This week’s question from the 3 Ps Network: I’m struggling with inconsistent performance. Should I focus on standardizing my business processes to improve?
A study of 85 firms found 95% achieved reduced process complexity, reduced operating costs, & increased flexibility by standardizing their business processes.
(Source)
Implementing process standardization can improve your performance. However, there are some common challenges that need to be understood & managed!
Standardizing to achieve standardization
Why change the process from the current state? If your answer is simply “to achieve standardization” then your business case is too weak.
Changing business processes is a resource intensive, expensive, & often political undertaking. If you don’t have a clear, $’s based business case for why standardization makes sense you will not have the foundations in place to drive sustainable change in the business.
You cannot simply standardize for the sake of achieving standardization!
Quick conversions to an existing “best practice”
It seems logical to find the pockets of “best practice” in your business and apply this process to the rest of your organization.
Unfortunately, even if you find a pocket of best practice converting the rest of the business across is not a quick process!…It may not even work at all.
Often the pocket of “best practice” is a fit for purpose solution for a specific part of the business. It’s been developed based on a specific set of requirements and constraints. This “best practice” process will not deliver the same results across the business if the requirements & constraints are not consistent.
The cascade of a “best practice” process without appropriate consideration of all requirements & constraints can actually makes you less efficient & effective.
Replacing flexibility with rigidity
In the current state everyone in your business has the flexibility to execute the process as they see fit. Standardization enforces rigidity, removes flexibility, and often results in organizational politics & resistance to change.
Without a strong business case & senior leadership support this reaction often results in the change process stalling or stopping completely.
Reduced focus on innovation & improvement
Just because you’ve defined & implemented a standard process doesn’t mean you should stop looking for continuous improvement opportunities. We’re in a fast paced environment of constant change!
Unfortunately, when you enforce process standardization it can stop your most motivated & innovative people from generating ideas that continuously improve the process. This results in frustration, turnover, & in the worst case your best talent being acquired by your competitors.
Getting it right
To achieve reduced complexity, reduced operating costs & improved flexibility by standardizing business processes:
- make sure you have a clear & compelling case for change,
- build the process on clearly defined requirements & constraints by engaging the front line users,
- have strong leadership support to manage the politics,
- & continue to focus on improving the process once it’s standardized.
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About 3 Ps in Profit
Our Vision: Enabling more Australian small & medium businesses to succeed & thrive through genuine partnerships that deliver performance improvement & growth.
Our Mission: Improving & growing Australian small & medium businesses by focusing on the three fundamental elements that drive performance; planning & alignment, processes & systems, and people.
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