By John Mark V. Tuazon

Reengineering business processes becomes useless if changes in employee mindset and outlook are not simultaneously managed, for they are the key enablers of fresh methodologies implemented in the workplace. This is the main insight shared by Dr. Lemuel Braña, president of Philippine Computer Society (PCS), during his keynote address at Computerworld Philippines’ executive briefing on “Improving Business Processes” held last June.

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) refers to reforming certain portions of the business by automating key practices previously performed manually. Braña, also the vice president of Software Ventures International Corp., emphasized to fellow executives attending the event that no matter how good their new processes are, their projects will only lead to failure if changes are not managed.

“In my experience consulting with firms on how to improve their businesses, almost 70% of BPR efforts went to waste because people are not prepared for the changes,” Braña said, citing the example of port employees not using their computers because they are more comfortable with manual processing.

“Without appropriate readiness, change results in lower productivity, increased animosity and ineffective solutions,” Braña added, pointing out that if ever changes do get adopted, they are achieved at a much higher cost.

In the same manner, top-to-bottom reception of changes should also be taken to mind. Braña shared how BPR projects fail when there is lack of sponsorship from management, who he said should be the leaders in effecting changes.

“When you employ change management, employees will say ‘Hey, it’s not just your idea, it’s also ours.’ There is ownership of the idea, making it a more comfortable change to adopt,” he remarked. “Managing changes in the workplace will greatly complement the BPR, making it more effective.”

Anatomy of an effective BPR
For BPR to be effective, Braña said, it has to target day-to-day operations, address the process as a whole (including individual and interim deliverables) and must be quantifiable.

“It also has to be simple enough to be grasped by employees, because as the saying goes, the simpler, the better. As much as possible, avoid over-engineering,” he said, adding that simple processes are less costly and are more flexible.

To achieve this, Braña suggests eliminating multiple levels of contact with customers, which will likewise eliminate errors, differing information and delays. He pointed out the need to re-classify organizations around specific business processes, rolling several jobs into one to achieve efficiency.

“Employees need to be able to make decisions on their own, perform steps in the natural order they are done, carry out tasks where it makes sense and adopt a customer perspective,” he advised. Furthermore, providing a single point of contact with customers will ensure efficient processing of inquiries, he said.

Solutions, not technologies
In devising BPR strategies, Braña advised executives to look for solutions to problems, and not specific technologies that can be implemented. “Sometimes, for business processes to improve, it may only require involved participation from employees,” he said. “We should not automate for automation’s sake.”

In identifying areas needing BPR, Braña said companies should look into opportunities open in their current business practices. “However, each opportunity should be weighed based on costs, benefits, risks and priorities.” He added that picking the perfect opportunity will ultimately drive efficiency to business processes.

Jimmy Tronqued, president, ScopeWorks Asia, agreed with Braña’s propositions. “I think it’s something that companies should look into including in their search for efficiency in operations,” he said. “We’ll see how we can implement these strategies, especially the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software.”

Meanwhile, Dory Sempio, finance manager, TwentyNine:Eleven, is seriously considering reengineering their financial processes based on insights gained from the event. “[Re-engineering] business processes is vital to our line of work, and we are looking forward to implementing these solutions to our company in the near future.”

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