Business Process Empowerment: Powerful New Capabilities for Front-Office Staff

Perspective Olaf Acker Dr. Florian Gröne Adrian Blockus Keith Wheeler Business Process Empowerment Powerful New Capabilities for Front-Office Staff Contact Information Atlanta Delhi Milan Ralph Alewine Suvojoy Sengupta Pietro Candela Partner Partner Partner +1-404-519-0184 +91-124-499-8700 +39-02-72-50-93-50 ralph.alewine@booz.com suvojoy.sengupta@booz.com pietro.candela@booz.com Marjorie Taglieri Düsseldorf Munich Principal Dietmar Ahlemann Dr. Johannes Bussmann +1-412-956-4747 Partner Partner marjorie.taglieri@booz.com +49-211-3890-287 +49-89-54525-535 dietmar.ahlemann@booz.com johannes.bussmann@booz.com Manoj Pillai Principal Frankfurt New York +1-305-393-5759 Olaf Acker Jeffrey Tucker manoj.pillai@booz.com Partner Partner +49-69-97167-453 +1-212-551-6653 Beirut olaf.acker@booz.com jeffrey.tucker@booz.com Ramez Shehadi Partner Andreas Späne Sydney +961-1-985-655 Partner David Hovenden ramez.shehadi@booz.com +49-69-97167-408 Partner andreas.spaene@booz.com +61-2-9321-1966 Berlin david.hovenden@booz.com Dr. Florian Gröne London Principal Hugo Trépant Tokyo +49-30-88705-844 Partner Kazunori Hosoda florian.groene@booz.com +44-20-7393-3230 Partner hugo.trepant@booz.com +81-3-6757-8649 Chicago kazunori.hosoda@booz.com Mike Connolly Partner +1-312-578-4580 mike.connolly@booz.com Kenny Chan and Ronald Wade also contributed to this Perspective. Booz & Company EXECUTIVE Often highly touted, business process management, or BPM, has been a disappointment for many companies. In most cases, SUMMARY however, this situation is the organization’s fault. Unsure of how to get the most out of BPM, which is supposed to improve processes throughout an organization, or overwhelmed by the complexity, too many companies merely put it to work in the back office, optimizing already stable processes and routines. In other words, they use it where it is needed least. Indeed, for service industries, the real value of process excel- lence and agility lies in the front office, where the company’s sales or customer service representatives meet existing or potential customers. This customer-focused, strategically driven implementation, which we call business process empowerment (BPE), is much more than merely an enhancement to BPM. Instead, it is a strategy that combines process architecture and governance (structure, accountability, and oversight for critical customer-facing processes) with a continuous improvement cul- ture to drive sales increases, aid in cross- and up-selling, manage service inquiries, and encourage customer retention. BPE can drive flexibility and innovation into front-office sys- tems and activities and serve as a distinctive competitive advan- tage. It simplifies the tools available to the company’s front-line knowledge workers and improves their capabilities to in turn enhance the organization’s performance. Some companies have enjoyed return on investment (ROI) in BPE in the high double digits per year primarily by simplifying the processes, systems, and product offerings that directly affect customer transactions, sales, and communications. This is a welcome development for many service-centric companies, which spend more than half their time managing customer variability, performance quality, and workflow efficiency. Booz & Company 1 Key Highlights WHY BUSINESS when these systems are dedicated to nothing more than optimizing PROCESS relatively stable back-office processes • Business process management has been a EMPOWERMENT? and routines. The gains from these implementations are minimal and not disappointment for many particularly noteworthy anymore, companies because it is since they are enjoyed by virtually usually a pure technology- every company. By contrast, the front based solution without office is where process management proper process architecture In both concept and application, capabilities can make a significant governance structures, and business process management is difference in day-to-day customer a continuous improvement perhaps one of the most misused interaction—improving sales, culture. As a result, it tends (or little used) management tools. facilitating cross- and up-selling, to be consigned to the back Although BPM has been around since deftly handling service inquiries, office for stable processes the early 1990s, few people in major and driving customer retention. and routines—precisely companies have known what to do The dynamic nature of front-office where it is needed least. with it. Indeed, in most businesses, processes offers a remarkable set of • The real potential of BPM has become a back-office opportunities for companies that are BPM is in the front office, backwater, far from the strategic core creative enough to implement BPM in under an approach that of the organization. that aspect of the business; the added we call business process agility and flexibility in front-office empowerment, a way to arm Ask top executives about their BPM systems and activities can make a and mobilize knowledge systems and you’re likely to hear substantial competitive difference— workers with the structures, responses like these: “I deal with a new wrinkle on BPM that we incentives, skills, and tools strategy, not with the depths of the call business process empowerment that enable and encourage engine room—I leave that to my (BPM). them to do their jobs more operations experts.” “We have a productively than before. dedicated staff function looking BPE is a resilient capabilities after that, so we’re all set.” “My CIO system—an ongoing effort, not • Business process empower- talked me into a BPM tool more than a one-off process reengineering ment blends real gains in a year ago; I’m not sure if and how it approach—that combines process process architecture and really works though.” architecture and governance with governance with a continu- a corporate culture that lives and ous improvement culture to Unfortunately, in today’s business breathes “continuous improvement” increase sales, aid in cross- environment, those are costly and and is focused on harnessing and up-selling, and encour- myopic responses, especially for the power of BPM technology age customer retention by companies in highly developed, architectures for the company’s driving flexibility and innova- high-touch service industries, like greatest gain.