A Human-Centric Approach to BPM: Making Processes Work for Your People
Business Process Management (BPM) isn’t just about creating workflows and automating tasks.
It’s about making those processes intuitive, manageable, and aligned with the needs of your team.
A human-centric approach ensures that BPM supports people rather than burdening them with rigid rules or overly complex systems. It puts employees at the heart of process design, recognizing their insights, skills, and challenges.
What is Human-Centric BPM?
A human-centric BPM approach focuses on:
- Empowering Employees: Processes are designed to help people perform their tasks more effectively, not just streamline operations for the organization.
- Reducing Friction: By simplifying workflows and eliminating unnecessary steps, you create processes that are easy to follow and efficient.
- Fostering Collaboration: Involving your team ensures that workflows reflect the reality of how work is done and encourages buy-in.
- Adapting to Skill Levels: Processes are tailored to the skills and experience of the team, with clear instructions and user-friendly tools.
- Promoting Engagement: When employees feel that processes make their work easier, they’re more likely to embrace and improve them.
Why Involve Your Team in BPM?
- Better Insights: Employees who perform tasks daily know where inefficiencies or frustrations exist.
- Higher Adoption Rates: When people contribute to creating processes, they’re more likely to use them consistently.
- Fewer Errors: Processes designed with real-world input are more practical and less prone to mistakes.
- Stronger Team Morale: Collaboration shows employees that their voices matter, fostering a sense of ownership.
Example: A Human-Centric BPM for Employee Onboarding
The Problem:
A mid-sized IT company struggled with its onboarding process for new hires. The process was generic, confusing, and stressful for both new employees and the HR team. Steps were unclear, documents were scattered across multiple platforms, and new hires often felt overwhelmed.
Step 1: Involve the Team
The HR team, managers, and recent hires were asked to share their experiences with the onboarding process. Key pain points included:
- New Hires: Confusion about tasks, lack of access to necessary tools, and no clear point of contact.
- Managers: Delays in assigning tasks and providing equipment.
- HR Team: Repeatedly answering the same questions and chasing paperwork.
Step 2: Redesign the Process
Based on feedback, the company redesigned the onboarding process to focus on user needs:
- Centralized Checklist: A shared digital checklist was created, listing every step for new hires, HR, and managers.
- Automation for Repetitive Tasks: Standardized emails, like welcome messages and IT setup requests, were automated.
- Buddy System: Each new hire was paired with a "buddy" to help them settle in.
- Skill-Based Training Plans: Customized training schedules were designed based on the role and skill level.
- Feedback Mechanism: A survey after 30 days allowed new hires to share their experiences for further improvements.
Step 3: Test and Train
The updated onboarding process was piloted with a few new hires. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with new employees reporting a smoother experience and managers finding it easier to coordinate tasks.
Step 4: Monitor and Refine
The company continuously collects input from new hires and team members, tweaking the process to address emerging challenges.
The Results:
- Faster Integration: New hires completed onboarding tasks 40% faster because they had clear guidance and easy access to resources.
- Improved Satisfaction: Surveys showed a 30% increase in new hire satisfaction with the onboarding experience.
- Reduced Workload: The HR team saved 10 hours per hire by automating repetitive tasks.
Principles of Human-Centric BPM
- Start with the Team: Gather input from the people who will use the process daily. Understand their pain points and ideas.
- Keep It Simple: Avoid overcomplicating workflows. Simple, intuitive steps encourage consistency and reduce errors.
- Use Technology Wisely: Choose tools that are easy to use and accessible, without creating additional learning curves.
- Focus on Training: Ensure that everyone understands the new process and how it benefits them.
- Adapt to Feedback: Treat processes as living documents, revisiting and refining them regularly based on user experiences.
Why Human-Centric BPM Works
- Real-World Relevance: Processes reflect how work is actually done, not how you think it should be done.
- Stronger Engagement: Employees feel valued and supported, creating a culture of collaboration.
- Sustainable Change: Processes are more likely to stick when they address real challenges and make work easier.
A human-centric BPM approach ensures that workflows empower your team, creating an environment where everyone works smarter, not harder.
Whether you’re onboarding employees, managing projects, or improving customer service, designing with people in mind leads to better outcomes and happier teams.
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