Imagine a car. Let’s say you are somewhere isolated and need to rent a vehicle urgently, to go from point A to point B.
The local rental company shows you a series of alternatives, all in terrible condition. Each available car has different defects, which we will list as follows:
Car 1: The speedometer is broken and it doesn’t have the right rear view mirror. The paint is in very bad condition, it has hard seats with the springs appearing. And one of the rear windows is broken.
Car 2: Has reasonable paint, no problems with the windows or seats, a brand new radio, the gears crunch a bit and the spare tire is missing.
Car 3: Has new paint, hard seats, the steering wheel shakes a bit, it has a broken rear taillight and a hole in the fuel tank.
I believe that just by describing these alternatives, it was easy for you to understand that the critical process examples are represented by cars 2 and 3.
Even without the mirror and the speedometer, terrible seats, broken glass and bad paint condition, car 1 can reach its destination without great difficulty.
But with a hole in the tank of car 3, it will be virtually impossible. And without a spare tire in car 2, the risk becomes too great.
In fact, this is why every car has a spare tire: it’s a contingency plan that every car must have.
Let us understand these concepts with some critical business process examples that can arise in the day to day life of a business.
6 critical business process examples
Before we talk about the examples, let’s understand what critical business processes are.
They are those processes which have one or more of the following elements:
- High risk: If these processes do not happen properly, there are great risks for the company, of various types: financial, environmental, legal, operational and others. eg. Without a spare tire, the risk of not completing the journey is too great.
- Vital to the operation of the company: Without them the company simply can not function. A high-risk process does not necessarily paralyze the company (the car can continue to drive precariously), they are vital processes that cause the company to not deliver any value at the end of the process chain (without gasoline, because of the hole in the tank, the car won’t drive very far before being refilled).
- Processes that are in direct contact with customers: In the car example, this type of critical process could be represented by the poor conditions that all the cars had. Realize that the deal was only made because it was an emergency, otherwise you would not have rented any of the cars.
But let it be clear: Critical processes that relate directly to the customer, the so-called points of contact or moments of truth, are not just about the appearance, on the contrary; they are quite complex processes, as we will see in the examples that we are going to analyze.
See also: Risk Analysis and Management: The 4 Main Risks
Critical business process examples due to risk
Any process that may expose the company to a harmful effect is risky and therefore critical.
When an airline stewardess is serving drinks to the passengers, the possibility that this may bring some disastrous effect to the company, if the process does not happen as planned, is minimal.
But the landing and take-off procedures are definitely critical business processes for the airline.
As well as the acquisition of new aircraft for the company. If this business is poorly done, there is a risk that the company will not be able to honor its payments or not have enough aircraft, so this is another critical business process example.
Processes vital to the operation
A banal move, such as renewing a pilot’s license, can be an example of a risky process for a small airline, as it will not be able to fly if its only pilot qualified to command its only aircraft is not up to date.
Thus, critical business processes are not necessarily complex, as in this example.
- Check out: Who said small businesses do not need BPM?
- And see: Process consulting services: Does your company need them?
Another of the critical business process examples that has a fundamental contribution to the progress of a company is the operation of a steelworks furnaces, which can never be turned off.
Thus, in the event of strikes or natural disasters, it is necessary to model processes and contingency plans.
The Moments of Truth
All those processes in which you are in direct contact with the customer are considered critical.
The occurrence of non-conformities at this time can be quite detrimental to the company’s image.
Thus, remember the stewardess mentioned above, serving beverages to airline passengers, this may not be considered one of the risk related critical business process examples, but it’s certainly a critical business process when analyzed from the perspective of being a special moment of contact with the customers.
No wonder airline companies spend fortunes on complex training courses for their crew and make rigorous selections. The fact that this type of employee wears a uniform also demonstrates the concern with another example of a critical process due to direct contact with the client: the personal presentation of its employees must be impeccable. And there is no easier way to control and simplify a process than to institute elegant and beautiful uniforms.
The definition of a critical business process is fundamental when modeling BPM processes and using automation software will always be of great help for this very important moment in your business.