Ever heard of Dealdey? How about Effritin.com? Or Easy Taxi?
Whether you have heard about these companies before or not, according to Nairametrics, they were part of the top seven startups in Nigeria that have bitten the dust in recent times. For instance, Konga, an e-commerce platform that had raised over $35 million dollars as far back as 2013 had to lay off about 70% of its staff in 2017 and in 2018 sold the company for $10 million which resulted in a 93% loss on ROI for its investors.
Of course, there are so many reasons why startups that were hugely successful in the beginning eventually fail to sustain the growth experienced, some of which includes poor management, market volatility, and government regulations but at the core of these reasons is the inability of the business to recognize that expansion requires methodology, structure, and accountability. Which is what process helps you achieve in business.
Having this framework is crucial as it ensures that there is business continuity and reinforces the culture of the organization. A process is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks by people or machines in which a specific sequence produces a service or product for a particular customer or customers. It is a framework that holds the organization’s resources and assets together, from the people to its suppliers, to its customers, down to its technology.
For the many years that I have driven compliance and accountability in the ecosystem, I have since realized that many Founders perceive processes as “anti-speed” and sometimes a clog in the wheel of progress. This is posited on the argument that, for a product to launch into the market and garner the desired market share, one must take the risk required and be agile while at it, and for them, “process is an inhibitor to speed”.
However, what they have failed to realize is that process discipline is key for a growing company. Think about it this way, For a startup in the early stages, you have very few employees who are connected, everyone on the team understands firsthand what the goal of the company is and the process of achieving this goal is almost an implicit knowledge.
As the company grows and requires more hands for execution, It becomes more daunting to convey those same processes to an expanded workforce, especially when the team is in multiple locations and time zones. Not having laid down protocols that are adhered to can trigger off multi-layered issues that may lead to an eventual loss of customers and business as a whole.
To perfectly understand this concept more in-depth, I would personally recommend that you read “The Complete Guide to Business Process Management” written by Benjamin Brandall & Adam Henshall. As it re-echoes how business processes are for efficiency and scale, and equally made us understand that processes are a lot more interesting than we think.
For an entity, typical business processes could be seen in the following:
- Visitor Management process – For Hospitality
- Vendor Engagement Process – For Supply Chain
- Account Management Process – For Technology
- Onboarding Process – For Human Resources
- Code Commitment Process- For Software Developers
- Infrastructure Development and deployment Process- For IT firms.
Why is it so important to have a process for a business?
A process forms the lifeline for any business and helps it streamline individual activities, making sure that resources are put to optimal use and driven in the direction of meeting the business goal. A process is the company’s DNA. The specific result achieved from these activities differentiates you from your competitors, and here are some of the relatable reasons (s) to adopt, implement and adhere to a business process;
- Sound process Identify what tasks are important to your larger business goals.
- It helps improve efficiency.
- Streamline communication between people/functions/departments.
- Set approvals to ensure accountability and optimum use of resources
- Prevent chaos from creeping into your day-to-day operations
- Standardize a set of procedures to complete tasks that really matter to your business
- It ensures consistency on the birth scale (growth in a better word).
Now that we have a clear understanding of what a business process is and the importance of having one in your business, to guarantee the achievement of overall business goals. It would be of great importance to gain insight into implementing the right business processes (otherwise known as the business process life cycle).
The steps in a Business Process Lifecycle
Step 1: Define your goals – This is setting up the output and expected outcome towards the achievement of the business goals for which the process is being developed.
- What is the purpose of the process?
- Why was it created?
- How will you know if it is successful?
Step 2: Plan and map your process – What are the strategies needed to achieve the goals? This is the representation of the broad roadmap for the process.
Step 3: Set actions and assign stakeholders (Process Drivers) – Identify the individual tasks your teams and machines need to do in order to execute the plan of action (call to action task, the why, the how and the when it happens).
Step 4: Test the process – Run the process on a small scale to see how it performs. Observe any gaps and make adjustments. As UAT (User Acceptance Test) is used in the software development sphere, so is process testing when developing a new process or redefining an old one to get a fill of suitability and user experience.
Step 5: Implement the process – Start running the process in a live environment (i.e institutionalize the process, what would be referred to as approved process). Properly communicate and train all stakeholders with the aim of driving voluntary compliance of the process.
Step 6: Monitor the results – Review the process and analyze its patterns. Document the process history for legacy knowledge and as a reference for the future.
Step 7: Repeat – At this stage, you conduct an assessment to ascertain if the process is able to achieve the goals set for it. If the response is in the affirmative, replicate it for future processes for consistency.
To successfully scale your organization, you need to create an environment where growth can occur. That includes being aware of process-related mistakes that can impede your company’s development and finding ways to correct them. Conducting a regular appraisal of your business processes would ensure that obsolescence and complacency are eliminated from the cycle. Only by doing so can you provide your organization with the foundation it needs to thrive.