How do you prove the ROI of your process design?

1 Define your objectives

Before you can prove the ROI of your process design, you need to define what you want to achieve with it. What are the specific problems or challenges you are trying to solve or prevent? What are the desired outcomes or benefits you expect from your process design? How do they align with your business strategy and vision? You need to have clear and measurable objectives that can guide your process design and evaluation. For example, you may want to increase productivity, reduce costs, enhance quality, or improve customer retention.

2 Identify your metrics

Once you have your objectives, you need to identify the metrics that can help you track and quantify your process performance and improvement. Metrics are the indicators or measures that can show you how well your process is meeting your objectives. They can be financial, operational, or customer-related. For example, you may use metrics such as revenue, profit, expenses, cycle time, error rate, customer satisfaction, or retention rate. You need to choose the metrics that are relevant, reliable, and realistic for your process and business context.

3 Collect and analyze your data

The next step is to collect and analyze the data that can support your metrics and show the impact of your process design. You need to have a baseline or benchmark data that can show the current state of your process before you implement any changes or improvements. You also need to have a target or goal data that can show the expected state of your process after you implement your process design. You can use various methods and tools to collect and analyze your data, such as surveys, interviews, observations, audits, reports, dashboards, or analytics software.

4 Calculate your ROI

After you have your data, you can calculate your ROI by comparing the benefits and costs of your process design. The benefits are the positive outcomes or value that your process design generates for your business, such as increased revenue, reduced expenses, or improved customer loyalty. The costs are the negative outcomes or expenses that your process design incurs for your business, such as implementation costs, training costs, or maintenance costs. You can use different formulas or models to calculate your ROI, depending on your business context and preferences. One of the simplest and most common formulas is:

ROI = (Benefits - Costs) / Costs x 100%

This formula shows the percentage of return that your process design produces for every dollar invested in it.

5 Communicate your results

The final step is to communicate your results to your stakeholders and decision-makers. You need to present your ROI in a clear, concise, and compelling way that can show the value and impact of your process design. You can use various formats and channels to communicate your results, such as reports, presentations, infographics, or videos. You need to tailor your message and style to your audience and purpose. You need to highlight the key findings, insights, and recommendations that can support your process design and business goals.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?