Process management: what it is and how to apply it

As your company grows, it is normal for there to be more processes and for them to become even more complex. Therefore, you need to be careful that disorganization does not hinder the company’s progress .

Furthermore, the way you are used to doing a certain task is not always the best way for your business. It is to solve these problems and align tasks that process management exists.

What is process?

The process is the way we carry out some activity. For example, to go to work: you can go by car, bus or subway. By car it is more comfortable, but there are gasoline costs and the stress of traffic; the bus is empty, but you spend a lot of time in traffic; The subway takes half the time, but is always crowded.

They are all “processes” through which the same activity (going to work) is carried out, but you have to consider which one offers the best cost-benefit (balance between comfort and speed on the journey).

The same thing happens at work. Each task can have several ways of execution. However, you must observe which one requires fewer resources and offers a good return .

When a company is small, employees do their tasks “automatically”, that is, in the way they are used to. This speeds up the execution of activities and avoids accumulation and mismanagement of time. However, when the company grows, this may not be the best way to act.

What are the types of process?

In the corporate world, there are three main types of processes:

• Primary: those that directly involve the  customer : the delivery of the product or provision of service. Therefore, they are considered the most important, as they deliver brand value. They even positively or negatively affect consumer satisfaction.
• Supportive: they offer material (products, services, equipment) and  financial resources so that primary processes can take place. They do not deliver value directly, nor do they maintain contact with the customer.
• Management: they manage the primary, support and own processes . They are also responsible for establishing control and monitoring practices. Process management, therefore, is one of the management mechanisms of a company.

What is process management?

Process management goes beyond checking whether tasks are being completed. This is because, as you saw, the processes are divided into different stages, as one directly affects the other.

Your task, for example, does not stop as soon as you finish performing it. On the contrary: it directly impacts the work of another employee. This leads us to conclude that a process has several ramifications, however small they may seem.

Therefore, mapping a process means managing all these phases — from strategic planning to delivering the product/service to the customer.

Why should you implement process management in your company?

See why managing processes could be the solution your company needs:

The processes are not yielding results

Often, you already have well-defined forms of execution in your company. However, they are not giving the expected results. Process management allows:

• you find out why that process is not working;
• what form of execution can bring the necessary result;
• which of the two (or more) processes is capable of achieving your company’s objective.

You haven’t yet mapped the company’s processes

When you still don’t have a clear understanding of how the company works, you need to go through a phase before management: process mapping . It is at this stage that you will discover how the processes are done and “design” better ways to execute them.

Each employee works in a different way

As we said, in a small company the employee can work on “automatic pilot”. He has discovered a way to perform his tasks and performs them in the same way, in order to finish them faster and with less rework.

However, when it comes to saving time and effort, another employee may think identically, but perform the same task in a completely different way. Furthermore, when a new professional joins the company, they may become lost and not know the best way to work.

When you manage and monitor end-to-end processes (that is, from the strategic level to the delivery of the product or service), you have the opportunity to discover which of these forms of execution is the most interesting for the company and, of course, for the collaborator.

This way, your organization will have well-designed workflows , which can be modified with the advancement of technology and ways of working. But, of course, these changes only happen when they benefit the employee and the company.