Business Process Optimization

The secret to an organization’s success

I have worked for global pharmaceutical companies as well as small ventures. In my experience, one of the most under-appreciated aspects of running an organization is the value of business process optimization (BPO). Whether it is a simple thing such as streamlining a form for vacation submission or something as complex as structuring all your documentation such that they feed into a Biologics License Application (BLA) with minimal intervention, time spent on optimizing your business processes to reduce redundancy, improve consistency and reduce manual labor pays dividends in the long run. Not only does it increase efficiency across the organization, but it reduces colleague frustration while improving quality.

“Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are.”

 —James W. Frick

Often organizations will claim optimizing their business processes is a priority, but colleagues are generally only allocated 5-10% of their time to BPO. It is unrealistic to expect meaningful change with such a low percentage of time spent on these activities. When other activities place competing demands on colleagues’ time, it sends an unspoken message that BPO initiatives should be the first to be put to the backburner.

When you are stressed trying to deliver a project, nothing is more frustrating than feeling like you’re fighting a process that could be simpler. Investing in business process optimization empowers employees to make meaningful change in their organization while giving colleagues the ability to make process improvements shows their time and opinion are valued.

Optimized business processes provide consistency across projects and therefore improves quality. They also establish a baseline against which you can measure further improvements. One of the best ways to optimize a process is to provide clear guidance and templated procedures. Having a process that is templated helps to make sure all colleagues are on the same page. It also creates a uniform work product and that ensures deliverables are not missed. With all colleagues starting from the same slate, it is easier to identify roadblocks in the process that can be improved upon later. Once these changes are made, it becomes clearer to establish if the changes have streamlined the process.

Yes, the bread and butter of any business is to deliver a product or project and there are times when you need to buckle down to get things done. So how do you balance providing sufficient time for BPO with delivering the projects? Many organizations are moving to establishing a day without meetings to allow colleagues to solely focus on completing work. This is a great time to focus on BPO activities. Alternatively, when a colleague finishes up a project, it is an excellent opportunity to have them dedicate their full attention to BPO for a period of time before tackling the next project.

Established dedicated time to BPO is just as important as ensuring the right team is engaged in the activity. BPO teams should consist of volunteers of lower-level colleagues working alongside upper-level colleagues. Always establish these teams with volunteers as they will be the ones most passionate about solving the problem. Your lower-level colleagues are ones with their hands in the process that you’re trying to optimize while the upper-level colleagues will be the ones that provide perspective.

Now that you’re ready to get going on process optimization, where do you get started?

#1 Start with the end in mind.

Most processes grow organically from the bottom up. This is great when the process is new and you are trying to figure things out. However, the longer this goes on, as Process A starts to tie into Process B, the more inefficient the process will become left unchecked. Once a process has been established, it is worth revisiting it on an annual basis against the end goal for opportunities for improvement.

#2 Remove monotonous, manual work.

In the era of digital and mechanical automation, there’s nothing more frustrating than repetitive, manual work. To the employee, this often feels like grunt work that is a waste of their time. Investing in automation frees your employees up for more thoughtful tasks.

#3 Eliminate redundancy.

Often multiple processes will call for the same information. The more processes can be templated and reference other established procedures or documents, the better. Replicating information can also be problematic as there is the potential for transcription errors, and if source data changes, a series of updates is needed to all the places where the information has been replicated. Reduce the redundancy by stripping it out where possible or simply providing references to the original source.

Other potential areas of redundancy involve different groups conducting similar activities. A great example of this is multiple groups preparing buffers or cleaning glassware. By establishing a group to consolidate those activities, you can reduce a lot of waste through economy of scale.

#4 Never settle.

Business process optimization is often synonymous with continuous improvement. Technology, regulatory environments, etc. all change and your processes need to change along with them. There will always be things you can do differently and the need for improvement.

What are some of the ways Blueprint can help you optimize your processes?

• We will analyze your documentation to determine synergies, reduce redundancies, and improve your guidance.

• We will work with your developers to streamline user interfaces.

• We will develop macros to facilitate the transfer of information.

• We will facilitate discussions between stakeholders to identify and resolve pinch points in a process.