What Makes a Good Business Process Optimization Suite?

Business process optimization is crucial to the success of modern organizations in 2020.

Businesses across every industry have been implementing automation solutions to improve their work processes at an increasing rate.

Automation, a key aspect of BPO, is more sophisticated and more affordable than ever before—its market has grown from $271 million in 2016 and by 2022 is expected to hit $3 billion.

While companies seeking to embrace automation isn’t necessarily new, the rapid growth of the industry is a clear indication of the popularity automation tools like RPA are currently enjoying among SMBs.

RPA is just one aspect of BPO, albeit a crucial one. Business process optimization, as a whole, is seeing significant investment, with SMBs pouring resources into eliminating redundant and wasteful tasks.

Because of this, they want to know where their money is going and how effectively it’s being used.

In today’s blog, we’re going to be taking a look at what you should be expecting from a quality business process optimization suite.

Benefits of Business Process Optimization

If you’re still a little unsure as to what exactly this industry buzzword is, then check out our explainer video on business agility—which outlines what organizations hope to achieve by adopting a BPO strategy.

In essence, any roadmap for BPO will generally seek to achieve greater business agility by addressing two major areas of recourse for a modern SMB:

• Optimize workflow processes: Utilize software that enables you to streamline redundant tasks, improve communication, and drive better efficiency
• Change management: Establish a workplace culture that is receptive to new technologies, new ideas, and other disruptive aspects of digital transformation

Who Needs Business Process Optimization?

In today’s business world, data is king.

Data analytics is a hugely important part of business strategy, whether it’s for your supply chain management or your marketing.

90% of all online data has been created in the last two years alone. Put simply, if you’re not leveraging the data that you’re sitting on, then you’re falling behind your competitors.

Typically, businesses that have a need for process optimization have one or more of the following in common:

• Software: Outdated legacy systems in need of updating
• Communication: Lack of connectivity between departments and locations
• Data management: Struggling to managed multiple data sets across disconnected programs
• Tech specialists: Lacking tech experts who can provide the knowhow to improve your processes
• Redundant tasks: Workers spending a long time on manual, repetitive tasks
• Strategy: Idle or total lack of digital strategy guiding your business

What Should You Look for In a Business Process Optimization Offering?

When you’re looking at the offering for your process optimization suite, you will want assurances that it will address particular aspects of the organization.

Here are some of the things you should be expecting: 

Communication

We recently talked about how UCaaS is helping businesses improve their internal communication structures. 

Many organizations are falling behind their competitors because they don’t have adequate mechanisms for communication in place.

When this occurs, it can lead to the emergence of data silos, which is extremely inhibitive for a modern SMB.

Combine this with the influx of new devices in the workplace and a growing tendency of businesses to embrace bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

A proper process optimization offering should seek to address these concerns by implementing a complete line of communication across your organization.

Automation

If you’re familiar with digital transformation, then the chances are you’ve heard or read the virtues of automation.

The truth is that when you boil it down, automation really comes down to saving workers time.

Remember how we were talking about the explosion of new data that has come about over the last couple of years? Well, somebody’s got to do something with it.

In an organization that hasn’t implemented automation, it falls to someone to input all of that data manually.

For many SMBs, this can be a huge problem.

Not only does an employee have to waste their time performing a monotonous task, they are also an increased cost to the business because they cannot use their time to do something that provides more value to the business.

In other words, by incorporating RPA bots into your workflows, you can save employees times and allow them to focus their energies on tasks that require a human touch.

An obvious example of this would be data entry for customers. A process optimization offering should be able to give you the opportunity to automatically trigger a workflow the instant a customer signup occurs.

Data analytics 

If you’re not utilizing your data to get ahead, then you’re behind your competitors.

A large part of a successful digital transformation is gaining the ability to put your newfound insights into action.

This aspect of DX will only become more and more prominent as new technologies are adopted by businesses.

You need to have the tools and procedures in place to be able to measure the impact of these new tech initiatives.

A good process optimization offering will give you a platform that allows you these tools.

A good example of this would be Microsoft PowerBI, which can take data sources and turn them into visualizations that can be easily understood and are actionable.

This helps decision makers get a firm grasp on the performance of processes, how customer satisfaction is affected by them, and quickly identify where processes are not performing to the level they should be.

Change management 

This is often overlooked by more zealous organizations, but is perhaps one of the most vitally important aspects of digital transformation.

When a digital transformation fails, it is often because the company isn’t prepared properly and the culture is not ready.

If workers haven’t bought into the change, or the transformation isn’t being led from the top or in a half-hearted way, then the chances of the project running aground are significantly higher.

In essence, change management helps lay the groundwork—it’s your springboard for success.

When we at Impact are strategizing digital initiatives for our clients, we place a great emphasis on them preparing their workforce, and we help them achieve this.

People who are used to a certain way of doing their jobs are often reluctant to learn a new way of doing things, even if it benefits them, so this is crucial.

As an example of potential change management services, we use BrainStorm QuickHelp, a platform that drives pend user adoption of new technologies, so everybody is onboard with the new changes.

Takeaways

• Business process optimization is a central aspect of digital transformation—and offering should have several components to it
• Organizations that fail to take advantage of BPO will fall behind their competitors, particularly as regards automation and analytics
• Analytics, communication, automation, and change management are all important parts of BPO; don’t settle for a substandard offering because your entire strategy depends on it

At Impact, we recognize the challenge of trying to modernize a growing business. That’s what inspired us to build a powerhouse suite of business solutions that seamlessly work together, eliminating data and process silos, and empowering clients to operate with unprecedented agility and visibility. 

Contact one of our helpful representatives today for more information about what we can do for you!