Every year, APQC conducts research to understand the common challenges and priorities of process and performance management practitioners. The research focuses on three key areas – business process management, continuous improvement, and process frameworks. Below you’ll find a few insights from the research.
Digital Transformations
As three-fourths of organizations proceed on their digitalization journey, many of them realized that off-the-shelf solutions and investments in technology can wreak havoc or require tedious rework without a firm foundation in process, data, and analytics. More specifically organizations need to address:
- Measurement Basics. A theme throughout this year’s survey is the drive to get organizations’ data houses in order. In addition to general investments in analytics and data management, organizations also struggle with identifying the right mix of measures. Determining the “right” measures provides a foundation for the organization’s data management—what data to collect, its accessibility, and its cleanliness.
- Data-Driven Organization. Though data and analytics is nothing new the survey respondents indicate they still have a long way to go. Namely organizations continue to focus on establishing analytics capabilities, understanding how they will use advanced analytics, and embedding a data-driven, decision-making culture throughout the organization.
A Need for Change
Given that organizations digital work impacts the entire organization, it makes sense that 73% of organizations feel that breaking down silos is vital to their success. Couple this with the pervasiveness of rapid change and focus on customer value, organizations must rethink how they connect and execute their work. Ultimately this requires tying people, technology, and process together into a cohesive whole: Human meets digital, enabled by process.
Though there is a lot of disruption for organizations, there is also hope. In many ways, process management is well-positioned to take on these challenges. Successful digital initiatives require a deep dive into process and data, which is a core process management skillset. Customer centricity is also an integral part of traditional process management methodologies like Lean. Finally, process managers understand organizational silos better than most, because they must work across them to manage and improve end-to-end processes.
About the Conference
APQC is excited to host their 7th annual Process & Performance Management Conference this fall in Houston, TX. Equip yourself with the tools and tactics to communicate the value of process management, advance process and improvement initiatives, and sustain behavior change so that it becomes part of your organization’s DNA.
Join more than 250 process practitioners and business professionals for inspiring keynotes; breakout sessions with leading organizations, showcasing their successful process and performance management practices; and, hands-on pre-conference workshops led by APQC experts on topics ranging from process management essentials to the power of process frameworks. Learn more and register before August 23 to secure early bird rates.
