What business processes are and why manage them
A business process is a repeatable sequence of actions that turns an input (a customer request, an invoice, a new employee) into a result. Every company already has processes — the only question is whether they are documented, measurable and the same for everyone, or whether everyone does things “the way they’re used to”.
Business process management (BPM) is an approach in which a company deliberately designs, measures and improves its processes instead of fighting fires by hand.
Signs it’s time to rebuild your processes
- the owner or director is a bottleneck: nothing gets approved or moves without them;
- tasks get lost in messengers and nobody sees their status;
- the same operation is done differently in different departments;
- new hires take months to become productive because everything is “in people’s heads”;
- the company can’t scale: a new branch means new chaos.
Three steps: design, optimisation, automation
Documentation and modelling
Process map, as-is diagrams, roles, regulations and metrics.
Optimisation
We find where time and money are lost and design the to-be process.
Automation
We move the process into a BPM system: approvals, tasks, reminders, reports.
Process first, then automation. Otherwise you simply automate chaos.
Which processes we build
| Area | Process examples |
|---|---|
| Sales | lead handling, deals, commercial proposals, contracts and invoices |
| Finance | payment requests with amount thresholds, budgeting, month-end closing |
| Procurement | request → approval → supplier selection → payment → acceptance |
| People | hiring, onboarding, leave and absences, offboarding with handover |
| Document flow | approval of contracts and regulations, orders, acknowledgement with signature |
| Operations and service | opening new locations, service standards, handling requests and complaints |
What you get
- a transparent model of how the company works: who does what, when and with what result;
- faster approvals and less manual work;
- a business that runs without the owner’s constant “manual control”;
- a foundation for scaling — new people and branches get ready-made processes.
Why 2people
For over 15 years we have been advising company owners and CEOs. We don’t just draw diagrams — we get the process working: we automate it in our own platform Folck, train people and reinforce new behaviour with training and gamification.