How and when should processes be described?

In this article, we will look at how and when to describe them.

• Clear Understanding

Helps employees understand the workings of the organization and the steps needed to achieve goals. This makes the process more transparent and helps employees better navigate their tasks.

• Improved Efficiency

The company can identify and eliminate unnecessary operations, excessive resource consumption, and wasted time, as well as optimize the sequence of actions. This helps increase overall productivity, reduce costs, and achieve more effective results.

• Establishing Control

Helps the company monitor and measure outcomes to track progress and take action to improve processes if they do not meet standards. Ultimately, this enables the company to be more adaptable to changes in the external environment and achieve its long-term goals while meeting customer needs.

• Rapid Optimization

Enables the identification and correction of errors before they can impact the quality of work.

• Training and Knowledge Transfer

Structured and detailed descriptions of business processes facilitate the adaptation of new employees, allowing them to quickly master their roles and understand how their responsibilities relate to those of other employees. This also assists when it becomes necessary to replace or delegate duties among staff members.

Why describe business processes?

Before starting to describe business processes, it's important to know their types and classifications to do so more effectively.

There are several ways to classify business processes, but the most common ones can be divided into 3 groups:

Types of business processes

1. Core Processes
These are key processes within a company that generate revenue. They include production, marketing, sales, and customer service.

2. Supporting Processes
Help your business run smoothly and efficiently. They don't directly contribute to creating products or providing services, but are essential for supporting core processes. Examples include human resources management, financial management (accounting), information technology (computers, software), procurement (purchasing necessary materials and equipment), and supply chain management (controlling deliveries and logistics).

3. Management Processes
These processes involve decision-making and planning at higher levels. They help manage the business and achieve strategic objectives. These include activities such as developing strategies for business growth, budget planning, task monitoring, change management, and performance evaluation.

It is important to remember that all these processes are interconnected and affect each other.

Typically, companies need to describe their processes for three main reasons:

• Optimizing Existing Processes

When you already have an established business, describing processes can help identify weaknesses with potential for improvement. Analyzing all processes allows you to pinpoint unnecessary steps, bottlenecks, minor tasks, and other areas that could be optimized to enhance efficiency.

• Implementing New Systems

When integrating systems or technologies, changes to business processes may be required. Describing these processes will help you understand how the introduction of new systems will affect current operations and what adjustments need to be made for successful implementation.

• Training Employees

It’s also worth noting that this is useful when training new employees or introducing new procedures into the organization. When there is a clear description available, new employees find it much easier to understand exactly how to perform their duties, which in turn promotes uniformity and consistency in task execution.

When do I need to describe the processes?

Step 1: Defining Goals
First, record all the functions performed in the business. It’s crucial to consider every key task necessary to achieve the business's goals. Then group these functions into three categories: core, supporting, and management processes. This will clarify which processes are critical and require special attention.

Step 2: Listing Tasks
For each process, create an action plan detailing the specific steps (tasks) that will aid in successfully achieving the goals. Consider the sequence of actions and the interconnections between different tasks. This approach brings clarity and reveals opportunities for optimization. Here, tools like Notion, Trello, and Bitrix24 can assist by helping you break down tasks into checklists.

Step 3: Structuring
Structuring is essential for better understanding and managing processes. Create a hierarchy where core processes are at the top, and sub-processes and tasks are below. Next, establish connections between various processes and sub-processes to show the flow of data, information, and resources among them. Develop a structure that clearly depicts the hierarchy and logic of executing business processes. Tools like Enterprise Architect, ArchiMate, and BizzDesign can help with this step.

Step 4: Visualization
After gathering the process structure, visualize it using a flowchart. You can use any mind-mapping tool, such as Miro, Mindmeister, or XMind, to describe it. Additionally, utilize diagrams and graphs to visually represent the structure and sequence of processes.

How to describe the processes?