Common problems in enterprise process management

The discussion here includes both the real voices from Enterprise A and our thinking behind these voices. The purpose is to find some general rules from the personality problem of enterprise A. In the formal discussion of this problem, firstly, analyze a wrong tendency that may be caused by this discussion, that is: since there are so many problems in process management, why should we carry out process management? We know that process management is relative to the traditional department/function-oriented management; We also know that process management has not been widely recognized and promoted in domestic enterprises. Therefore, talking about many "no's" of process management here may be a scratch for enterprises that have not yet recognized process management, and on the other hand, it will also bring them a feeling of "knowing today, why bother", so they are more "discouraged" from process management. In fact, there is a suspicion of alarmism. Because, in the process management consulting projects, seminars and training that AMT consulting company has been carrying out continuously, we have been delighted to see that the process management model is being accepted by more and more people, and the customer-oriented value creation method of process management is also recognized by more and more people. However, it is necessary to talk about the possible problems of process management for enterprises that have already carried out process management. This is not to find fault with process management, but to explore why the process is not well managed from the problems. So, what are the problems of enterprises that have implemented process management? Perhaps, different voices from different people in Enterprise A will give us a preliminary impression of process management: some leaders will say "the responsibility of the process should be closed" ... business departments will say "the process is not their own", "the process is not practical", "the process is too complicated" and "the process lags behind the business" ... and the process management department will say "how to control and be efficient" and "how to simplify the process" The process optimization work has not been really paid attention to and implemented in time, and the original process can not guide the work of the department well, resulting in a vicious circle; When there is a conflict between departments, the process is usually moved out as a tool for self-protection, and few people consider how to make things better by optimizing the process from the perspective of company interests; Process management is mainly promoted by the process management department. There is great resistance to the process optimization work involving all fields and departments of the company. Combing all the above statements and practices, we will find that most of the problems that often appear in enterprise process management are: the subject is unclear about the sense of responsibility and process, although it has been established, it is not implemented enough; There is a disconnect between process and business; Sometimes, the process becomes an excuse for departments to shirk their responsibilities. The process is too detailed. Most processes are too detailed, and there is no concept of grading, which is not conducive to monitoring and maintenance; Too detailed, but not comprehensive, too rough description, can not effectively solve practical problems. Many examination and approval links, long time and slow response are not conducive to improving the competitiveness of enterprises. Insufficient promotion and single promotion power mainly come from the process management department; The process interface is unstable, and there is a lack of systematic training in process management concepts, methods and tools. The above is only a qualitative understanding of process management, with strong subjectivity. In order to have an objective understanding of process management close to its original appearance, we introduced the quantitative analysis method of process management, and the relevant evaluation indicators and methods were in the previous article "How is my process managed?" Has been introduced in detail. Here are a few examples of quantitative analysis of enterprise A's process management, let's look at the process from another angle. Figure 1 A One example of quantitative analysis of enterprise process management Figure 1 is the possibility index analysis of process management improvement, including three indicators: business driving ability of process management, attitude of enterprise decision makers and current situation of process management. When we go deep into the attitude of enterprise decision makers to process management, we can find that they have a high attitude and understanding of process management, but they have not effectively promoted process management. This can be seen from the average score of each index. So, what is the performance of the current situation of process management? Figure 2 gives a detailed quantitative analysis, and it can be found that everyone's views on the lack of flexible optimization ability of the process are consistent and need special attention. Figure 2 A quantitative analysis example of enterprise process management Compared with qualitative analysis method, the quantitative analysis of process management can not only draw more convincing evaluation conclusions, but also provide reference ideas for the improvement of process management. For example, in Figure 2, the first quadrant with low average score and low variance represents what people have not done enough. From this point of view, improvement will not only have greater room for improvement, but also have fewer obstacles. How to discover the essence through problems? Above, we analyzed the possible problems in enterprise process management and evaluated them with qualitative and quantitative methods. But this is only the first step to solve the problem-"finding the problem", that is, recognizing what should not happen. Don't jump to conclusions when "finding problems". What happens is often a symptom rather than a cause. Deal with problems like a doctor. In fact, problems are always more complicated than causes, and complicated problems often come from only a few simple reasons. Similarly, for process management, we also need to dispel the fog hanging over many problems. The same thing, to different people, may have completely different results. To make an inappropriate analogy, such as shot put, A and B have no skills, but B is stronger than A, and naturally B throws far, so strength is a necessary condition; But C's strength is not worse than B's, but it also has skills. At this time, the throwing distance of C may far exceed that of B. We say that skill is a sufficient condition based on the necessary condition of strength. Similar to process management, different enterprises may have their own advantages in relevant necessary and sufficient conditions, which leads to completely different results of process management. We should be clear that the implementation of process management is not a simple process problem or a purely technical problem, but a complex reform project. The 7S factor model of Thomas J. Peters can provide us with a comprehensive framework for thinking about process management (Figure 3). The 7S factor model shows various and interrelated factors that affect organizational change ability. In an excellent organization, each factor complements other factors and consistently promotes the realization of enterprise goals. Whether the process management is good or not depends on what information or preparation the enterprise has in these seven aspects, and the lack and deficiency of these seven aspects are the fundamental reasons for the poor process management. * * * The element of enjoying values is the core of any organization, representing the highest goal of the enterprise and the guiding ideology of enterprise process change. What is the organizational structure of a structured enterprise? Grade or grade? Is the organizational preparation adequate when the enterprise carries out process management? What is the way of process management, and does it meet the needs of various stakeholders? Why does strategy need process management? What is the consistency with the overall strategy of the enterprise? What kind of corporate culture does style have? Closed or open? Employees are actually human resources systems. Are there necessary incentives to promote process management? What is the ability of skilled employees? What are the skills of the process interface person? Is there any relevant process management training? Is the system process oriented to e? Is there a working platform to support the operation of the organization, collect and transmit information, and support employees? Figure 3 Seven-factor analysis framework of process management reform and promotion, in which "* * * enjoy values", "structure" and "strategy" are more necessary conditions, while "style", "people", "skills" and "system" are sufficient conditions. The former determines the basic performance of process management, while the latter reflects how much process management can be improved. In fact, many reasons for the current situation of process management that we have analyzed can be reflected from the above seven aspects. For example, "lack of hierarchy, too detailed process" and "the business department has not become the owner" are all structural problems; "Insufficient motivation of process interface" is related to employees and skills. Therefore, to do a good job in process management, it is necessary to have strategic appeal, organizational operability, close relationship with business, meet the needs of various stakeholders, and have the necessary incentive system. Enterprises should establish a correct understanding: process management requires enterprises to make overall plans in the above seven aspects, so as to push the process management of enterprises to a higher level.