Calling all manufacturing executives & managers

A Message From Jack Shannon

Business Process Review (BPR) - How to implement the changes

Last month I discussed what a Business Process Review (BPR) is. At the end of the BPR, the customer has a document that identifies the issues, the root causes, previously unknown consequences of the issues, and a recommendation of how to fix the issues. I’ve conducted BPRs; I’ve been in meetings where a consultant goes over the findings of a BPR. In all cases, the customer leaves the meeting with a sense of clarity and direction. It feels good to the customer. We feel good that we were able to provide that sense of clarity and direction.

Along with the good feelings, it’s important to note that nothing in the business has changed yet. Knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things. Just because you have a map to a destination doesn’t mean you’ve been there.

To put this in context, let’s back up to the beginning. Why did we do a BPR? It’s because a company wanted to use their ERP better to address known business issues. The BPR isn’t the goal, it’s one step toward the goal. To guide a company toward that goal, we need to understand how the ERP is (or isn’t) being used, and suggest how it should be used. This brings the feeling of clarity and direction I talked about, but not actual change. Only by enacting change can the goal be reached.

Change is the hard part. This is where the resistance to change shows up. Generally, there is no resistance to change during the BPR. Employees gleefully tell us all the things that aren’t working, how hard it is to get the information they need, and how they know it can be better. Talking about problems and their solutions is the easy part. That’s why there is no resistance. Doing something to fix the problems is much different. It means changing how things are done. It means going through a learning curve. That is uncomfortable, so a natural by-product is resistance. And there is always resistance. Always. Don’t think your company is going to be different. You won’t be.

Companies who are successful in implementing change have learned how to funnel the resistance into a positive force. They don’t ignore it. They embrace it; they deal with it. They understand that it’s OK for employees who are responsible for getting a job done – and get it done – are skeptical of change. Their concerns need to be heard and addressed. It is the burden of the change agent to prove the case that the new process is better. After the concerns of the employees are discussed, the process is usually modified for the better. In this scenario, the resistance is a positive force because it was harnessed properly.

At this point the resistance needs to subside. If it doesn’t, resistance becomes an issue that can derail the entire project. The only thing I have seen address this effectively is leadership. Resistance at this point isn’t driven by facts, it’s driven by emotion. Nothing is more effective than good leadership in dealing with that emotion.

So, what makes a good leader? First and foremost: The leader must believe in the solution. Not believe that’s it’s perfect, but believe the proposed solution is better than the current process. That belief is needed to tamp down any resistance and keep the project on schedule. If the leader doesn’t believe in the solution, they will become part of the resistance. Once the leader of the project exhibits signs of resistance, the project is most likely going to derail.

The leader also needs to be empowered to made decisions and guide the users through the change. Not empowering the leader is an avoidable error that drastically reduces chances of success.

Lastly, recognize there needs to be an ERP expert involved in the implementation of the solutions. If we are doing a BPR, the chances are that you don’t have an in-house expert. If you did, why have us come in to do a BPR? There is no shame in this. Acknowledge it, let us assist you, and be successful in implementing the change you want.