Do You Understand Your Core Business Processes?
This post may contain affiliate links. Read the full disclosure here.
Understanding your core business processes is essential for any company, whether you are a Fortune 500 company or a startup operating in the local area. The more you can narrow down what you do, the more successful you are likely to become.
If you don’t understand your core business processes, the likelihood of going off-track is considerably higher. Failing to know what they are could prevent you from reaching your potential and fulfilling your objectives.
That’s where this post can help. We look at what your core business processes actually are, why they matter, and the signs you might not understand them.
What Are Your Core Business Processes?
Learning your core business processes takes time. It requires homing in on what it is that you do.
Good examples of core processes include things like order fulfillment or website development. These are the activities you build your organization around. Other things, like finance or marketing, might be peripheral to what you want to achieve.
The process of discovering what your core processes are differs from one business or industry to the next. It’s often a creative process that requires thinking outside of the box. You might think that your core business processes are obvious, but the marketplace might disagree.
A good example is Kodak. It believed in the early 2000s that its core business was making and distributing film cameras. However, it soon found out that it was really in the making memories sector when digital technology disrupted its profit-making model.
Why You Need to Understand Your Core Processes
Understanding your core processes is essential for countless reasons. Getting it right can improve efficiency and competitiveness, and help you attract more customers.
Because of this, many companies aim to make their operations as simple as possible. Conducting business with the least amount of baggage is often the best way to move forward. If you want to tack on extras, you can do it later when your business is more mature, and you can afford to experiment a little.
If you neglect your core processes, you could run into various issues. Things like bottlenecks and errors are more common if staff are constantly switching between tasks and unable to get into a “deep work” state.
This might be a reason why ERP implementation for higher ed is so popular. Universities and colleges know that they need to better manage their processes if they want to be efficient and competitive. Students also expect a higher quality of service, based on the fees they provide.
The Signs You Don’t Understand Your Business’s Core Processes
The signs you don’t understand your business’s core processes aren’t always obvious. However, you can often identify them through simple observations once you know what you’re looking for.
Information Silos
One obvious area that might indicate you don’t understand your core business processes is information silos. Departments in your company might not be aware of others’ roles in activities, leading to confusing and duplicate work.
You might have a situation where workers invest considerably in projects and collecting information, only to discover that workers come out with conflicting information. Hand-offs may also become messy when some staff don’t understand what others know.
Inconsistent Procedures
You might also misunderstand your business’s core processes if staff constantly interpret them in unexpected ways. If there’s room for deviation, then it suggests that everyone has a different opinion of what you do.
Go through your process documentation and see if it makes sense in light of what you know about your company’s core processes. Try to find out whether people are getting confused, and customers are receiving an inconsistent service that fails to meet their needs.
Also, check your compliance reports. See if the people in your organization. See if the people in your organization can police staff activities internally.
Reactive Troubleshooting
You might also have a core business process misunderstanding if you are constantly running around, troubleshooting issues as they arise. Constant problems mean you don’t have a full grasp of your business processes and problems will continue to emerge until you fix the situation.
For example, imagine a business that offers phone repairs. Failing to manage the relationship with customers can harm trust and lead to constant phone calls.
Data Disconnect
Finally, you might not understand your core business processes if there is a disconnect between the services you provide and the metrics you use to track operational effectiveness. If the data looks good but your business is underperforming expectations, it is time to change something. You want a single source of truth everyone can use.
*This article is based on personal suggestions and/or experiences and is for informational purposes only. This should not be used as professional advice. Please consult a professional where applicable.
