Best Practices in Reengineering

Improve the effectiveness of your reengineering efforts by creating transparency about the process throughout the firm, communicating effectively, selecting the best processes for reengineering and following other best practices. By some estimates, two out of three attempts to reengineer companies fail to deliver the expected results. There are many ways to go wrong in the reengineering process, including incomplete communication, flagging managerial support and attempting to reengineer too many processes at once. The authors of this book studied the successful efforts of forty-seven companies to discover what they had done right. Out of their research, they have compiled a compelling list of best practices to guide a reengineering effort. Below is a sample of their best practice rules: · Recognize and articulate an "extremely compelling" need to change. This could include a need to become more competitive, gain market share, or adapt to regulatory changes. · Begin with and maintain top-level management support. Executives must have a commitment to the reengineering effort in order to carry the vision into day-to-day operations. · Understand the firm's readiness to change. Make plans to face resistance to change. · Communicate effectively to create buy-in. Don't let your employees find out about changes through the rumor mill. Create transparency in the change process.