How has COVID Impacted Business Process Management?

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The COVID-19 pandemic entered our lives suddenly, impacted business process management, and brought with it a rapid transition to new work systems and policies. For business process management, this has required plenty of changes all at once, and many of them are still with us.

Ask yourself: how much of the way your company operates today would look familiar to your pre-pandemic self? From remote workflows to financial controls, the pandemic reset how work gets done. This article walks through what shifted across workflow, communication, future-proofing, and financial management, and what you’re going to want to keep.

What Is Business Process Management?

Business process management is the discipline of designing, documenting, and continually improving the repeatable workflows a company relies on to deliver its products and services. It treats those workflows as assets to be measured and refined, rather than ad-hoc habits that vary from one person to the next. Well defined processes give employees clear guidance, reduce error, and make it far easier to adapt when the situation changes. The pandemic put that last point to the test.

How Has COVID Shifted Business Process Management?

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a digital transformation in 59% of surveyed businesses, according to the IBM Institute for Business Value. This digital shift marks larger changes in business process management across the board. From workflow updates to new methods of financial management, here is how the pandemic has changed things.

Remote employee updating a printed workflow map with version-control sticky notes at a home desk

Workflow Changes

Workflow is vital to the way we understand our systems of communication and business procedures. In the wake of the pandemic, remote networks are relying on software databases and document transfer systems more than ever before. This requires a winning workflow redesign that enhances both employee and customer experiences.

Transparent Access to Knowledge

In the COVID-era, workflow systems are being developed that put transparency at the forefront of the experience. Workers in customer success, for example, can then pull up sales history with minimal effort, see exactly what products the customer has purchased, and offer enhanced levels of support through more access to knowledge.

Additionally, project development and content creation are best served by a smooth workflow. Workers should clearly be able to check a document in and out of a system, for example, without disrupting another’s work or losing changes. Especially with more workers working from home, your software should offer clarity and version control that smooths the development process.

Workflow Influences

From customer support to content writing and design, workflow influences the success and visibility of your overall brand. To thrive in the post-COVID business world, integrate such a workflow pattern into your own systems.

How Should Communication Patterns Change?

Managing business processes means readdressing your communication patterns to best suit the current situation. The COVID pandemic requires tact and care in this department, with platforms that are accessible for all workers regardless of remote or in-house position.

Team on a video conference as a presenter points to remote colleagues on a wall display

Change Management

In addressing change management, communication is a priority for any company. It is all too easy to expect new systems to be picked up with minimal guidance, but for business process success, teams need structure and clear guidance. Digital services for managing and tracking work have become a common aspect of the modern workforce because these systems allow users to assign tasks and track progress from anywhere.

Workflow Platforms

Select a digital check-in and workflow platform like Asana, Slack, or Microsoft Teams, then communicate standards and best practices across your business. Ensure that every team member feels comfortable with these new patterns of communication and be open to concerns and feedback. These processes will help you coordinate your team’s communication for the socially distanced world, allowing you to more easily adapt your processes for ongoing change.

How Can You Future-Proof Your Business Processes?

A PwC survey found that 63% of CFOs plan changes to products and services to address COVID changes. To achieve this, businesses of all sizes and sectors of the economy are bringing in new technologies and changing the way they go about their business processes.

Two colleagues reviewing analytics charts on paper and a tablet during a planning discussion

Forward-Thinking

Future-proofing means preparing your business process management style to handle anything that might come your way. Facing the devastation wrought by the pandemic on many businesses, future-proofing is now common practice for any forward-thinking company.

Data-Driven Analytics

Data is a key element of future-proofing. Through data-driven insights and analytics, companies can more effectively hone processes and address challenges than they could by going off intuition and assumptions. Data can even play a significant role in securing digital systems for remote work. AI-based cybersecurity platforms use large data sets to model attacks and better prevent them. With remote work a common feature of modern business, data security means business security.

How Has COVID Impacted Financial Management?

Many small business owners reported lost revenue during the pandemic, as tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Business Pulse Survey. Everything from sales to business taxes have been impacted by COVID-19, and businesses need error-free and secure financial management processes in order to better mitigate losses.

Accountant reviewing printed financial statements with a calculator and laptop at a desk

Blockchain

This is another area of business process management where the right software comes in handy. Artificial intelligence and secure data systems like blockchain provide methods of immutably storing financial data, while triple-entry accounting procedures offer precise checks against human error.

COVID Expenses

Beyond software, a reassessment of business expenditures is necessary when planning for the future. Businesses should add an expenditure line for COVID-19 and any other unexpected expenses. At the same time, explore where costs can be cut while continuing to invest in employee success.

With data security under siege by criminals hoping to take advantage of the digital shift, businesses must secure their financial management processes. Start with better tech, then revise policies and promote employee education to reduce potential error.

The COVID Impact on Business Process Management

2021 and the years beyond have been defined by how businesses reassess their processes for the future. While steps already taken may have been reactionary, long-term business viability means adopting carefully planned strategies to survive future disruptions.

Manager mapping business process steps with sticky notes on a glass board while a team collaborates

Workflow, communication, future-proofing, and financial management processes have all shifted due to the pandemic. Understanding how COVID impacted business process management is the first step; the next is to address your own procedures for areas of improvement.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Did COVID-19 Change Business Process Management?

COVID-19 accelerated digital transformation, pushing companies toward remote workflows, digital communication platforms, and more secure financial processes. Business process management shifted from in-house routines toward systems that work from anywhere.

What Workflow Changes Did the Pandemic Drive?

Remote networks began relying on software databases and document transfer systems, with a stronger emphasis on transparency, version control, and clear check-in and check-out of documents so distributed teams do not lose work.

Which Tools Support Communication for Remote Teams?

Digital check-in and workflow platforms such as Asana, Slack, and Microsoft Teams help teams assign tasks, track progress, and communicate standards across a socially distanced workforce.

How Can Businesses Future-Proof Their Processes After COVID-19?

Future-proofing means preparing your process management to handle disruption, investing in new technologies, and using data-driven analytics to refine processes rather than relying on intuition and assumptions.

Why Does Financial Management Matter During a Disruption?

Many businesses lost revenue during the pandemic, so error-free and secure financial management processes help mitigate losses. Secure data systems like blockchain and triple-entry accounting reduce human error and protect financial data.