Making the Transition to a Better Process

Today, Aug 2005 by Bolita, Dan

Productivity as a measure of success

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Process improvement is all about increasing productivity; finding ways to streamline tasks for greater efficiency. Henry Ford figured out how to move a car along a line so that each component could be installed without moving the parts and people to the car. The assembly line seems pretty obvious now, but at the time it was a brainstorm.

Throughout the document-intensive industries, there have been a number of similar "ah-ha" moments. Most recently, the way payments are made and checks are processed has become more productive thanks to moving dollars electronically, and checks as images.

The transition from one process to an improved one often carries with it the burden of maintaining multiple processes at once. It's not always possible to turn off one method in favor of the new one. Such is the case with paper and payment processing. Paper forms must co-exist with their electronic brethren. Paper checks will continue to circulate while their electronic equivalents are moving toward wider acceptance.

Increasingly, productivity gains are being found by moving processing 'upstream' (i.e. closer to its point of origin.) This is especially true in the payment processing arena where direct deposit, check truncation and remote deposit capture are occurring at the payment source, rather than at a time or place farther down the processing chain. As Rex Scott and Les Lorenzo of AFS make clear in their essay (page 4) the shortest distance between two points is no line at all.

"Remote capture allows the original check to be retained at the point of entry into the processing system, rather than having the checks delivered to the bank for clearing," the payments experts explain. In addition to savings in transportation costs, these simple changes reap a number of ancillary benefits - improved cash flow, reduced fraud exposure and better customer service.

Often, it is these unforeseen advantages that far exceed the initial benefits projected. Unfortunately, a new process may also bring unforeseen complications. For instance, Repetitive Strain Injury is a post-industrial automation phenomenon. Image quality standards were not an issue until there were images; now various standards groups are convening to resolve it. As Steve McNair of FTP Consulting points out in his essay, (page 12) despite the best efforts of the FSTC and ANSI, standards are hard to define.

"Closure on the issue was thwarted," McNair points out, "when a much-anticipated report essentially delivered ... the promise of further study." The problem, the consultant observes, is that many expect "maximum quality standards, on which consensus may never come." For the short-term, more realistic minimum standards are being adopted and will serve as building blocks for the future.

The need - and expense - of creating and maintaining multiple workflow systems often stymies organizations as they move toward process improvement. It's tough to get budget approval for a proposal that will initially cost more money. An even tougher sale is with the many stakeholders along the way whose jobs may be lost, or dramatically altered as a result of the changed process.

Central to obtaining buy-in (both from the line-of-business workers and from those in the executive office) is providing tangible proof of benefits. "Managers must now see how to reconcile the theoretical levels with the practical application of running an operations department," advises Darryl Demos in his essay (page 5). "Translating the potential productivity increases into actual benefits is the "art" of workforce optimization. The initial phase of implementation is best achieved through hands-on piloting."

Demonstrating that changes will yield positive results will net the support any planned implementation requires. "Armed with proof of success," says Demos, "operations managers can begin widespread implementation and adoption of these measures and begin reaping the greatest productivity improvements."

Training is critical to ensuring a smooth transition. In a second essay (page 13), FTP's McNair discusses the effect of management training on employee productivity. How success is measured can have a dramatic affect on determining the return on a process improvement investment, McNair says.

While one department or process step may see spectacular results, this 'improvement' may come at the expense of another. The process as a whole, and its effect on the organization, must also be measured. Measuring overall success is particularly important in the document processing industries, where many of the steps are performed as individual components. Vendors may be quick to show the apparent benefit of one step, while overlooking its impact downstream.