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5 Benefits of Working with Business Process Consultants

Business operations are key to success, but they can quickly become a tangled web. Business owners navigating through these business processes know it can be a tricky and time-consuming affair. And while it’s possible to manage it on your own, working with a business process consultant will help you improve the efficiency of your operations and achieve your goals faster. 

These experts offer fresh perspectives and proficiency frameworks that will help you streamline processes, identify inefficiencies, and implement new solutions. By partnering with a business process consultant, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of the impact of their current processes and identify areas for improvement.

With business process management tools, consultants help to create and implement a tailored process management strategy for your business. This usually leads to increased productivity, reduced costs, and improved customer satisfaction. A consultant will also help your business establish clear performance metrics, track progress, and continuously monitor and optimize its processes. So if you’re looking to improve the efficiency of your processes, read on to learn how. First, let’s talk about what Business Process Consulting is. 

What is Business Process Consulting?

Business Process Consulting is a service process offering that has the main goal of helping businesses improve their operations and achieve optimal efficiency. It involves optimizing business operations and enhancing the way resources, employees, and technology are utilized in an organization. Since these are all of the moving parts of every business, business process consulting helps to determine how their day-to-day functions either contribute to or hinder the accomplishment of the business’s short- and long-term goals.

Business process consultants provide this consulting service. They equip businesses with data-driven, up-to-date process analyses that produce a fact-based perspective on how to eradicate weaknesses and optimize results. In other words, business process consultants help businesses create and implement process management strategies that are customized to their needs.

What Do Business Process Consultants Do?

What Do Business Process Consultants Do?

A business process consultant works with businesses to understand their current processes, identify areas for improvement, and implement new solutions. These often include conducting research, analysis, and interviews to understand how the business works. Once this is done, consultants will create and (hopefully) implement these strategies, which may include recommending BPM tools to help drive better results.

Process consultants are experts with years of experience working with businesses and organizations of all sizes to help set their processes on the right track by optimizing resources, streamlining operations, and improving the overall efficiency of the business.

The following are the key areas business process consultants look at when evaluating business processes:

  • Error triggers 
  • Time management
  • Resources management 
  • Bottlenecks in processes
  • Communication deficiencies
  • Redundant processes that can be eliminated
  • Activities that stretch the physical work process

Steps of Process Consulting

There are basic steps business process consultants take when working with an organization. These include:

  • Evaluating the Current: This usually involves observing the current business processes, interviewing staff, monitoring resource utilization, and gathering data in order to understand the current situation in the organization.
  • Identifying Weak Spots: Here, business process consultants analyze the information or data gathered to identify possible weak spots. Thereafter, they make recommendations on how to eliminate them.
  • Implementation of Solutions: This is the final step, and it involves devising and implementing strategies to achieve the projected results while monitoring performance and progress over a period of time. 

Why Do You Need Business Process Consultants?

Why Do You Need Business Process Consultants?

Business owners understand the importance of keeping processes running smoothly and efficiently. But why leave it to chance? Take your business processes to the next level with a professional process consultant. Their experience and expert insight will get you results that in-house management just can’t. 

Why? Because business process consultants are problem-solving powerhouses, adept at unearthing potential pitfalls and implementing business automation strategies to ensure maximum efficiency.

You believe all your processes are working at 100% efficiency? When consultants are done analyzing and optimizing your processes, you’ll marvel at the improvement margin. The truth is, there is always the possibility of improving existing processes, products, and/or services. 

Here are the primary signs your business needs the help of a business process consultant:

  • Continuous error-laden work
  • Disorganization
  • Repetitive processes 
  • Ineffective communication
  • Misuse of employees’ time
  • Work clutter created by bottlenecks in the business process

How Does Business Process Consulting Work?

Business process consulting is an artful balance of strategy and organization – like a well-executed dance where every step matters. The set of steps that govern an effective business process management demands a high level of organization and observation.

The process starts with constant observation of various stages within in step. Business process consultants pull up their sleeves and get immersed in the work process. They closely observe the conduct and actions of individuals within that particular step in the business. 

To understand the current processes and record their observations, they inquire about even the smallest details of the processes. When it comes to connecting the dots, every detail matters to a BPC. 

Since improvement is a lifelong goal for business process consultants, they recognize that there is always room for improvement in a business process, no matter how great it appears at the time. Process consulting combines problem-solving, technology, and management strategies to create optimal efficiency in corporate operations.

Below are some of the key steps and strategies used for business process consulting:

  • Mapping: Business process consultants gather information about the company’s operations and current processes by speaking with stakeholders like managers and conducting interviews with employees.
  • Goal Setting: After gathering information about the business processes, a business process consultant will also work with managers and other stakeholders to establish the goals they want to achieve with this collaboration, whether it’s reducing costs, increasing productivity, improving communication, or streamlining processes.
  • Critical Points Assessment: This involves assessing and determining the processes with the greatest weaknesses and evidence of inefficiency before proposing strategies or action plans to eliminate these inefficiencies.
  • Modeling: BPCs start organizing, designing, or redesigning the process flows to eliminate barriers and clogs and make them more efficient.
  • Implementing Updates: Once the process flow(s) have been redesigned, the next step is to implement the BPM tools or strategies recommended by the consultant.
  • Standardization: This involves formalizing and educating employees on the new process flow.
  • Deployment: This step involves defining the process flow, i.e., the order of processes since they’re now streamlined and most of the repetitive tasks will now be automated.
  • Monitoring: This is the final stage where the business processes are monitored to ensure they meet the important KPIs.

5 Benefits of Working with Business Process Consultants

5 Benefits of Working with Business Process Consultants

There are several benefits businesses enjoy from working with business process consultants. Below are five:

1. BPCs Offer an Objective View of the Current Business Processes

Understanding the present state of your business processes helps in identifying the best course of action. As a business owner, you may be unable to recognize weak spots in your processes due to familiarity, which will cloud your assessment of the true state of things. Having a business process consultant who is not a member of your team do an assessment of your current processes will provide an objective view without sentiments.

2. BPCs Bring A New Perspective to Your Business Processes

Streamlining a business process can be exhausting and time-consuming. Managers and the RevOps team will also not always have the right answers and skill set. A business process consultant, on the other hand, serves as a sounding board for your employees that is confidential. Many times employees will over or under-estimate the time it takes to do a certain item within a process when they have to report it to their manager. A BPC knows this and can bring a fresh set of eyes, observe thoughtfully, and offer ideas that the management would typically not notice or consider. They are equally aware of certain strategies that have achieved results for other clients and are capable of replicating the processes for your business.

3. BPCs Improve Documentation and Make Better Decisions

Your scalable workflow is only as effective as its documentation. With advanced cloud technology and data analysis at their fingertips, consultants can give your organization a complete picture of operations in real-time. A business process consultant is aware of the best documentation processes and methodology, making their inputs measurable and data-backed.

4. BPCs Eliminate Redundancy and Optimize Resources

One of the objectives of business process management is to eliminate redundancy. Businesses often suffer from “detail overload,” getting stuck in tedious, endless loops of unneeded operations and procedures. Business process consultants understand what and what not to include in your workflow and will assist you in eliminating redundant activities. Once redundancy is out of the picture, the company’s resources, including time, revenue, and personnel, can be better utilized for greater efficacy.

5. BPCs Help Businesses Become More Scalable

One of the business buzzwords you hear frequently but hardly see in action is scalability. When faced with periods of rapid expansion especially, it can be challenging for departments to develop a plan that will accommodate the expansion. Business process consultants provide a practical roadmap to scale from point A to B without leaving out any part of the business.

Cons of Working with Business Process Consultants

The decision to work with a process consultant often depends on the specific needs and goals of a business. Working with process consultants can certainly be beneficial in some cases, but it’s important to understand their limitations. From high costs and demanding timelines to difficulty adapting, keep these potential pitfalls in mind: 

  • Cost: Hiring a consultant can be expensive and may not fit within your company’s budget.
  • Resistance to change: Employees may resist the changes recommended by the consultant, leading to slow implementation or even failure to implement.
  • Dependence on consultants: Organizations may become overly dependent on the consultant and struggle to sustain improvements once the consultant is no longer involved.
  • Lack of customization: The consultant may not fully understand the organization’s unique culture and processes, leading to recommendations that are not well-suited for the company.
  • Time commitment: Working with a consultant can be time-consuming and may require your organization to dedicate significant resources to the project.

Business Process Management Tools 

Business Process Management Tools 

Business Process Management (BPM) tools help organizations design, model, execute, monitor, and optimize their business processes. These tools can be used to automate manual processes, improve efficiency and collaboration, and gain greater visibility into the performance of processes. Some common BPM tools include:

1. Pipefy

Pipefy is a cloud-based Business Process Management (BPM) tool that helps organizations design, model, execute, monitor, and optimize their business processes. It provides a platform for process modeling, workflow automation, performance monitoring, and process improvement, making it easier for organizations to streamline their processes and achieve their goals. Pipefy also offers collaboration features, allowing multiple users to work together on process design and improvement. It integrates seamlessly with other tools and is our top recommendation as a  comprehensive BPM solution.

Features

  • Process Modeling
  • Workflow Automation
  • Performance Monitoring
  • Process Improvement
  • Collaboration
  • Integrations 

Pros

  • Easy to Use
  • Excellent Integration with Other Apps
  • Offers Quality Support

Cons

  • Limited Customization

2. Kissflow

Kissflow is a cloud-based BPM tool that allows businesses to reinvent their current processes for digital optimization. It is a no-code software that allows businesses to design, automate, and optimize their workflows. With its user-friendly interface, organizations can easily design, execute, and monitor their processes in real-time. Additionally, Kissflow allows seamless integration with other software solutions, allowing organizations to use it alongside their existing systems and tools. 

Features

  • App Builder
  • Customizable Dashboard
  • Form Designer
  • Collaboration
  • Reporting and Analytics
  • External Portal
  • Form & Process Designer

Pros

  • Easy to Use
  • Highly Effective Forms
  • Drag-And-Drop Workflow Builder

Cons

  • UI/UX Needs Improvement
  • Slow Technical Support

3. Appian

Appian BPM software supports business process management, intelligent automation, low-code development, artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation, mobility, and case management. Its BPM Suite contains tools for process design, process execution, application management, and process automation.

Features

  • Integration
  • Collaboration
  • Business Process Automation
  • Alerts/Notifications
  • Calendar Management
  • Audit Management

Pros

  • Easy to Use
  • Intelligent Case Management
  • Low Code Platform

Cons

  • Long Setup Time
  • Limited Features On Reporting

In a Nutshell …

The ultimate goal of business process consulting is to help organizations streamline operations, reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve customer satisfaction. A consultant helps to research and determine performance metrics, track progress, and continuously monitor and optimize your processes. In other words, Business Process Consulting is quite important for organizations looking to enhance their operations and achieve all their business goals. Lastly, its benefits outweigh its underlying challenges. 

If you’d like to assess your business process consultant needs, start by booking a free call with us today.

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