This is an intervention offered by RDS to companies that want to define, optimise, monitor and integrate corporate processes, in order to create a process that can improve company efficiency and effectiveness.
To reach this goal RDS proposes a workflow articulated in the following steps:
GOALS DEFINITION
The project start-up phase involves consultancy in direct contact with the corporate management. The goal is to carry out an initial analysis of the organistion’s problems, and to define the improvements expected from the project.
CREATION OF A PROJECT TEAM
This is the team that will actually carry out the analysis and the redesign. It is composed of no more than three people chosen for their knowledge of the main mechanisms of corporate functioning.
MAPPING OF CORPORATE PROCESSES
In this phase the company is represented as a system of processes. The description of processes and activities is performed as follows:
1. Definition of value chain and mega processes;
2. In each mega process, the group of majors of which it is composed will be represented as will the relationships between them and the main inputs and outputs;
3. For each major, inputs, outputs and sub processes of which it is composed will be outlined in detail;
4. For each sub process, the main activities, inputs and outputs will be outlined in detail.
LOCATION OF CRITICAL PROCESSES
Once the corporate processes are identified and mapped, it is necessary to identify which ones require reengineering and in which order of priority.
For this operation, the investigation uses three principles:
Negativity, that means the presence in a lesser or greater amount of dysfunctions,
Criticity, the grade of complexity when interacting with external clients,
Potentiality, the advantage that process improvements can bring to the client in relation to costs.
An important appendix in this phase is the location of Process Owners, that is the person responsible for each process. Their role is not to reengineer but to ensure the work is undertaken successfully. S/he will work on obtaining the necessary resources for the team, interfacing with bureaucracy, and protecting teams from negative external influences.
ANALYSIS OF PROCESSES
This consists in the investigation of the processes that have to be reengineered, locating their functioning logic. For the design team to proceed, they need to know the performances of each single process and the problems that influence their functioning.
BENCHMARKING OF PROCESSES
This is the investigation of how the processes work in the most successful companies within the same product field.
ANALYSIS OF VALUE
Once the processes are constructed, a quantitative analysis has to be developed to determine their values. To establish this value, an analysis of the unit cost of each activity is carried on.
DEFINITION OF EXPECTED PERFORMANCES
This is the definition of the expected performances in terms of overall process value and single activity value. This definition enables the efficiency of the project to be controlled following reengineering.
REENGINEERING OF PROCESSES
This is the actual reengineering phase that can be the revision of hierarchical functional structures or of the functions themselves but more often it is based on the revision of coordinating mechanisms between the functional units such as the decision-making and delegation system, the planning and coordinating system, the control system and results evaluation.
Amongst the actions that more commonly undertaking are: the grouping together of different tasks, the assignment of decision-making powers to lower levels (and consequently the elimination of higher hierarchic levels), the release of work sequences in departments from a temporal lineal logic to a contemporary logic of functions and reduction of controls and inspections.
START-UP OF A CHANGE MANAGEMENT PLAN
Even when carried out carefully and attentively, some interventions run the risk of not being accepted or shared by those who are affected by them, even to the extent of being opposed or rejected. The reasons for these reactions are sometimes based on corporate experiences or individual experiences but are more often created by collective perceptions of the organisation that create the so called “corporate climate”. To avoid these reactions RDS proposes a communication plan in order to promote the diffusion of information and a reflection about the need for the proposed changes.
START-UP OF NEW PROCESSES
This is perhaps the most delicate area because of the inevitable problems related to process change. In this and following management phases, the Process Owner function is required because of the support provided in the elimination of start-up problems and functioning difficulties.
