Finding New and Better Ways of Doing Things Business Process Re-engineering Declan Cooney, Process Re-design Manager, Access to Bristol 'Making the Difference' – An Improvement Seminar

What is Business Process Re-engineering ? Developed/ popularised by Michael Hammer in early 1990s Technique for re-designing business processes, organisation structure, ICT and ways of working to deliver improved performance Widely implemented in private sector industry from 1990s onwards (e.g. financial services) Emphasis on developing a ‘process-focussed’ view of an organisation, understanding delivery of products/ services from customer’s point of view – as opposed to ‘functional’ or internal focus

Examples of Re-engineered ‘Processes’ Dell Computers - PCs built to order, integrated supply chain/ systems across multiple companies Flight booking via the internet – direct access for customers to airline schedules and reservations, by- passing travel agents Passport applications pre-checking service via Post Office – accuracy/ completeness checked, guaranteed processing time Child Benefit – information submitted/ validated by telephone or web, pre-populated form sent back for signature and supporting evidence

Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs

Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs Background to Project Project Context – Transforming Housing Programme Project Objectives Transfer customer contact for Housing Repairs into the Customer Service Centre (CSC) and Customer Service Points (CSPs) Enable tenants to report response repairs to one city-wide telephone number and by / web Deliver cost savings, improvements in call answering, customer satisfaction, quality of repairs ordering

Business Analyst(s) - lead/ facilitate process analysis and re-design Staff Participation - hands-on process experience/ subject area expertise Managers’ Participation - set re-design objectives/ constraints - review and quality assure outputs - make decisions on BPR recommendations/ change proposals Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs Skills and Resources Required

‘As Is Analysis’ ‘To Be Design’ Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs Key Stages in BPR Lifecycle

‘As Is Analysis’ Activities: Fact-finding meetings Process-mapping workshops Work shadowing Review ICT systems and user documentation Review procedure/ policy documentation Identify ‘known issues’/ problem areas Outputs: ‘As Is Analysis’ report and process maps Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs Key Stages in BPR Lifecycle

Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs ‘As Is Analysis’ Findings Repairs managed through 12 Area Housing Offices with individual ‘repairs lines’, and separate numbers for other types of repairs Average telephone call answering performance – 45% of calls answered, 55% get engaged tone/ abandoned (e.g. due to telephony constraints) Inconsistency – processes, team structures, staff training, use of technology, repairs policies, levels of customer service Opportunities to improve business processes - eliminate ‘non-value added’ activities, greater accuracy of repairs ordering/ specification

‘To Be Design’ Activities: BPR workshops to identify change proposals Best practice review/ benchmarking Evaluation of proposals against objectives Cost-Benefit Analysis Outputs: ‘To Be Design’ report outlining business process, organisation design and ICT change proposals This report became the agreed ‘blueprint’ for programme of business change. Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs Key Stages in BPR Lifecycle

Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs ‘To Be Design’ Change Proposals Customers able to request all response repair types on single phone number handled by CSC, face-to- face at CSPs, and by and web Improved telephony and management information reporting systems to manage calls in the CSC Consistent processes for repairs ordering and specification irrespective of channel – improved staff training, use of electronic knowledge-base and ‘graphical repairs ordering’ Re-designed processes – elimination of redundant steps, defined hand-offs and SLAs between ‘front’ and ‘back-office’ teams

Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs Benefits Delivered through BPR Improved Customer Service Sources: Repairs and Maintenance As-Is Analysis/ Telephony Reports March 2006; Repairs and Maintenance Cost-Benefit Analysis March 2006; CSC Key Targets and Performance July 2007

Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs Benefits Delivered through BPR Savings Simplified processes/ eliminating non- value added activities (tenant receipt letter) – estimated saving £30k pa Improved accuracy of repairs ordering and specification - estimated saving £145k pa Source: Repairs and Maintenance Cost-Benefit Analysis March 2006 Repairs and Maintenance Updated CSC Capacity Planning May 2007

Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs Benefits Delivered through BPR Other Benefits Improved understanding and management of end-to-end business process through process-mapping Professionally run customer service function with dedicated focus on managing ‘customer experience’ Single point of contact for customers Source: Repairs and Maintenance Cost-Benefit Analysis March 2006 Repairs and Maintenance Updated CSC Capacity Planning May 2007

Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs Lessons Learned BPR project needs to be carried out within a project management framework (Bristol Project Manager) with a Project Board to approve change proposals - avoid ‘lowest common denominator’ outcomes A robust Cost-Benefit Analysis for the BPR change proposals needs to be produced and considered alongside the ‘To Be Design’ document.

Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs Lessons Learned BPR work will identify potentially challenging business change proposals, whose implementation may require significant management effort e.g. business process change; staff/ organisational change; new technology. Implementation of the BPR change proposals, and making sure that the benefits are achieved, needs to be actively managed.

Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs What would we do Differently ? BPR Team needs to include relevant ‘subject-area experts’ (e.g. process, policy, ICT, HR) empowered to make/ obtain decisions on re-design options. Make greater effort to release operational level staff (‘doers’) to take part in BPR workshops. Challenge reluctance to compare with other Authorities/ organisations (e.g. financially).

Case Study – Re-engineering Housing Repairs What would we do Differently ? Ability to realise full savings relied on existing staff transferring to new/ changed roles - in practice implementing staff change was complex/ difficult and savings lower/ slower than anticipated Carry out full ‘end-to-end’ BPR of all major processes – decision to limit scope because of time/ resource constraints left some ‘back-office’ processes unchanged

Other Projects Using BPR - Some Examples Repairs and Maintenance ‘Back-Office’ Processes – complete ‘end-to-end’ BPR for repairs appointments process and related back-office service delivery Rent Management – process and team structure changes to focus on pro-active early intervention to prevent debt Housing Benefits – ‘clean claims’, capturing and scanning at first point of contact all information/ evidence required to process benefit claims PT&SD Parking Services and Concessionary Travelcards – draft proposals to introduce greater consistency and clarity for customers and more ‘joined up’ working across teams

Using BPR in Your Service Area or Project - A Simple Roadmap Identify the Right Cross Section of Participants Schedule To Be Design Activities – BPR Workshops, Best Practice Review Communicate Purpose and Objectives, and Secure Time Commitment Hold Meetings/ Workshops - Generate To Be Design Ideas Investigate/ Evaluate Ideas and Prioritise Key Items to Progress Prepare for meetings/ Workshops – Define Approach, Agenda, Objectives Document Emerging To Be Design Proposals and Process Maps Build in Regular Review Meetings / ‘Sense Checks’ with Stakeholders Complete As-Is Analysis – Process Mapping Workshops, Work shadowing Verify and Sign-off As-Is Analysis Report and Process Maps Produce Cost-Benefit Analysis for To Be Design Proposals Obtain Project Board Sign-off, Implement To Be Design, Track Benefits

Questions and Discussion