A business process is a collection of business tasks and activities that, when performed by people or systems in a structured course, produces an outcome that contributes to business goals. In this article, we teach the definition of business processes and examine their advantages, examples, and related business terms.
Processes are everywhere in a business, from onboarding new employees to exit interviews, vendor invoicing, and sales. Every business outcome is a result of repeatable tasks and activities.
Some of these processes are executed strictly within the documented guidelines, while some are attempted with more flexibility. This differs based on the priority and importance of the business outcome derived from the process.
Nevertheless, a business cannot function without the proper execution of its processes. We need to spend the time to dig deeper into the concept of a business process, its examples, advantages, references, and importance in your business operations.
What is a Business Process?
A business process is defined as a collection of business tasks and activities that, when performed by people or systems in a structured course, produce an outcome that contributes to the business goals. A business process includes at least one of, but not limited to, the following elements:
- task/ activity
- system
- employee(s)
- workflow
- data
Business processes are invented to derive and contribute to organizational goals. The continuous and repeated execution of business processes is pivotal to successful business operations and business growth.
Business process structures can be simple or complex based on the elements involved in the process. Through every business process, a business strives to achieve certain goals.
Some key attributes that distinguish business processes from other business tasks and activities are:
- A process is repeatable
- A process is flexible and not rigid
- A process is specific and has established start and endpoints
- A process is measurable
Each business system will have a set of processes that make up the system; for example, a marketing system will have processes around market research and advert creation.
A process helps you run systems more efficiently.
Management processes include planning, organizing, controlling, and leading—the activities for governing your business (e.g., developing strategy, management meetings).
Operational Processes constitute your core business functions and create the primary value stream for customers (e.g., lead generation, sales, purchasing, production, order fulfilment, shipping, and customer service).
Supporting processes uphold and sustain the core processes (e.g., accounting, hiring, information systems, safety).
How to create a business process map?
Processes are often mapped out in simple diagrams called process maps.
Here is a simple example of a process map for making a social media post which you may do as part of your marketing strategy:
The above is one form of a process map where each step is written as a road map stop-off point.
Another example is a customer call-back process which can be mapped out and written as follows:
- Call client –> If there is no answer.
- Set a reminder to call back in 2 days and email now –> If there is no answer.
- Set a reminder to call back in 1 week and email now –> If there is no answer.
- Set a reminder to call back in 2 weeks.”