How do I Ensure Business Process Quality?

Maintaining a high level of business process quality is essential to the well-being of any business operation. Making sure those processes are effective, efficient, and work well collectively leads to a corporate culture in which there is a high level of productivity and often a substantial amount of employee loyalty and pride in the company. While there are many types of strategies designed to ensure business process quality, most of them will involve three key elements: logical flow, optimal use of resources, and fulfillment of customer needs and desires.

In terms of logical flow, achieving and maintaining business process quality demands that each task paves the way for the next task in the sequence. Doing so makes the transition from step to step, and ultimately from process to process, a string of events that exhibits an orderly transition which ultimately leads to achieving the goals of the company. For example, a logical flow could begin with the receipt of raw materials, proper classification and storage of those materials in designated areas around the plant operation, and an orderly transfer of those materials to the departments where they are used in the manufacturing process. This allows the company to track the use of raw materials from the time they are delivered right up to the point they are consumed as part of the production effort.

Within this logical flow or progression, business process monitoring to ensure that resources are being consumed efficiently is extremely important to maintaining business process quality. Here, the emphasis is on making sure that the amount of waste generated at each point in the production process is kept to a minimum. By minimizing waste, the company is able to produce goods at a lower cost per unit, which in turn increases the profit margin. This efficient use of resources benefits everyone, since a company with a higher profit margin is likely to remain in business and is better equipped to offer employees a wider range of benefits.

A third key component to achieving and maintaining business process quality is making sure those processes meet and exceed customer expectations. This particular aspect of business process optimization is often either considered less important than other aspects, or is only given attention when the business begins to lose more customers than it acquires. The idea is to make sure customers can place orders with a great deal of ease and convenience, they are provided with reasonable time frames for delivery, and that there are mechanisms in place that allow customers to voice concerns or seek information when and as they desire. Making sure that business process quality is such that customers feel valued and important is just as important as turning out a high quality product for their consumption, and will go a long way toward keeping the business successful for a long time.