8/9/2019 Going Undercover to Learn How Your Operations Really Work

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Going Undercover to Learn How Your Operations Really Work:What television can teach you about your business process management

 By Sylvia Feldman, Optical Image Technology

(This article originally appeared in an April, 2010 publication of ECMConnection.com)

Up until recently, I didn’t think o mysel as the type o person who could be drawn in by

a reality show. Don’t get me wrong…I enjoy a wide variety o programming. I’m not so

highbrow that I only watch Buy the Vampire Slayer re-runs or their commentary on

contemporary societal roles and existentialism. Reality shows, on the other hand, never

held much appeal or me.

 That all changed when CBS rolled out its new series, Undercover Boss.

 The show is compelling or a number o reasons. It’s un (and admittedly, a little gratiying) to watcha corporate executive struggle with perorming the manual day-to-day tasks that keep his enterprise

running smoothly. At the same time, it’s eye-opening when an undercover boss realizes that there

are changes that she can implement to improve conditions and make operations ar more ecient.

By getting down and dirty in the trenches, an undercover boss gains a ar greater appreciation or

the intricacies o the everyday business processes that are the cornerstone o enterprise operations.

Which brings me to the crux o this article:

How well do you know your business processes?

Like a lot o businesses leaders, you are probably aware o the benets that you can achieve with

electronic document management. Maybe you’ve looked beyond document management at

process automation, BPM, workfow, and other technologies that are associated with enterprise

content management (ECM). ECM helps organizations improve turnaround and process work more

eciently—regardless o their size or industry. But in order to be successul with the sotware, you

need to have an awareness o the components that make up the work that fows throughout your

organization.

A lot o organizations make the mistake o implementing ECM beore they have a grasp on their

business processes. They hear about the superior returns that are possible with process automation,

so they implement electronic workfows in place o manual processes without rst examining and

improving those processes. Instead o enhancing a process, they nd a way to duplicate existing

ineciencies.

Let’s look at it another way: imagine a goler (try not to visualize Tiger Woods—he’s not applicable to

this scenario) who works on his drive diligently. In spite o practice and repetition, he doesn’t notice

any improvement in his distance or accuracy. He wonders why, ater working so hard at his hobby, he

is unable to attain any benets. Analysis o his swing may uncover simple mechanical adjustments

that could be made to improve his results. By practicing a swing without the benet o analysis, the

goler runs the risk o reinorcing bad habits.

By the same token, Undercover Boss is enlightening because it allows business leaders to grasp

the connectedness o their operations. They see how processes are interrelated rom the groundD o c F i n i t y

®

Optical Image Technology, Inc.

Imaging, BPM/workfow, and

Document Management Sotware

Until you implement

workfow andautomation, you’re

barely scratching

the surace o 

the technology’s

capabilities. It’s like

owning a Lamborghini

and not driving it above

25 mph.

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all the way to the top, and they are oered insight as to how to

improve overall processes with insider knowledge. They gain an

appreciation o the small components o the enterprise that have

tremendous impact.

Are you pursuing the right goals?One encompassing theme that the show oers is the realization

that, in pursuit o prots, companies oten take shortcuts that

ultimately devalue their bottom line. Organizations enorce rules

with the best intentions, but oten the repercussions o these rules

are not considered. Expecting one employee to do the job o 

two or more people may seem like a logical cost-cutting measure

initially. But when that employee runs the risk o burning out, or

takes shortcuts because that is the only way to meet company

milestones, everybody loses—the company, the employee, and

the customers. The overall lesson rom this scenario is that process

improvement—unless it is implemented with an enterprise vision

and input rom various departments/users—may have unintendedconsequences.

Consider the case o the business that implements process

improvement without taking a holistic view. It happens more

readily than you’d think. An organization invests in an ECM

system, receives immediate benets rom enacting electronic

imaging, storage, and retrieval, and doesn’t progress beyond basic

document management. It’s true that you can receive dramatic

benets by converting your paper documents to electronic. But

until you implement workfow and automation, you’re barely

scratching the surace o the technology’s capabilities. It’s like

owning a Lamborghini and not driving it above 25 mph.

 True process improvement starts with a deep awareness o your

business processes. You need to know what departments are

doing today, and what inormation is required or them to perorm

optimally. You also need to cross reerence those needs with your

company’s existing and uture goals to validate that these activities

are current and are in line with company objectives. Once that is

established, you can begin to assess where required inormation

is located, e.g., within documents, existing LOB applications,

websites, knowledge workers themselves, etc.

At this point, you can use ECM to capture, extract, evaluate, and

move inormation to the right person, application, location, etc. to

enable work to be processed e ciently and eectively. By directing

work throughout your enterprise and delivering it to the people

and applications that need it or processing, ECM acilitates quicker

turnaround, inormed decision-making, and improved consistency

and accountability.

Put the clicker down

Jerry Seineld said amously, “Men don’t want to know what’s on

television. They want to know what else is on television.” Clearly,

he did not oresee a day when a reality show might oer business

acumen. I you’ve watched Undercover Boss, you may have learned

some lessons that you can apply to your own organization.

You don’t need to be a TV personality to recognize that process

enhancement can yield tremendous returns in areas o e ciency,

productivity, and customer satisaction. I you are considering

implementing ECM sotware, strongly consider undergoing a

process evaluation so that you can get the most unctionality or

your investment. Look or a system with the fexibility, extensibility,

and integration capability to enhance and streamline operations

throughout your enterprise. A high-perormance solution does

not have to break your bank. I you have an ECM system already,

is it living up to your expectations? I not, are your results due to

shortcomings in the sotware? Or are there shortcomings in your

core business processes?

I your operations are not running at peak e ciency, it may be timeto discover how insider knowledge o your business processes can

lead to improved returns. Could you be getting more unctionality

rom your investment? Talk to your vendor about the benets o 

an in-depth process analysis. You might be surprised by what you’ll

nd.

Optical Image Technology oers an integrated

suite o imaging, document management,

and workfow sotware, including document

archiving, liecycle management, electronic orms, and email management

products. To learn more about our products and services visit our website at

www.docnity.com, email ino@docnity.com, or call us at 800-678-324.

©200 Optical Image Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. DocFinity, IntraVIEWER, and XML FormFLOW

are trademarks or registered trademarks o Optical Image Technology, Inc.

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