Business process manager: the role of a specialist in the work and optimisation of processes in the company

Contents:

• Business processes and their types
• Importance of business processes
• Tasks of a manager for business solutions
• Skills and knowledge that a business process manager should possess
• In which companies can a business process manager work?
• Outcomes

A business process manager is a company specialist who analyses and develops methods to improve the internal processes of an organisation. The list of his duties includes the study and modelling of the system of processes in the company, rationalisation or optimisation by determining the balance between productivity and costs.  

Note that entrepreneurship in Russia is increasingly being integrated into the system of large international companies through adoption into successful practices. Even more than 10 years ago, the duties of a manager were performed by executives and managers who were based on actual practices.

In this article we will look in detail at the role of a business process manager for a modern enterprise.

Business processes and their types

Business consists of a mechanism that helps organisations to work and function properly. This mechanism can be called a business process – continuous processes within an organisation that lead to a certain result. It is primarily about the benefit of the company.  

In 2018, the Russian Federation developed and approved a standard for a business process manager. World practice knows several well-known standards that are applicable in many areas. These models have a clear algorithm of functioning.

Types of business process algorithms:  

• Managerial – covers the management activities of the organisation
• Key – stages that a product or service goes through from creation to full readiness for potential customers.
• Supporting – provides important resources for the full and uninterrupted operation of the organisation.

Global standards have supporting documentation and instructions without which they do not function well. The more stages and broader the structure of the activity, the more detailed and informative the information should be.

Importance of business processes

The importance of business process efficiency plays a huge role in modern organisations of all sizes. It is efficiency that becomes an indicator of working efficiency and a key indication of a company’s great success. Without proper process optimisation, there is a risk of losing competitive advantage and facing losses. What other problems can a business face without effective process management?

• Increased resource consumption
• Negative feedback from customers
• Falling productivity levels with missed deadlines
• Repetition of tasks
• Emergence of “grey” areas of processes
• Lost employee interest and missed potential business opportunities

However, when a company’s business processes are properly established, the organisation notices significant benefits. This enables it to keep the bar ahead of its competitors, dominate its field of activity and increase its profit share. Along the way, business process efficiency plays a critical role.

Tasks of a manager for business solutions 

Such a specialist is engaged in all work on the efficiency of business processes, from the analysis of existing business processes to the presentation of the results of optimisation. Specifically, the manager is engaged in the following activities:

• Makes reviews of the current business structure and uncovers space for improving efficiency and increasing profits.
• Elaborates and presents proposals in order to improve business processes. This includes creating an updated work strategy or adjusting an existing one. Once completed, he or she drafts technical documentation and forwards it to the developers.
• Informs the workforce about the innovations and tests the process on a selected group of employees. After successful testing, he creates a report for top management and agrees on the next steps.
• Trains employees and assigns responsibilities within the new model. The manager supervises the tasks assigned and co-ordinates the work of employees following the updated algorithm.
• The manager organises a presentation of the results of the business process improvement followed by recommendations for further work. This completes his role in optimising business processes.

In brief, a specialist:

• Analyses the current business process
• Develops suggestions for improvement
• Creates technical documentation
• Informs employees and updates their job descriptions
• Compiles reports
• Trains and assigns roles
• Monitors and co-ordinates macro processes
• Conducts presentation of results

Skills and knowledge that a business process manager should possess

A business process manager is required to have relevant competencies. A balance between creativity and process rigour is also desirable. The specific skills can be different and depend on the specific needs of the business and industry. There are several mandatory skills that every professional must master.

Key professional skills that a published professional should have include:

• Knowledge of audit frameworks and techniques. This refers to a thorough understanding and implementation of auditing techniques to ensure that business processes are compliant with standards.
• Knowledge of business process management fundamentals. This refers to the ability to analyse, model, describe and optimise business processes to ensure their effectiveness.
• Possession of literacy. It is important to be confident in basic computer skills and modelling software.
• Be able to work with project management. This refers to experience of participating in optimisation-related projects and developing relevant regulatory documents.
• Know the basics of risk management and be able to apply this knowledge in practice. It is important to have the ability to forecast, assess and manage potential risks in business processes.
• Fundamentals of financial literacy – skills of working with budget and financial indicators, understanding their significance in the context of business processes.

It is important to possess a set of personal qualities, among which are:

• Analytical thinking – the ability to analyse and process a large amount of information.
• Systems thinking – the ability to look at things globally, to understand interrelationships and consequences.
• Exploratory approach – an interest in learning new things and a desire to continuously learn new knowledge and skills.
• Social skills – the ability to communicate effectively, express thoughts and ideas clearly, negotiate and reach consensus.
• Proactive attitude – willingness to take initiative, be a leader and propose new ideas.
• Determination – the ability to set and strive to achieve goals, even in the face of obstacles.
• Stress tolerance – the ability to maintain high performance even during periods of high pressure and stress.

In which companies can a business process manager work?

Any company has processes that require analysis and management. In many respects, therefore, a specialist is in demand in firms of any scale, and also working in any industry – at industrial enterprises, in the banking sector, in a law firm and other areas. Most often the specialist is a member of the staff of the enterprise. In some cases, a specialist can work on outsourcing and help several companies at the same time.

The most demanded vacancy becomes in large companies – corporations and holdings. At the same time, the demand for managers is growing in all categories of employers. This is due to the large number of projects in the areas of import substitution and digitalisation of the economy.

It is impossible to get the profession of “business process manager” at university. The fact is that the relevant educational programme has not been developed in any of the universities. However, it is possible to become such a specialist on the basis of other education, for example, in the speciality of “Economics”, “Law”, “Informatics”, “Management”. The applicant can receive additional education at seminars or trainings, as well as pump up their skills on the basis of labour experience. It is also important to understand that a business solutions manager is a set of internal qualities, ambitions and analytical abilities that allow the employee to look from above at the firm’s processes. Thus, becoming a business solutions manager can be a specialist from many industries. Initially, he or she may be hired as a line employee. However, over time, the professional grows to a position where he will be able and willing to influence the development and efficiency of the company. At this stage, the professional supplements his skills with specialised knowledge in process management. Such managers are characterised by powerful awareness, and their competences are fully sufficient to ensure systemic processes.

There are specialised designed courses that may include such programmes:

• Conducting strategic analyses
• Developing a company strategy
• Identification of business processes prioritised for development
• Conducting an audit
• Selling different products
• Describing and analysing business processes
• Risk assessment
• Proposing improvements and their implementation
• Setting up efficient work of all departments

Outcomes

A business solutions manager is a person who is responsible for developing and optimising the company’s processes. The fact is that effective processes significantly increase staff performance, which improves interaction with counterparties and clients of the firm. Incorrect or inefficient decisions lead to incorrect work and processes that increase the risks of lost profits, dissatisfaction among employees and unnecessary spending. All this reduces the company’s rating and reputation.

A company cannot competently execute business tasks without having a business manager on staff. This person is responsible for collecting and analysing information about the state of affairs at the enterprise, to find real opportunities for growth in conditions of economic instability, to develop a development strategy, as well as to predict possible risks.

It is safe to say that in the future the demand for such specialists will grow in the labour market.

Questions & Answers