It is an all too familiar story. The buzz of excitement about grand plans to transform a business and the possibilities ahead fizzle out as things go awry and disappointment sets in.
Early on, there are hopes of driving up revenues and profits or shaking up entire markets, consultants work with senior executives on tactics and a project management team sets out plans, work streams and budgets.
But if results fail to meet expectations, sales stall, costs stay stubbornly high and customer satisfaction low, frustration sets in and enthusiasm for the project can wane.
There can be many reasons for such failures, but a common cause is that the change management process does not embrace those people required to put it into action.
Not enough is done to help them understand and adapt to new processes, their voices are ignored, and their valuable ideas and suggestions overlooked.
What should be a collaborative process instead becomes a top-down approach focused on implementing new ways of working. Blame is often laid at the door of the change management team or head of transformation.
It does not have to be this way, and business process and decision management software provider Signavio has developed a suite of products for modelling, analysis and optimisation of business processes that encourages collaboration to harness talent within organisations.
Formed eight years ago, Signavio now has 195,000 users in more than 1,000 organisations in 25 countries across sectors including banking, insurance, manufacturing, public services, retail, logistics, software, telecoms and utilities. Customers range from tofu producer Taifun Tofu to communications technology firm T-Systems.
It has been successfully used by small businesses, but is particularly useful in larger organisations with a need for consistency and regulated sectors where compliance risks are huge.
We help people successfully enact change and put in place transformation that sticks
Some customers report that Signavio has enabled them to analyse and deliver process improvements 60 per cent faster than with traditional approaches. Others say it has helped embed process into their DNA.
Embracing a more collaborative approach not only brings operational efficiencies, but also benefits such as increased customer and employee satisfaction, leading to lower recruitment and training costs.
Gero Decker, Signavio chief executive, says: “It’s almost like the wisdom of crowds. Yes, there are experts in their fields and they have a vital role to play, but inviting and encouraging everyone to have an input taps into the broader expertise in the business, not only expanding the knowledge base that can be drawn on, but making it more difficult to resist the resultant changes.”
Using a web-based or SaaS system, Signavio offers an alternative to traditional complex business process modelling and automation systems, equipping customers with easy-to-use, powerful tools that improves productivity and communication.
It goes beyond process capture, documentation and improvement, recognising the need for a more agile approach, so users or citizen developers can design, run and report on workflows without having to involve IT departments.
Across organisations or within departments, Signavio encourages teams to work together better, creating new ways of thinking and generating results faster, often turning a series of small changes into a more substantial transformation.
Adopting a collaborative approach provides everyone with greater visibility and removes one of the main barriers to successful transformation – people who feel excluded and become reluctant to adapt to new ways of working.
Dr Decker concludes: “We help people successfully enact change and put in place transformation that sticks. The benefits of adopting a more collaborative approach are enormous and it’s been amazing to see how customers have leveraged our technologies transforming their organisations, often in ways we never anticipated, but with incredible bottom-line results.”
Take your transformation initiatives to the next level, visit Signavio.com today
