In 2018, the management certification organization BVOP published a list of activities that add business value to the organization and its projects.
A complete list and the original business value topics can be found at BVOP.org.
A lot of discussions and a lot of business professionals ensued. Everyone shares their ideas. In this article, I will also share my views and explain examples of added business value. Inspiration: “What is business value? Examples of business value and explanation“, https://customer-service-us.com/what-is-business-value-examples/
The examples of added business value: explained
In the first place, I put the topic “Relations between business and people” and, in my opinion, it is directly related to the second position “Human Resources”. I understand by this the value system and ideology that the company professes, regarding the observance of basic human rights, protection of human dignity, and ensuring equal rights and fair treatment in the workplace for every single employee. Reference: “How to add business value to the product, project, and organization according to BVOP”, https://customessaysonline.net/how-to-add-business-value/
Such a company not only seemingly upholds the cliché that the “workforce is the backbone of the company”, but also understands the role in the life of the community. In this sense, it is important how the company itself positions itself in the community and whether it tries to contribute to the improvement not only of the working and living conditions of its direct employees and their families, but also to have a positive impact on the well-being of the community itself.
In the third position, I put “Organizational culture”, as it is again directly related to the previous point in the way I see it. Namely, that the correct ideological policy of the company naturally leads to the unification of each of its members around one common idea. In this way, a positive working atmosphere is created, which in itself stimulates individuals to build deeper relationships with each other, and to have a desire and motivation to learn, develop and contribute to the common good.
A cohesive team that is led and directed in the right way can be extremely productive and produce products of high value and quality (Product Usability, Utility, and Value). This, in turn, is essential for the survival of any company, because after all, a business is a business and requires cash receipts, and a correctly placed final product makes the company recognizable and helps it establish itself and establish itself. Here I will also include the topic of “User and customer satisfaction”, which is presumably extremely important for every company. Not only satisfied employees but also satisfied users and customers are a guarantee of long-term success.
20 Key Examples of Added Business Value
Organizational culture provokes people to be proactive, contribute, share, and be aware of the organization’s business goals.
This is one of the main postulates of the management of an American-type company, such as the one in which I currently work. The company’s values and goals must be clearly defined (we are talking about goals outside of “profit”), that employees become familiar with them through their direct superiors, through various regular company events, and through written and oral communication.
It is necessary to create a positive work environment where people are seen as an investment, given opportunities to develop, and trusted. Where employees feel free to express their opinion, even if it differs from that of their superiors. Then proactivity and the need to contribute to the common goal come spontaneously.
Modernization and innovation.
Here, work must be done in several directions. First, the company must monitor the general business trends at the moment, as well as how competing companies are developing. If necessary, we must be open to changes (because modernization is a type of change), as well as purposefully look for those that would distinguish us from the others and we would “pull one chest forward” concerning them.
To innovate, the company must first consult frequently with those who do the actual work on the front lines. They often have ideas and recommendations because they face the problems and defects of the product daily, whatever it is. In addition, it is necessary to invest in the development of personnel, in increasing their qualifications, in stimulating thinking and expressing opinions.
The company needs to set aside resources for innovation if it wants to develop, as well as be ready to meet possible failure because every innovation is associated with risk. If we are talking about a large company, it would even make sense to create a special team that specifically deals with the topic of modernization and innovation.
People in the organization show respect for each other and work productively.
This is achieved through the culture that the company imposes concerning the treatment of employees. Respect for others must be demonstrated from the head of the company and from there down the chain to the last person. Any behavior outside of good tone should not be tolerated. Additionally, it is important to have an HR team in place that any employee can turn to if they feel wronged in any way by colleagues or superiors.
The number of people leaving the organization is kept to a minimum.
To achieve this, loyalty must be incentivized and rewarded in the first place. It is not enough to increase the salary of the employees in itself, they must also receive good treatment from their superiors and colleagues. It must be ensured that employees are not constantly overloaded (burnout) and allowed to work on tasks other than their routine, as well as to continuously improve their qualifications.
Conflicts and negative environments are minimized.
Again, this is something that should set the tone in the relationship at the highest level. It is a good idea to organize regular team building and events, in general, to encourage employees to communicate with each other on a personal basis and, accordingly, on topics other than work. Conflicts should be resolved quickly and decisively for sure, but I think the key here is prevention and seeing each other as people and individuals, not just colleagues and potential competition.
The image of the organization increases.
A positive image of the company can be built in several directions: Employee and customer satisfaction, providing a quality product/service and participating in community life through charity campaigns and others. In the event of a defect or a negative review of the company, one must react quickly for damage control, because people by definition rarely share positive feedback, but instead always publicly express a negative experience.
Everyone in the organization is constantly improving their personal and professional qualities.
This can be achieved by regularly organizing various seminars (online or live). On the one hand, these may be technical courses that are not necessarily directly related to the team’s work. On the other hand, courses can be offered to improve presentation skills, develop soft skills, etc. In my company, there are also courses for training and development of leaders.
Team members look for and remove obstacles without waiting for management to do so.
Cultivating the idea of proactivity, personal responsibility, and striving for personal contribution in employees is required here. They must be aware of the organization’s goals, be well qualified, and have the trust of superiors to try to nip problems in the bud. An appropriate hierarchical structure should also be created to enable employees to do so, of course… maybe not single-handedly and entirely on their own, but at least with some consultation and a fairly streamlined process.
Management and team members work together to optimize processes and accelerate development time.
This requires that everyone is aware of the company’s vision, understands and supports it, and feels united by a common idea and goal. If by “together” we mean “face to face”, then this requires the superiors to be in close contact with the working teams, to listen to their criticisms and suggestions, and not just to pass orders down the chain of hierarchy. Various incentives, bonuses, certificates, etc. can be offered. to encourage innovative ideas from employees that would in some way be a plus for the company.
Costs are carefully managed and planned.
It requires good management control, good planning, and costing, as well as foresight in taking risks. In larger companies, it is a good idea to assign risk managers to projects.
The tools and environment are constantly improving.
For this to happen, senior management must have a constant relationship with their employees, listen to their feedback, and try to provide them with better and better working conditions. It is important to continuously invest in the optimization of work processes and tools, which would also potentially lead to cost reduction. Reference: “Examples of business value and business value added“, https://wikipedia-lab.org/examples-of-business-value-and-business-value-added/
Unnecessary documents, processes, and communications are avoided.
It is a good idea to have a separate team that specifically deals with this activity, as it is of utmost importance to any company, including from a legal point of view. Processes need to be clear, understandable, and easy to follow, and documents need to be frequently revised and updated after each change. In addition, they should be easily accessible. Reference: “13 examples of added business value by BVOP.org“, https://www.vbprojects.org/13-examples-of-added-business-value-by-bvop-org/
The root causes of problems, defects, and obstacles are analyzed, tracked, and eliminated.
Again, it can be a job for a dedicated team. In general, transparency and a clear division of tasks and roles are required to see exactly where a problem occurs. For example, an official list of defects may be maintained on a SharePoint that is accessible to those expected to fix them. Reference: “Adding business value in organizational project management and product development practices“, https://www.kievpress.info/adding-business-value-in-organizational-project-management-and-product-development-practices/
Quality standards are followed and implemented without significant waste of time and resources.
Again, I’d say it’s good to have a separate team, or in any case, at least some kind of quality control mechanism, affecting not only the final product per se but also monitoring how individual employees work. Reference: “What is business value and how to increase it in our projects and organization“, https://phron.org/what-is-business-value-and-how-to-increase-it-in-our-projects-and-organization/
Wasting time or resources is somewhat inevitable (you can’t expect 100% efficiency all the time, especially when it comes to employee work), but it’s still good to keep it within healthy limits and, above all, to pre-calculate in the project so that it does not affect the final result.
Burnout is managed and teams don’t spend too much time on trivial tasks.
For some people, the nature of their work is such that they only do trivial tasks 🙂 Yes, it is theoretically possible to regularly offer other options besides the standard tasks, but this is not always realistic. Reference: “Business value for managers – How to increase it“, https://medfd.org/business-value-for-managers/
So I think the key here is for management to try to break up the work atmosphere as often as possible by organizing team building and various events (for example charity) that I encourage employees to get involved in. And above all, the direct managers should organize frequent face-to-face meetings with every employee, to get information about his state, mental and emotional, to avoid burnout. And by all means, make sure that people use their vacations!
The documentation and requirements are created and maintained in a simple and convenient style so that everyone can understand them with ease and save time from unnecessary discussions and misunderstandings.
I can only add here that the documentation of the processes must be easily accessible to every employee at any time. Even if it is very long and detailed documentation, which is sometimes unavoidable, it is a good idea to synthesize the most basic into a short list by categories or points, for faster orientation when needed. For example, if the employee is on the phone with a customer who expects an immediate response, he does not have time to delve into voluminous documentation. Reference: “How a project manager increases the business value of his project“, https://newia.info/how-a-project-manager-increases-the-business-value-of-his-project/
Meetings and discussions do not waste time and always lead to desired results.
This is achieved by holding meetings only if there is something to announce or discuss. It is important to have a pre-conceived and if possible written plan for the meeting to follow. Original source: “Business value in organizations and adding business value to projects and products“, https://eduwiki.me/business-value-in-organizations-and-adding-business-value-to-projects-and-products/
Product development focuses on the most important goals and needs.
I guess that would be the product manager’s job? Otherwise, with a request for constant feedback from the teams involved in the creation of the product, as well as from customers and users. Reference: “Business value explained with examples“, https://www.kosovatimes.net/business-value-explained-with-examples/
All results, concepts, and product versions are validated with real users, and the risk of the unwanted product is limited.
In this case, I guess it makes sense to apply agile methodology as much as possible. To achieve this, the company must constantly seek feedback from its users, on what is important and valuable to them, what they do not want in the product, etc. A demo version of the finished product can also be released to a special test group. Reference: “What is business value: examples and explanations“, https://agileprogramming.org/what-is-business-value-examples-and-explanations/
Customer and user satisfaction is constantly increasing.
Constant contact with customers and users and a drive to meet their needs are required. It is even more effective if the company is proactive and “anticipates” the potential needs and wants of customers and consumers would be. In addition, if a mistake is made by an employee, it is important that the company takes responsibility and rehabilitates itself. Source: “Increasing the business value of projects in the organization“, https://www.mmrls.org/increasing-the-business-value-of-projects-in-the-organization/
- Reference: “Examples of Business value added for organisations, projects and products“, https://mstsnl.net/examples-of-business-value-added-for-organisations-projects-and-products/
- Reference: “How to increase the business value of your projects and organization”, https://managerspost.com/how-to-increase-the-business-value-of-your-projects-and-organization/
- Reference: “How to add business value to your business organization’s projects“, https://brightonbot.com/how-to-add-business-value-to-your-business-organizations-projects/
