BPMOfficeA company that is concerned with maintaining a constant internal structure that is responsible for coordinating activities related to mapping, improvement and management processes generating is therefore a reason for great satisfaction. Since I work and believe in management processes I know how important this internal structure is.
A company that instead of treating the work process as an isolated project in oder to address specific problems in certain areas and starts to understand the importance of management process as an important discipline to help leverage business management as a whole is on the right path compared to other companies.
Understanding that the same way structures are aimed at people, financial and Information technology management structures, should be focused on process management. We call this structure Process Office, or BPMOffice (business process management office).
I believe that when we have problems or internal resistance, there is a general discomfort, especially for the Process Office that is never well accepted by the operation. Therefore, I emphasize some concepts to be considered in order to keep the office processes well underway:
1. Autonomy: The more office process is connected to the top of the company, not linked to a particular area, it would be better. Since this is a management discipline concerned with the performance and improvement of all company processes, the litigation team must be empowered to examine being able to point out problems and to "demand" the implementation of improvements and performance of various process managers of the company.
2. Alignment: Keeping autonomy, the discipline of the process needs to be aligned with the operation. Often these activities are even under the same structure, which is not a problem, provided that responsibilities are well defined.
3. Long-term objectives: We need to clarify to the senior management that the biggest gains coming from the process management, do not happen immediately, therefore, requiring a continuity of actions and perseverance since it is a change of the management culture.
4. Planning and Prioritizing: We can start by defining the activities (or revising) the management model of the business processes and prioritizing processes that deserve to be first analyzed and mapped. When we map and improve all processes at the same time we are setting up for failure.
5. Structure of Multi-Areas: The success of the office process is not restricted to managers, coordination and process analysis. This team is responsible for planning and coordinating. However, part of the office also processes the top of the company (or part of it) as a committee or something like it to approve and review the results of the main work. Another responsibility of the IT team to watch over the automation process.
6. Processes and Management: It is also a process that should clearly define what are the processes of the Office of Process, which involves mapping these processes, defining responsibilities for each one, standardizing methodologies and tools to use and implement performance indicators to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the office process.
I believe that adopting the premises will be easier to ensure the success of the Office Process. I am well aware that problems and resistance can appear in the process but with perseverance the results will come.
Paulo Andrade
