Companies undertake projects to meet their business goals. These projects must be completed on time and within budget for them to be profitable and businesses need to follow certain processes to do so. These processes or steps are critical in keeping the business running smoothly. Any errors or breakdowns in these processes will lead to interrupted workflows and inefficiency, resulting in reduced productivity. Project managers use the business process management tool to ensure that all processes are streamlined and executed smoothly. They use resource management software like eResource Scheduler to visualize each stage of the operations and optimize the processes that go into executing them efficiently.
What Are Business Processes?
Every business carries out a set of activities to achieve its organizational goals. Activities that are focused on achieving a specific goal and consistent outcome are known as business processes. Each business process has a group of tasks that are linked and that culminate in the delivery of a product or service. The inputs (employees, data, equipment, workflow, etc) and output of each business process are clearly defined. Organizations use these business processes to utilize resources and produce the desired output.
All organizations have many management, operations and business processes. These processes are continuous and repetitive. Each of these strives to achieve a certain goal and must be carried out efficiently and effectively for the organization to be successful.
A business process is:
- specific, with pre-defined start- and endpoints
- focused on achieving a set goal
- repeatable
- flexible
- measurable
What Is Business Process Management?
Managers use a systematic methodology and work to streamline and improve all processes to achieve set goals. This is known as business process management (BPM). They monitor and track the various steps or benchmarks that make up a business process to ensure that the end goal is met within the stipulated timeframe and budget. Sometimes organizations also outsource certain processes.
Managers must ensure that all processes align with the business’s strategic goals and are carried out efficiently. Business processes need to be transparent so that any potential issues in their execution or performance can be identified and resolved promptly. Business process mapping gives a visual display of how each process is functioning. Managers can use this to monitor the effectiveness of the business operations. Business process management software allows managers to automate this task by equipping them with the tools to design, model, optimize, monitor and analyse the processes.
Business process management allows organizations to have an automated process for routine and repetitive transactions and tasks, thus freeing expensive resources for more productive work. The result is consistent output, reduced costs and increased productivity.
The Different Steps In Process Management
Process management consists of:
- Designing the processes – inventing new processes by clearly defining what is to be done and how it is to be done
- Defining the processes – describing the existing processes
- Documenting the processes – using checklists, flowcharts and process maps
- Monitoring and analysing the processes – using process analysis tools
- Improving the processes – gradually and continuously, or with a drastic reengineering of all the steps.
Why Is Process Management Important For A Business?
All businesses have processes and managing them is critical if the strategic goals of the organization are to be achieved. Process management is a key function for managers that:
- Enhances process standards in quality, project cycle time, delivery times, safety issues, etc.
- Boosts productivity
- Improves output
- Streamlines operations
- Helps monitor financials
- Reduces risks
- Identifies and eliminates potential bottlenecks
Process Management Made Easy With Project Management Software
As a business grows, it is not always efficient to manage all these processes manually. The project manager has multiple duties and may not be able to take care of everything personally. The business processes need to centralized and optimized to drive business growth.
Good project management software helps standardize and enhance all processes by improving efficiency and reducing errors. It also allows the manager to automate or delegate certain processes to others with the confidence that the business workflow would remain uninterrupted and the outcome will be consistent. This is especially important in industries like healthcare or finance that are heavily regulating and compliance-heavy.
Resource management software like eResource Scheduler allows businesses to the group, monitor, analyse and optimize processes like:
- Project management
- Workflow management
- Time tracking
- Employee onboarding
- Invoicing and accounts
- Employee time-off
- Customer relationship management
- Compliance, etc.
Why Businesses Should Use Process Management Software like eResource Scheduler?
Effective project and process management are essential for a business to be profitable and successful. eResource Scheduler is one of the best resource management software available in the market today. Here’s how it helps businesses optimize their processes.
1. Increases efficiency:
All data is available in real-time. Team members can check on all relevant information without delay; and the process and tasks can complet seamlessly. Visually-appealing and customizable reports, flowcharts and Gantt charts ensure that every team member is on the same page.
2. Resource visibility:
eResource Scheduler collates all the data on resource availability, allocation, scheduling and capacity in real-time. Managers can use this to plan and execute new and existing processes. This improves resource planning, management, allocation and scheduling.
3. Processes aligned to strategic goals:
All relevant data is available to each team member, and they can focus on their task to achieve the business goals. The process remains on track till execution.
4. Reduces errors:
All data can be securely and accurately transferred in the process management tool. Certain tasks can also automating. This reduces the chances of errors.
5. Effective risk management:
All processes are executing at a consistent level. Managers also get complete visibility into all business processes and can spot errors easily. All this helps reduce the organization’s operational risk and save money.
6. Streamlines operations:
All onboarding processes can standardized with eResource Scheduler, with roles and tasks clearly spelt out. The project manager has a 360-degree view of resource schedules and capacity via the dashboard, and can easily monitor the progress of the project as well as resource performance. It also gives businesses the base for scaling up their operations.
7. Enhances team collaboration and communication:
Every project has multiple tasks and resources working on it. Open and frequent collaboration is essential for a smooth workflow. eResource Scheduler allows easy communication within the team and in real-time, allowing them to share resources, data, documents and also resolve issues quickly.
8. Boosts productivity and profitability:
By documenting each process in detail because managers can monitor process performance and can identify steps . That can improve or those that are redundant but Real and potential bottlenecks can resolve. This would increase productivity and reduce costs.
9. Aids automation:
Businesses can use eResource Scheduler to standardize and automate certain routine processes. This ensures a consistent error-free outcome every time and also frees resources for more productive tasks.
10. Business agility becomes easier:
Organizations need to adapt and optimize their processes in response to changing market conditions. Process management software allows them to alter workflows and implement changes more effectively.
11. Process analysis through real-time reports:
Real-time reports generated by eResource Scheduler allows managers to analyse the effectiveness and relevance of each process. They can visually monitor how each process is functioning.
eResource Scheduler helps businesses reach their full potential by helping them create effective and efficient processes and then ensuring the smooth execution of the same.