Decide whether it is better to make incremental improvements or reengineer processes
If we want to change our business model just a little, that is, if we simply want to incorporate some new capacity, then it is best to expand and improve existing processes (incremental improvement).
When we want a more important change, then it is best to carry out a process reengineering, especially for an aspect that is not usually taken into account: it is not only about incorporating new processes and tasks, but it is also necessary to assign them the adequate staff, often carrying out a reorganization of the company.
It incorporates the best practices of the sector.
You must look for the business processes, within your area of activity, that demonstrate the best practices.
You have to start your search with the leaders in the sector, but not be reduced to them, since in many cases it is small companies that work with a higher level of excellence.
Next you must study them and acquire the necessary knowledge to try to apply them to your own processes. Be careful, it is not about spying on the competition and copying their way of working, but about deducing the principles and criteria that inspire these processes to incorporate them into your procedures.
It can be very useful to investigate within our own company, in case there is a department other than ours that works with processes of a high level of quality. In this case, we can not only learn from these processes, but we can also directly ask those responsible for help.
Reduce the number of steps. Introduce efficiency standards.
Sometimes the improvement of a process is limited to the detection and elimination of a duplicate task. Normally the task is located at remote points of the process and that is why its duplication has not been detected before, but with a small correction of the flow we achieve a more efficient process.
Another step that we can most easily eliminate is sending information. If we work in a collaborative environment, either in the cloud or in any other environment, all users have access to all documents, so it is totally unnecessary to send them by mail or any other method.
In addition to reducing the number of steps, we must try to introduce efficiency into our work procedures, that is, try to achieve the objectives set by making optimal use of available resources.
Automate repetitive tasks.
We can automate a large part of everyday workflows. Today there are many computer tools, free or very low cost, which can be incorporated to automate repetitive tasks as much as possible.
For example, we can automate all our publications on social networks, so that if we publish a post in one of them, or in a specific application, it will automatically be published on the rest of the networks: our Facebook page, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. without having to do anything else.
We can also automate the sending of emails to our clients: For example, when they register on our page or when they publish a comment or note on our website. Or, for example, when exactly 5 days have passed since any of the above.
