In recent years, process professionals are under increasing pressure to make sure that the work they do contributes to the overall performance of the business and makes a positive impact on the bottom line of their organisation. To this end, the process of linking process improvement with top level business strategy has become a number one priority for many companies.
A new research report by PEX Network – “Special Report: Drive strategic performance through process excellence” has taken an in-depth look into the subject, asking key questions such as; “What are the challenges?” “What are the opportunities?” and “What can process professionals do to gain greater support for and traction for process improvement?” Here are a few interesting takeaways from the report:
Lack of Executive Buy In
A common problem encountered by many companies is the lack of executive buy-ins. 50% of businesses have already identified process excellence as one of their top priorities in the year ahead – however, a large number of these companies (32.2%) find it difficult to commit adequate resources and investment for process improvement. In short, real commitment from executives is required, and this can be a somewhat tasking process.
However, the report also indicates that process professionals are having an increasing influence on executives – and they can use this sway to get senior leaders on board with process improvement, focusing on business outcomes, rather than on the actual methodologies used.
The Language of “Process”
It would also appear that the language of ‘process’ differs across industries – with the lack of a coherent brand for process excellence cited as one of the biggest challenges in the industry. Naturally, this isn’t a big issue for individual organisations – as long as the terms used can be understood by everyone within a company, it isn’t a problem – but it does tend to cause confusion among top level executives, who seek to understand what process excellence really is, and ‘label’ critical business capabilities.
Shared Responsibility
Shared responsibility is also vital –process practitioners and executives need to take responsibility by ensuring that process improvement leads to strategy. Process practitioners should take a proactive role in process improvement – thinking of new ways to influence leadership and creating targets and objectives that can be used to define success.
Investment in Technology rising year on year
On a positive note, the report indicates that investment in all areas of technology is rising year-on-year within process improvement programs, with Analytics and “Big Data” emerging as the number one investment area for the year ahead. Businesses are clearly seeing the importance of combining data and process – and are seeking methodologies and technology to improve processes and support underlying business performance.
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