 A
critical milestone in the maturation of any enterprise is the
formalization and adoption of proven business processes, or Best
Practices.
More than simply a set of good ideas, Best
Practices are an enforceable system of processes applied
to critical business areas in pursuit of efficiency or advantage.
Typical areas of application include Management, Operations,
Sales & Marketing,
People/HR, and Communications & IT. Note that many
of these same areas are also important customer touch points,
and it should become clear why Best Practices can have dramatic
impact on the very identity of a company,
often providing substance to the public style carefully crafted
through branding and marketing.
As every manager can attest, however,
it is one thing to identity a set of prudent methods, and quite
another to implement them consistently across the enterprise.
There are many barriers to user adoption of Best Practices, but
often the issue is simply one of not having the time or tools
necessary to perform the additional tasks required, even when
there is uniform agreement on the need. An integrated business
information system can help through the combination of Policy
Enforcement and Business Process Automation. Because business
information systems (CRM, ERP, Project Management, etc.) require
the user to enter information and perform tasks in a structured
way, that structure can be used as a gateway to enforce processes
and methods connected with that task. Similarly, a system that
incorporates a flexible and robust Business Process Automation
capability can take over once the necessary information has been
entered and fulfill the remainder of the process automatically.
EXAMPLE - Sales Best Practice
A Policy Enforcement is established
requires that prohibits sales leads from being entered
into the CRM unless a complete set of prospect information
is present: full address, phone, primary contact with email,
product(s) of interest, estimates value of opportunity.
Once a prospect is entered, the appropriate Business Process
Automation scripts are triggered and the system automatically
completes the appropriate tasks:
• Identifies the territory by address and Registers the lead with the appropriate
service partner via email.
• Identifies correct Sales Account Executive for the territory, assigns them
as the Account Rep, sends notification via email, and schedules a call in the
CRM at the next appropriate free schedule block.
• If the system has been integrated with with the telephony system (CTI), the
system can identify that the rep is currently in the field and call and read
the relevant details to the rep over mobile phone. If the Account Rep is available
to call the prospect, the system can connect him automatically.
• Emails the prospect PDF brochures for every product or service for which they
had expressed interest; includes contact information for the assigned Account
Rep; notifies the prospect of the intended contact time.
• Emails the Sales Manager that a new opportunity has been added. |
As you can see, a well tuned and integrated
business system can give your enterprise the tools neede to turn
best intentions into Best Practices. ESP uses its intimate experiences
with some of the most progressive business methods in practice
to:
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• Identify critical areas
that would benefit from formalized business processes
• Suggest & Design Best Practice approachers
to the identified areas
• Implement your Best Practice strategy through
Policy Enforcement and Business Process Automation
• Provide metrics with which to track and fine-tune
the effects of your implemented methods
• Help you gain a solid understanding of how your
Best Practices will affect:
o Increase efficiency,
o Make your people more productive
o Improve the satisfaction and loyalty of your customers.
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