Process Re-engineering, Another Corporate Training Program by Appleton Greene & Co

It is often said that an organization consists of people, processes, and tools. People execute processes, using tools.

This training program will focus mainly on improving the “processes” in any organization; whereas “people” would fall into the realm of human resources, and “tools” would fall into the realm of information technology.

Processes are usually re-engineered (in other words, optimized or improved) in two major dimensions – efficiency and cost. We will cover both dimensions, along with the various strategies and tactics for gaining the most out of these dimensions, in theoretical and practical detail.

In a nutshell, processes can be streamlined, automated, outsourced, or eliminated. There are unique benefits to each of these choices, depending on the particular organizational situation or context. Knowing why and how a process should be re-engineered in a certain way is largely based on a combination of expertise and experience. The more you do it, the more easily it will come to you, and the more easily you will be able to advise others in your organization.

In major organizations, senior management approval would be needed before re-engineering an important process in an impactful manner. The potential impacts may affect the staff and the organizational structure as a whole; therefore, a favorable business case would generally need to be presented and approved by the relevant stakeholders before any actions can be taken. The core of the business case should show the stakeholders that efficiency or cost, or ideally both, can be significantly optimized or improved if the proposed process re-engineering takes place.

This program will dive into the various ways in which either efficiency or cost, or both, can be optimized or improved for any given process. Optimizing or improving efficiency consists of reducing the lead time or the efforts required to execute a process. Optimizing or improving costs may consist of strategic sourcing, outsourcing, offshoring, automating the process, and so on.

The objective of this program is to help you and your organization better understand how to make processes more efficient and less costly. It is my hope that, at the end of the program, you will be able to apply the learnings and insights to address any processes, however complex, in order to re-engineer them for the benefit of your organization as a whole.

Why is process re-engineering so important?

To remain competitive, organizations should always strive to operate in a more efficient and less costly manner. Technology is also evolving at a fast pace, such that new methods regularly become available that allow organizations to do things in quicker and cheaper ways. Process re-engineering accepts the premise that every now and then, any given organizational process should be reviewed and re-engineered in order to gain an advantage in terms of time, labor, or cost – thus allowing your company to keep its competitive edge in the market.

This program will begin with an organizational overview and an introduction to process re-engineering, in order for you to have a big picture of the organizational landscape and the types of issues at hand. You will understand why process re-engineering is so important and why such efforts should be undertaken without delay.

We will then delve into key skills such as process mapping and segmentation, which are useful for any given process in an organization. We will also cover the root cause analysis and the needs analysis – the former analyzes the current constraints and drivers in terms of input, whereas the latter analyzes the constraints and necessities in terms of output.

Afterward, the decision-making process usually requires a fair amount of number-crunching and consideration. It may even involve up-front investments (such as new technology or temporary staff) in order to put the new process in place effectively. Therefore, we will dive into these specific analytical aspects, which serve to estimate any investments or costs involved, while comparing them to the attendant benefits (which should hopefully be greater than the costs), elucidated ideally by a robust business case for senior management approval.

This program is used as a vehicle to implement a tangible methodology for all departments of any given organization to successfully perform process re-engineering, increase efficiency and save costs. This program will provide you with the tools, theories, practical advice, and mindset to make you adept at tackling any challenging processes head-on and deftly finding ways to improve or optimize them. By doing so, you will be making significant contributions to your organization.