Business process management or BPM software has allowed organizations in every vertical, industry, and sector to automate manual processes, reduce error rates, cut expenses, and improve revenues. When business managers learn about the positive results others have experienced by using BPM software, many of them want in on it.
The great thing about BPM is that it is flexible enough to work in businesses of all sizes, but there's a danger of thinking that BPM software alone can solve business problems. In fact, there are a number of common mistakes companies make with BPM software, but all are avoidable. Here are 5 of them. 1. Treating BPM as a Project Rather than a Way of Doing Business One of the most common mistakes companies make with BPM software is treating BPM like a project and not a comprehensive way of doing things. If you think of BPM as a discrete, self-contained project, or as "an IT project" (a common variation of this mistake), then at best you won't get maximum results from your efforts, and at worst, you will have wasted time and money. BPM software supports a way of doing business, not just a single initiative. 2. Not Paying Enough Attention to End-User Adoption and Change Management You may have a terrific BPM software solution, but simply rolling it out and assuming everyone will adopt it is a mistake. When you start using BPM software, though you may only start by automating and optimizing one process, you have to keep the end-users in mind from day one. Change management principles should apply when implementing BPM, so that users are prepared, educated, and encouraged when a BPM initiative goes live. 3. Having Not Enough or Too Many Checks and Balances If a high-level executive imposes BPM software on the frontline workers without consulting other department heads, employees, and stakeholders, BPM can be a waste of time. Conversely, when a BPM software implementation is constrained by countless sign-offs, checks, and reviews, progress may be excruciatingly slow, bringing productivity to a crawl as well. Executive support and checks and balances must strike a happy equilibrium to maximize BPM success.
