5 best practices to improve business processes - Part 4

In our previous article of these series dedicated to the “5 best practices to improve business processes” we presented the most used automation and time monitoring tools. Just a quick recap, we presented notifications, reminders, routing, escalation, timer, service level agreements (SLAs) and operational level agreements (OLAs).

This time, we will talk about the importance of sharing information and building company culture.

As mentioned in “5 best practices to improve business processes Part #2”, information must be accessible, organized and traceable. Enterprise Service Management software

How can you make sure information is accessed only by authorized personnel?

A password manager tool allows you to share information, with well-defined visibility permissions and constantly updated data. You are able to share all corporate knowledge, including sensitive issues. Shared Shared spreadsheets and hidden Post-Its with credentials are luckily a thing of the past. Passwords impact security at all levels as an unauthorized access is a potentially major problem for anyone who uses a device. ?

By adopting an advanced Password Manager software, passwords are saved and read through cryptographic suites with double encryption key to increase the security level of your company. You can manage visibility in a granular way, set read and modify permissions only for a customer or certain types of user groups. You can also integrate the system with the IT Asset Manager and CMDB module to store passwords of devices, services, company sites and users, thus mapping your entire digital universe. ?

How can you share updated information with the team and customers?

A central repository, a Knowledge Base tool that allows you to share user guides, manuals, FAQs and much more information. The Knowledge Base is a database of technical and procedural information that supports your team and your customers in the use of products and services.

This tool lets you can organize your documentation in an orderly way. You can modify guides with a click, thus speeding up the production of content and its updating. It will be easier for users to find information and browse articles, thanks to tags, keywords and an intuitive interface. In addition, if you use an ESM platform you can link the Knowledge Base to business processes so the information you need is available in a certain step pf the process. An updated and well-organized Knowledge Base portal encourages the self-resolution of the most frequent problems and requests. Moreover, it can be accessed 24/7 remotely via web. A paramount aspect? You can set permissions to make sure that only authorized groups access the information reserved for them.

What do we mean when we talk about Corporate Culture?

When we are implementing an improvement project we also need to consider Corporate Culture. Corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company's employees and management interact and handle business. Fundaments of corporate culture are clear rules, a common vocabulary and transparency.

Clear rules.

An Enterprise Service Management tool is particularly helpful in reaching this goal. If correctly configured, it lets you set clear rules, make information available only to those who are authorized and at the right time. This is relevant as there are times when a person should not see certain information, for various reasons, be it wrong timing in the process or still incomplete information.

Common vocabulary.

A common vocabulary allows you to communicate within the management of a process without misunderstandings. Everyone needs to know the precise meaning of certain words used to communicate among team members and departments. To explain this better, let’s take a look at the table below that shows the meaning associated to each value of urgency.

Transparency.

We need to implement processes with well-defined and certain steps. It is important to define steps that help us clearly understand the status of the process and who are the actors responsible for that specific step.?

Clear rules, a common vocabulary and transparency, all contribute to generate corporate culture. The final step, though it is actually the first step, as it is essential for improving business processes is commitment.

Commitment, as well as engagement and collaboration. A major company change such as an improvement project should not be imposed, but must be shared from the very first steps. This has to deal with the fact that behind the processes we have people. And changes are sometimes difficult to accept and embrace. Once the analysis is done and the new improved processes have been set up, you should work transparently and share information with all actors involved. Remember that employees are a fundamental asset for the success of an improvement project.

In summary, once we have completed the mapping of all processes we need to undertake the necessary steps to improve them. That is:

1. Configure inputs so that they are clear and well defined
2. Adopt automation tools
3. Monitor time
4. Organize information to be accessible and shared
5. Generate corporate culture

What are the pros and cons of a business process improvement project?

A comprehensive project realized to improve business processes has its own pros and cons, like every aspect of life, especially when change is requested and many people are involved.

Let's start with the disadvantages as they are a smaller number:

1. The improvement process needs time: time for the assessment and analysis, time for the implementation and time for the people to learn the new processes and adjust to them.
2. We may face resistance to change from some of the users, although the benefits that will derive from it are manifold
3. There are various costs to consider: it’s not just the cost for software and the initial consultancy, there is also the cost of internal resources. That is the cost in terms of time and money needed to train all employees needs to be taken into consideration.

?Let's take a look at the advantages so you can see how these are much greater in an improvement project and will bring benefits across your entire business.

1. Errors and risks are reduced. think of all the repetitive actions in which it is easy to have a loss of attention;
2. Repetitive tasks are speeded up, such as requests for assistance, new hire, permits, purchases, etc;
3. You save time and money to manage the processes and you can concentrate on the most strategic activities;
4. You can respect procedures and best practices over time. This is particularly relevant when dealing with audits, regulations and certifications;
5. Time and resources are measured, so you can take timely and adequate decisions. Be aware of and ready for seasonal peaks or obsolete devices that need to be replaced;
6. User and customer experience are improved. Thanks to an ESM platform you can give more precise answers, you reduce risks, and customers are happier with the service offered;
7. Profit margins increase;
8. Productivity increased;
9. Increase in competitive advantage;
10. Reduction in operating expenses.

As you can see, the advantages considerably exceed the disadvantages.

Conclusions.

In recent years, significant investments have been made by companies worldwide in Knowledge Base and information sharing platforms, in technologies to support remote work and most importantly in Enterprise Service Management solutions.

To conclude, when we approach digital transformation processes, it is necessary to create new models and use technology to improve user experience. Remember though it is necessary to do an analysis of the processes and improve them, before introducing new technology.

We live in a historical period in which it is necessary to rethink business processes to improve productivity. Luckily there are complete Enterprise Service Management software in the market, such as Deepser, that allow us to optimize business processes and carry out change.

To find out more about the optimization of business processes with Deepser request a call with us at [email protected] or visit https://www.deepser.com

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