It used to be that an innovation project was clearly defined. It was considered a project, and was separated from other day to day activities within the organisation.

Innovation can been seen as new ideas or creative, bleeding edge endeavours. Wikipedia also expresses it as being “the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, unarticulated needs, or existing market needs.” 

The Australian Government refers to innovation as “changing processes or creating more effective processes, products and ideas.”  Focusing on new ways of doings things can help your business save time and money.  It will also give your organisation a competitive advantage in the marketplace, and help your business to scale and grow.

Today, innovation is part of everything we do. We have been teaming up with the crew at Way We Do recently to help our clients implement process innovation.  Moving from paper-based processes to electronic ones, and capturing data about how team members are following and using process in the business to make ongoing improvements.

Businesses that make process innovation part of their culture are more efficient, and have increased productivity and performance. 

Jacqui Jones, the founder and CEO of Way We Do says, “Another name for “process innovation” is “business process management”.  It is a methodology used to examine and improve business processes. Businesses that innovate, use BPM, and it forms the basis of work operations and capturing IP.”  

The lifecycle of business process management includes:

• Process identification – identifying the processes that need to be reviewed, along with process architecture.
• Process discovery – documenting the “as-is” process model, as the process stands today.
• Process analysis – understanding the process in more detail including its strengths, weaknesses and impact on other processes and outcomes.
• Process redesign – redesigning the process to make it more efficient and documenting the “to-be” process.
• Process implementation – the implementation of technology, people-to-people processes, and change management training.
• Process monitoring and control – the analysis of how the new process has made a difference in the organisation including time and money savings, revenue generation, customer satisfaction, and reputation gains. This data will also provide insights to make ongoing tweaks and improvements to the process.

Jacqui adds, “It is a great idea to bring in expert assistance to help review business processes.  There aren’t too many consulting firms in the SME market that bring together process knowledge and technology, and I believe the team at Crofti are well positioned to help their clients to execute on their process innovation plans.  Many business owners need guidance with their processes, and I can clearly see that Crofti are supporting clients quite well in this area.” 

Is process innovation part of your 2019 strategy?  Here are 6 tips to add this important practice into your organisation this year…

1. Take stock of what is happening in your industry. What are the trends?  What are your competitors doing?  What do your customers want and need?
2. Speak with your customers and employees to obtain their ideas of how your processes, products and services can be improved.
3. Seek professional advice from business process innovation experts. Contact Crofti for a free 45 minute consult!
4. Have an open mind and be prepared to adapt to change.
5. Create an innovation culture across your whole company, and promote business process management as a cornerstone of that development.
6. Provide training to your team to think in innovative ways.

Want to know if Way We Do is for your business or organization?  

Book an online meeting at: http://www.waywedo.com/meeting/