Improving business process efficiency: 5 key factors to consider

Business process management is a discipline, not a one-time project, so your entire organization has to commit to making regular improvements. When you’re looking to improve your business processes, you need to focus on manual processes, but you should also look for automation opportunities — if your team spends time on repetitive tasks like data entry, you may be able to reduce their workload. 

To help you build the right approach, here are five key considerations to keep in mind when analyzing (and improving) business process efficiency. 

Improving business process efficiency: 5 key factors to consider

1. Focus on outcomes

While your goal is to improve efficiency, experts recommend taking a holistic view of your business’s processes.

“Typically, organizations don’t come to us with one process problem; they’ll come with a larger challenge,” says Mark Withington, vice president of service development and marketing at Accelare, Inc., a digital strategy and transformation consultancy.  “They usually talk at a larger level, and often, what they’re describing is a business problem — and it’s a symptom.” 

Avoid focusing on a specific task. Instead, define the ideal outcomes and then look for methods to make improvements. List the tasks within each process that work efficiently, then identify tasks that create bottlenecks. Consider workflow changes and automation as options for improving those bottlenecks, but stay focused on the outcomes of your processes as a whole.

2. Don’t copy other businesses’ processes 

Your business’s processes are contextual — and while one of your competitors may have extremely efficient workflows, their processes won’t necessarily work for your operation.

“Some people look at successful companies and want to emulate them, which is understandable,” says Jon Quigley of Value Transformation, LLC, a business process management consultancy. “They’ll say things like, ‘Toyota does this, so we should do this.’ Well, if we walk into Toyota’s bathroom and I see that they have blue tiles, does that mean we need to retile our bathrooms?” 

While you can learn from other businesses, remember to involve your team in the discussion. Before implementing a change, ask questions: Will the new process put more stress on certain members of your team, or will the changes affect safety, service quality, or other metrics unrelated to throughput?  

3. Ensure processes are repeatable when the context changes

Ideally, your processes should remain consistent when your workflow changes, but that’s not always practical. For example, if you receive a sudden influx of orders or you add a new piece of equipment, you’ll need to determine whether your process needs to change. Monitor the output of your processes regularly — not just when you’ve made updates — and pay close attention to the factors that affect your outcomes.

“We need to get a measure of repeatability and/or predictability,” Quigley says. “If [outcomes] aren’t repeatable enough, we probably need to tweak some processes and find out why.”

4. Collect accurate data from manual and automated channels

Automation can improve data collection, but you’ll still need input from your workers when you’re deciding whether to change certain tasks. Create a positive environment for feedback and take your team’s suggestions into consideration.

“Don’t browbeat or scare employees,” Quigley says. “That’s the first hurdle to accurate reporting. Tell the truth clearly — you can’t sugarcoat or obfuscate facts. Once you’re measuring good data, then you can start gathering key metrics and analyzing them.” 

Likewise, automated tools should be capable of delivering insights on key performance indicators relevant to your process outcomes. Look for automation solutions that integrate with the platforms your business uses regularly. By streamlining the flow of data, you can reduce errors and simplify your reporting. 

5. Communicate process changes to employees

After collecting and analyzing data, communicate any changes in manual processes to employees. Every member of your team should understand how and why the process needs to change.

“A great idea doesn’t equal a change in behavior,” Withington explains. “Changing bad behavior is incredibly difficult. It’s not simply training at the end of the project — it’s an entire stream of work that starts with executive messaging. It’s almost an internal PR campaign to keep people apprised of why this is happening. We don’t naturally like to change our behavior, but if we feel as though we’re part of the process, it’s much smoother.”

Improving business process efficiency with Jotform’s automation tools 

Jotform’s automation solutions can improve efficiency and scalability. For example, Jotform Tables allows your team to collect, organize, and manage data in an all-in-one workplace, allowing for seamless collaboration and instant report generation. Jotform Workflows collects approvals and moves tasks through an automated approval flow, simplifying IT tickets, HR requests, and more. 

Our solutions integrate with the tools your business already uses, which reduces your time to implementation and improves your return on investment. By simplifying your team’s work — without sacrificing security, reliability, or repeatability — you can improve key business processes and enjoy the benefits of a streamlined workflow.

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