Did you know that over 70 percent of all organization improvement opportunities lay hidden in broken processes? Every organization is riddled with processes that are outdated, redundant, inefficient, ineffective, or simply no longer needed — but very few organizations have the resources or understanding necessary to diagnose and solve workflow problems. Fortunately, there are outside experts who can help.
What Does a BPI Consultant Do?
Business process improvement consultants are experts in proven methodologies and tools designed to help organizations identify key business systems, define the processes contained in those systems from start to finish, and look for quick-win and long-term improvement opportunities around broken processes. Formal and informal business processes that are unclear or undefined lead to bottlenecks in work output that can cause significant bottom-line losses. To this end, BPI consultants help make sure every key business process is accounted for and well-defined.
BPI consultants also help organizations look outside of siloed business systems and processes to gain a more comprehensive view of how people, processes, and products interact. This holistic view helps put into perspective the critical connection between processes and performance, from which organizational leaders can begin to ask the right questions regarding business processes:
- Is the process defined, documented, and consistently followed from start to finish?
- Is there a system in place to manage the process?
- Are the current processes efficient and sustainable?
- Could processes be streamlined or re-engineered to add value?
The exact process can vary from one BPI consultant to the next, but generally here is what you can expect when working with an outside expert to identify and fix business processes:
- Identify organizational goals (expansion, cost reduction, ISO certification, etc.)
- Collaborate with leaders and process owners to map out key business systems
- Evaluate problem areas and improvement opportunities
- Support leaders and process owners through execution
Benefits of Hiring a BPI Consultant
Talking about the benefits of hiring a business process improvement consultant is the same as talking about the benefits of business process improvement itself. In other words, hiring a BPI consultant brings with it all of the benefits defining, improving, and aligning key business processes.
Some of the ways business process improvement delivers value to an organization (and some of the benefits of hiring an outside expert to help lead your organization through change) include:
- Cost Control – Reducing expenses, asset costs, and working capital are key benefits of business mapping. BPI consultants help organizations identify and fix broken processes that cost time and money, which means more dollars spent on other assets that underperform relative to their full potential until peak operational efficiency is reached.
- Consistency and Scalability – Process mapping can improve quality and performance by creating consistent, repeatable processes across the entire organization or within a specific department or project. It can also facilitate organizational growth by creating scalable business processes.
- Customer Loyalty – By systematically studying the wants and needs of your customers and building robust processes around them, your organization can focus on delivering experiences that satisfy and delight your customers. Along with improved customer loyalty, this also delivers a significant competitive advantage over time.
- Change Management – Business process improvement is synonymous with organizational change. BPI consultants help you identify and improve key business processes that affect organizational performance. Business process mapping also provides additional information and knowledge that supports the execution of change management strategies.
3 Key Qualities to Look for in a BPI Consultant
The field of business process improvement has grown tremendously in recent years due to the growing emphasis on organizational change. While this has certainly led to an increase in the number of BPI consultants, it hasn’t necessarily led to an increase in the number of competent BPI consultants. To help you identify the right individual or firm for the job, here are some important qualities to look for in a potential business process improvement consultant.
1. Deep BPI Knowledge – First and foremost, what is the consultant’s experience with business process improvement? How long has the consultant been practicing? Is the consultant a thought leader in the field? Does the consultant have a deep understanding of contemporary BPI tools and methodologies?
2. Hands-On Approach – Business process improvement can be an intensive undertaking, which is why the most successful BPI consultants are those who go into the trenches with you as opposed to simply telling you how process mapping works.
3. Successful Track Record – Anyone can claim to be an expert in business process improvement, but there’s no faking the results. Look for a BPI consultant with a long and successful track record, which might be measured in terms of the number of processes mapped and deployed or the amount of savings that have resulted from BPI efforts.
If you need help identifying, diagnosing, and resolving broken business processes, contact Business Enterprise Mapping. In over 25 years, our BPI consultants have partnered with more than 300 clients, mapped over 3,000 process-based business systems, deployed 25,000+ processes, and successfully addressed more than 750,000 improvement opportunities. We can help you achieve sustainable business process improvement.
Further Reading: THE PERIGON METHOD