Reengineering is the rapid and radical redesign of strategic value-added processes. It is a technology that, when applied correctly, studies all organizational processes to determine whether or not they contribute to meeting a value perceived by the customer.
Processes that add value are improved; those that don't are eliminated. The goal is to dramatically improve productivity and prepare the organization to compete in turbulent environments.
In practice, many clients ask us for Reengineering applied to specific sectors of the organization. That's why they talk to us about Human Resources Reengineering, Quality Reengineering, either Administrative ReengineeringThe idea behind these requests is always to improve the effectiveness of some of these areas, and therefore, reengineering is presented as one of the most appropriate tools to resolve these emergencies.
It is necessary to clarify that Process Reengineering is applicable to Operational Level but not to Strategic LevelThat is, it can show a company how to do things well, but only in a very limited way, what it should do. Given the speed at which these processes are carried out, a clear strategic definition is necessary as a prior background; otherwise, the results may not be as expected.
Improving performance is a matter for the operational level of the business, and therefore falls within the scope of Reengineering. Selecting the right market to operate in, or the right products for a given market, are matters for the strategic level of the business and therefore outside the scope of Reengineering. Strategic problems can never be resolved at the operational level. Graphically speaking: If the plane is headed straight for the hill, it's useless for the turbines to work better than ever!
Because of this fundamental characteristic of Reengineering, every time a client requests a process of this type, we try to investigate how defined the organization's basic strategies are. If we see a lack of clarity or insufficient formalization and consensus among critical stakeholders, it is our responsibility to point this out in order to work in advance on a strategic plan for the organization. Otherwise, the efforts aimed at reengineering will not find support and applicability in the company.
How to get started
Based on a clear definition of what the company wants to be and where it intends to focus, Reengineering will begin by clearly identifying the link between what the company does and what its environment expects it to do.
Some work guidelines will be:
- What doesn't even need to be improved will not be improved.
- Anything that does not demonstrate added value to the core business will be strongly questioned.
- It is the client (internal or external) who will determine what is done and how it is done.
- There will be a strong focus on what needs to be done, not on who does it or where it is done.
- The distance between the decision-maker and the implementer will be shortened, which will contribute to the desired effectiveness.
- The need to unlearn will be promoted.
- Emphasis will be placed on abandoning inadequate paradigms
How to proceed
Organizations undergoing reengineering are often tempted to end the transformation once they complete process redesigns and eliminate activities that are found to add no business value.
Clearly, the results obtained are so significant that it's a valid temptation, and companies often fall prey to it. The problem is that companies are systems, and as such, they contain interdependencies and time lags between causes and effects.
For the changes and improvements achieved through reengineering to be sustained over time, in addition to modifying critical processes, these improvements must be transferred to the systems, policies, and organizational structures that support them.
Perhaps the lack of clarity regarding this essential aspect is one of the reasons why certain reengineering projects have not maintained the excellent results achieved initially over the long term.
That's why every organizational redesign process must always lead to a redesign of the policies and structures that will ultimately ensure the continuity and sustainability of the improvements achieved.
What is achieved
The most frequently asked question is: What kind of improvements are achieved through a Reengineering process? The answer depends on the level of depth with which it is approached. Our experience allows us to demonstrate results in the following areas:
- Increased Profitability
- Increased Customer Satisfaction
- Cost Reduction
- Quality Improvement
- Improving Productivity
- Increased Market Share
- Increased Accuracy
- Speed Increase
- Greater Job Satisfaction
Critical Results Areas
By focusing on the few areas where achieving results is key to the success of the Mission, Reengineering helps focus and concentrate efforts. It doesn't cover everything the organization does, but it does help the company keep its sights on its customers—those who must be satisfied for the organization to achieve results.
Once the analysis and transformation stage of the processes is completed and the consultants have withdrawn from the organization, the company will be able to continue the process by implementing the Master Plan, which will provide for the contingency plans and the systematic monitoring of the Key Indicators of the business associated with the Critical Success Factors of the same, which become the most valuable “deliverable” of the process.
