Solid, fluent business processes are the backbone of a successful company. Time and energy are valuable resources that your employees bring to the roles they perform within the walls of your company. Utilizing Business Process Services (BPS) to review and optimize your operations contributes to process improvement, improved communication, measured results, and the ability to carry through with goals and initiatives.  

The benefit of true process realignment in your business is the result of BPS. Initiatives such as finding more cost-effective uses within resources, will lead to improvements like enabling staff to contribute their abilities at the highest level. The elimination of unnecessary processes and streamlining repetitive tasks will add time, energy, and resources to the areas that need them.  

Michelangelo once said, ‘The great danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.’ Using BPS can successfully impact business processes by uncovering ‘shortcomings’ then enlisting a focused plan, SMART goals, and metrics to facilitate changes.  

It Starts With a Plan

When engaging in BPS for your company, it is important to create and adhere to a plan of action. Doing so helps to maintain focus on the goal and the desired outcome, keep within the boundaries of budgets, abilities, and personnel, and track metrics and results.  

The components that work best when engaging in Business Process Services include: 

• Clear scope definition 
• Clear project goals 
• Measured business case 
• Plan 
• Timeline 

Take the time to define existing processes before engaging with a partner to tighten down the scope. It will elicit an organized approach and prove cost effective. Identify your strongest internal resources to assist in the BPS effort. BPS is less about the partner and more about the project lead and establishing a good working relationship. Define the goals for your business in ‘as is’ and ‘to be’ measures. Your partner is there to help with the ‘to be’ goals – through a valuable outside view looking in. 

These initiatives will help your efforts in BPS go further for your company: 

• Involve the executive team (promotes accountability and responsibility)
• Designate a solid project lead – the right individual who will build the relationship and appropriately bridge gaps 
• Define your goals beforehand (helps in aligning your BPO partner with your business objectives) 
• Don’t forego quality (assures that your initiatives are paired with an outsourcing partner who has the qualifications to see them through) 
• Factor in costs (removes the surprise because changes come at a cost in time and money, however long term, these will turn into savings) 
• Use of nearshoring versus offshoring proves beneficial in ways like alleviating language barriers, maintaining ease of accessibility, and spanning similar time zones and practices 

There's More in the BPS Toolbox

Setting goals is a solid, structured way to stay on track when engaging your team in process review and change. They promote organization, structure, and guidelines. SMART goals empower staff to move forward through encouragement versus potentially generating confusion, frustration, and withdrawal due to a lack of planning.  

The acronym used by SMART goals emphasizes: 

• Specific (What are you trying to accomplish and why?) 
• Measurable (How will you determine if you have met your goal?) 
• Attainable (Do you have the skills and tools needed to obtain this or can you gather them?) 
• Relevant (Does this goal make sense with overall objectives within your business as well as your industry?) 
• Time-based (What needs to be done and by when, and how long will it take to achieve this new goal?) 

Along with having a plan and goals in place, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are valuable metrics within BPS that measure success (or failure) in three main areas: finance, operations, and growth. Tracking both the immediate as well as longer term goals, KPIs encourage review of:  

• Checks and balances  
• Efficiency  
• Quality 
• Timing
• Scalability
• Security 

KPIs provide direct feedback as to effectiveness and efficiency of your operations. They help your business by monitoring whether goals are being met, and with the outcomes desired. KPIs require review on a regular basis to track successful results and provide insight toward necessary changes. 

The Ability to Analyze

Businesses regularly admit that they step into key decisions in the absence of concrete data to support those decisions. Business Process Mapping provides the foundation for ideas and change.  

Once you have the map, however, the real work begins. The true skill within BPM is the ability to find and understand both the inefficiencies and the savings. Determining what changes to make and how to model, measure, and realize the results prompts business directives such as: 

• Where and how efficiencies can be initiated 
• Locating and implementing lower cost resources  
• Streamlining technology while improving accuracy 

Identifying and implementing productive and efficient avenues toward success is the overall goal of business process mapping. Uncovering and highlighting the pros and cons of front and back-office systems sheds light on beneficial changes within an existing foundation that stems from many levels including operational, hierarchical, and financial.  

Teamwork Through Outsourcing

Business Process Services exist to simplify your world by prompting you to review practices and revise procedures to achieve business objectives. Electing to have an outside partner’s input when embarking on either, or both, provides a unique perspective from industry experts, regarding objectives, processes, goals, and results. 

A blog posted by Forbes explains that ‘Since third-party service providers are more experienced, they will use optimized processes and specialized tools to handle your operations. They can perform tasks faster and in a more efficient way than your company would have. This will give your business an edge over your competitors. Outsourcing also helps your company enjoy more flexibility in its operation and budget.’ 

An outsourced partner provides knowledge and resources while adding to the value of the process. They help to identify and alleviate the mundane, menial tasks, allowing you and your workforce to focus on the intricate things that matter most. Connect your business with a Business Process Outsourcing provider who has your company’s best interests in mind.  

BPS reaches beyond business boundaries, enlisting outside resources and pinpointing appropriate allocation of resources in order to impart valuable methodologies and best practices.