Transforming Solutions has worked with some of the fastest growing and progressive organizations across the corporate and higher education sector. Throughout our experience, we have taken deep looks at how to best focus on efficiency, quality, customer satisfaction, and profitability. While these staples have not changed, other business process improvement principles have evolved to ‘match the times.’

Our top 5 business process improvement principles

Below we take a look at 5 process improvement principles that apply to the current landscape:

1. Incorporate User Experience (UX), Customer Experience (CX), and Organizational Change Management

When performing the definition and analysis of processes it is important to consider the total experience. There are plenty of examples where this was not done and the result was a catastrophic failure like this one where leadership inadvertently created an opportunity for competitors. For those that truly embrace this principle, they may take the truly holistic approach and explore people, culture, technology, strategy, and metrics in addition to operations.

2. Don’t assume a change in technology will change your processes

Many organizations assume that a change in their CRM or ERP will inherently fix the processes. There are 2 shortcomings with this thinking:

1. Technology is not generally designed to drive processes- in fact, it should follow the other direction. Technology is the tool that enables processes to be completed effectively and efficiently.

2. Performing a ‘lift and shift’ of applying the same processes in a new technology will not properly extract the value of that investment. You’ll simply be exchanging a legacy system for a new system and failing to effectively utilize the technology that no doubt was accompanied by a heavy price tag.

3. Improve and then renovate

Apply your favorite continuous improvement methodology here and recognize that just improving your processes isn’t enough. They need to be monitored, evaluated, adjusted, and improved on a regular basis to continue to reap the benefits of the exercise. Consider this: Moore’s Law observes that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles every 2 years. Effectively, computing power doubles every 2 years while the cost of this power is halved over the same time. If computing power is doubling, what do you think is happening to data? Neglecting to account for these changes in your processes can have similar consequences to ‘lift and shift’, a reduction in the value gained from your investment. Process improvement principles and practices are only strengthened by this supporting consideration.

4. Employ continuous improvement from end to end

So you’ve been keeping an eye on a changing environment and adjusting your processes to match. But did you apply the thinking from the first principle to these adjustments? Internal factors will inherently drive change, but you must also remember the customer is changing too. They are becoming smarter, more discerning, and are constantly offered alternatives. Not considering their perspective as well as hiring, product development, management of vendor relationships, and all other factors of business will have dire consequences.

5. It’s never too late to act

Time and again, process improvement naysayers will say “we’ve always done it this way and it has worked so far” or “our processes and systems are highly customized, there isn’t a better solution for us.” Both cases neglect improvements in technology designed to enable improved processes, highly configurable systems, and the power of incorporating process improvement into software selection efforts. Even the slowest moving, most successful organizations can benefit from process improvement principles.

Conclusion

Overall, we see these process improvement principles as key components of a successful organizational strategy. Check out our services to learn more about how our process improvement consultants can transform your organization, or browse our industry expertise to find out how we would apply our methodology to your organization. When you’re ready, contact us to schedule some time to chat further.

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#1 – Hire a Consultant With Similar Values

This may feel obvious, but you want to be sure you are working with a consultancy with similar values to you and your organization. At TSI, we consider this the forgotten dimension of hiring a consultant.

Here are two quick questions for you to find out how compatible you are: how do your organizational values match up with the values of the consulting firm? How does the firm demonstrate its values?

Organizations that miss this evaluation process component risk poorly completed projects. In turn, poorly completed projects lead to an increased risk of projects not completing on time, on budget, or without error.

As a result, organizations end up spending more money to complete projects or fix errors, ending up over time and over budget.

Hiring a consultant who has similar values to your organization helps to assure that your projects are completed well and are cohesive with your current values.

#2 – Take Control of the Conversation

In the past, we have heard from more than a few clients that past consultants have come into their organizations and dominated the conversation around solution design. As a result, the consultants fail to take client feedback and insight into account. This resulted in the client’s team (in your case, you) feeling like their solution was pushed upon them. This is as opposed to the solution being developed with them.

So what happens next? The client puts the prior consultants’ findings on a shelf. They then will not look at the findings unless prompted to do so. As a result, the solution is not fully implemented.

And what does that mean? You guessed it. Time and money are wasted.

Hiring a consultant who includes you in the conversation around solution design helps to assure that you felt it was created specifically for your organization, instead of neglecting to use a solution that was pushed on your team.

#3 – Read the Reviews When Hiring a Consultant

Raise your hand if you always read the reviews before purchasing a product or service…just me?

Although you can find some people who simply want to blow off some steam on the internet, many reviews are quite helpful! They offer information around details that the maker or organization may have not known to include. They also testify to how valuable the product truly is.

So when it comes to hiring a consultant or utilizing their services to ultimately save time and money, reviews serve the same purpose.

When reading the reviews of a consultancy, there are a couple things to look for.

1. Collaboration with The Consultancy

As we discussed in point #2, YOU need to be able to take control of the conversation. If there is not a sense of collaboration and understanding, your project will not be successful.

TSI worked with us to complete a strategic technology assessment, which included the difficult task of coordinating and articulating our vision and strategy for new technology.

– Sara Barr, The University of Chicago

2. Mention of Time or Money Saved

Let’s cut to the chase. You just want to know if you can save time and money with a consultant. The best way to find out is to see how the consultancy you’re exploring has saved other organizations time or money.

Dan and the team engaged, were sensitive to how they approached our teams, and were tough-minded with my leadership team and me around ways we could deliver more effective service at a lower cost.

– Mike Orscheln • Former CEO, Phonak Hearing Systems USA

Every time they were on/under-budgeted timeline and costs. They were professional, hardworking, completely objective, and helped us in ways that I did not originally anticipate. I would highly recommend them.

– J. Brodsky, High Growth Telecommunications Company

Discover More Ways a Consultant Can Collaborate With Your Team

There are other factors that go into hiring a consultant to work with your team, but these 3 points are a great way to assure that how you are doing it aligns with your organization, as well as saves you time and money.

As your organization brainstorms its next project, discover 7 additional things to consider in the process. These 7 considerations help you further understand the timeline and develop expectations.

The post How to Waste Less Time and Money With a Consultant appeared first on Transforming Solutions Inc..

1. Ask Yourself “Why Do I Need a Consultant?’

There are many reasons why an organization might invite a consultant to join their team. Before assessing which consultant is right for your culture, be sure to understand your why.

1. Resources: your current team does not have the internal resources
2. Skills: your current team does not have the skills needed to complete the task
3. Objective or “Best Practices” Perspective: your current team wants the expertise of another individual, as well as an unbiased point-of-view
4. Political/Facilitator Reasons: the task at-hand does not fall cleanly into the boundaries of a single organization

2. Develop Goals and an Understanding of Intended Value to Your Organization

Ask yourself “how will my organization benefit from me hiring a consultant?” Defining set goals and intended outcomes of hiring a consultant will help you understand what kind of consultant you want to hire, as well as how you intend for them to fit in your company. When considering these goals, you will want to assess the financial benefits or consequences of hiring this individual as well.

3. Get Approval to Hire a Consultant

Finding a great, qualified consultant is like finding a good doctor or loyal employee: it is time-consuming and hard work! Instead of spending time and resources on hiring the right consultant, only to not get approval to hire someone, be sure you have tentative approval (or complete approval) to bring on a consultant. Along with this, be sure to define the consultant selection process.

4. Define Deliverables, Dates, and Expected Involvement for Both the Consultant and Organization

When bringing a consultant on to your team, it is crucial that you develop shared expectations. In addition, developing a schedule that accounts for both holidays and other demands will help to assure ample time to stay on track with your project. This also helps to keep both your organization, as well as the consultant, focused on time management.

5. Define Billing & Payment Terms 

When defining billing and payment terms, there are a few crucial questions to ask:

• Is the project fixed fee or within a range with a “not to exceed” clause?
• If it is time & materials, what budget was set?
• What “materials” are included/excluded from the project?
• Is travel time included/excluded?
• Will there be milestone-based payouts? If so, what is the schedule?

All of these topics need to be discussed, clarified, and agreed upon. Taking the time to have a conversation and determine what is right for both your organization and the consultant will be a ‘win/win’ for both of you!

6.  Get a Second (or Third) Opinion if Needed

As you develop a trusting relationship with your consultant, be judicious about when you put projects out for a competitive bid. You need to realize that, for small projects, it takes time to develop a detailed estimate and approach. If developing a detailed proposal is the case for ALL projects – even if the dollar amount is low – be warned that you may be absorbing that cost in higher than normal rates on future projects to cover the increased overhead.

7. Make Sure that YOU and Your Consultant are Aligned

Sometimes I use a metaphor of personal trainer or a financial planner when I talk about how we management, OCM and technology consultants should work. Assume you just set a goal to run a marathon and are seeking a fitness trainer to help you. You ask around and you get referred someone everyone likes – “Big Jake”, who specializes in getting people ready for CrossFit competitions.

Obviously that is different than getting you ready to run your marathon. So even though Big Jake is knowledgeable and likeable, he won’t be a fit for YOUR needs. Consider your organization’s culture and both the knowledge and style that your consultant needs to make to make change stick.

Closing Thoughts

Finding the right consultant is more difficult than it seems. With these seven steps, you can be sure that you are asking the right questions when it comes to who you’re hiring, as well as why you need their talents.

For more information please email Dan Feely, Managing Partner, or call him at 847-705-0960 ext 202.

If emailing or contact forms are more your style, contact us here!

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