some people cannot continue their work because they are waiting on information from others. So work comes to a standstill on a regular basis. Also due to faulty processes the information passed along can be faulty.
when it dosent seem like is making customers or your employeer happy, your employers are frustrated and your customers are not satisfied.
Hi Dave! Thanks for your comments! You're right on target - customer satisfaction is the ultimate validation of an effective process, and the goal achieved from following a process is a guiding factor. Without the goal a process has no real effective outcome.
Additionally, process improvement is defined as "a systematic approach to closing any performance gaps through identification and elimination of those factors that cause problems such as low quality or waste of resources." It is difficult to know what those gaps are unless there is a desired result identified from the start.
Out of curiosity, what is your typical first step once you have determined that a process needs to be redesigned or improved, or is not being followed correctly?
Thanks again,
Jay
ML145 Facilitator
Customer satisfaction plays a large role in determining if a process is achieving it's goal, the more difficult aspect is determining if the key participants in performing a process are in fact using the process as prescribed. If the process is not being effectively followed or carried out I begin looking at rediesign or improvement.
Hi Keith! Thanks for your observations! You have hit on a definitive point - process for process sake (we've always done it this way) does not necessarily produce results; however, when we are performace driven, we not only implement processes to make it happen, but monitor those processes and change accordingly. I have found that my team members are usually on target regarding what works and what doesn't.
Jay Hollowell
ML145 Facilitator
When I see frustration in my team's experience with a process I realize that it may need improving. I also look at the results a process nets. If we're not getting the results we desire then we may need to change the process.
This course and work experience has shown me that business processes can always be improved on and are never completely perfect. Our jobs are constantly changing where we need to evolve and improve a business process as the company grows and changes. I've found that a business process that works well now might need to be slightly modified a year from now to adjust to new circumstances in the work place.
