Seven Deadly Sins of Business Process Improvement

Gregory C. Oberland

Sr. Vice President

Insurance Operations

Change Management Complexity

Savings Opportunities

VERY LARGE

SMALL

VERY HIGH

VERY LOW

Business Process Improvement

multiple jobs

multiple jobs and processes

multiple jobs, processes and functions

Seven Deadly Sins

# 1

• Lack of a continuous process improvement culture at all levels in the organization.

Seven Deadly Sins

# 2

• Failing to determine whether a business process is a competitive advantage before implementing solutions.

Key Decisions

• Look at work processimprovements first

• Use PeopleSoft financial modules unless proven otherwise

• Do not customize software(configure is OK)

• Financial process is generic (vs. core)

Principles

• Drive down costs (vs. control increase)

• Reduce cycle time (speed matters)

• Keep it simple– Easier to use (more intuitive)– Lowers cost– Makes it faster

• Continuous improvement

• Keep score (measurement)

Business Decision Support

Financial Reporting

Transaction Processing

Cost/Cycle Time

Analytical/ DecisionSupport

High

Low

High Low

Seven Deadly Sins

# 3

• The inability to take an enterprise view on certain business process issues/projects.

Seven Deadly Sins

# 4

• Engaging in complex business process projects without having a long-term plan/vision.

Seven Deadly Sins

# 5

• Not having the right people with the right resources working on business process improvements.

Profiled Companies Change Management Team Structure

Company Size Location Structure History

A 9 HR Matrix 4 yrs

B 30 HR Matrix 2 yrs

C 70 Prod. Line Decentralized 3 yrs

D 23 Corp. Decentralized 2 yrs

E 4 Corp. Matrix 1.5 yrs

F 8 Finance Ad Hoc 3 yrs

Reporting Structure

CEO / High level management

Division A

Champion

Division B Division C Division D Division E

Four business improvement staff

Champion Champion Champion Champion

Seven Deadly Sins

# 6

• Underestimating the amount of time, energy and work involved with successfully implementing change.

“Faced with the choice between changing ones mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on the proof”

John Kenneth GalbraithAmerican Economist

Clean Air Policy Transition

• Research/Benchmarking

• Survey of Employees

• Task Force/Discussions with Union

• Transitional Policy

• Final Policy

• Communications (included CEO message)

• Support Programs

• Changes to Building/Procedures

Preparing for Change• Clear Vision

– Succinctly describe change and why it must happen.

• Sponsorship– Get commitment from the “top dog”.

• Understand/Address Organization Impact – Assess who’s losing what? Address losses.

• Plan– Develop detailed change plan.

• Communication – Frequently communicate: purpose, goal, plan, role.

• Training/Integration– Assess how behavior has to change. Provide training.

• Support

Managing Transitions - Making the Most of ChangeWilliam Bridges

Sell Problems, Not Solutions

“[People] let go of outlived arrangements and bygone values more readily if they are convinced that there is a serious problem that demands an ending.”

Seven Deadly Sins

# 7

• An absence of high-level leadership in business process improvement initiatives.