What is Business Improvement?

If I asked you, “what is business improvement?”, what would your answer be?

Perhaps you’d say something vague about improving business performance, increasing ROI or talk about upgrading to the latest technologies. So, which is it?

The truth is, it’s all of them.

What is Business Improvement?

Business improvement is an all-encompassing term, which is probably why it’s so difficult to define. In the vaguest sense, it could be described as the process of a business moving from one state to another.

Improvement itself is a trickier thing to define. Every business would like to improve their sales, their market share, their return on investment and so on. But this is usually done through smaller, departmental actions, like a marketing campaign. It could fall under the realm of business improvement, but it’s missing the big picture.

To understand it, we’ll look at the broad categories business improvement generally falls into.

Types of Business Improvement

We’ll start with the business improvement type we’ve already mentioned – marketing.

Marketing

This type of business improvement is mainly focused on increasing revenue. Whether that be through increasing market share, promotions, improving customer experience or any other common marketing strategies.

Business Process Improvement

Business process improvement looks to optimise operational processes to make them more efficient. Every business has their own unique processes, so there’s no end of examples of process improvement. A common one would be to automate manual activities where possible to free up staff to dedicate their time elsewhere.

Much of process improvement is the traditional approach to business improvement. It can still be helpful to businesses in modern times, but it lacks a broader perspective of your business.

Quality Improvement

Quality improvement does what it says on the tin. It’s about improving the quality of aspects of your business. This could be improving the product or service you offer to be more competitive, but it could equally be about improving the quality of internal aspects of the business like practices or processes.

Management Improvement

You might have guessed it, but management improvement focuses on improving the management level of a business. This could be with something as simple as leadership training. But it could also be changing the levels of responsibility, like transferring more internal control over to management.

Capital Improvement

Capital improvement revolves around investing more into the business. Examples of capital improvement could be physically expanding offices to hire more staff or through the acquisition of another company. It refers to investment into the company to improve the business.

Information Technology

This type of improvement looks at changing or updating the technology your business is currently using. Common examples of this would include upgrading cybersecurity software to ensure the protection of client data or changing internal systems to improve internal productivity.

Company Culture Improvement

Also known as organisational culture improvement, this type of business improvement looks at improving company culture. Every business has a company culture, whether they’re actively aware of it or not. It has a huge impact on employees well-being, as well as a knock on effect on employee productivity when company culture is lacking.

Company culture changes usually revolve around changing the organisational structure of businesses. Most often, to remove hierarchical structures within businesses.

Implementing Business Improvement

All the different types of business improvement we mentioned above come together to create a more comprehensive perspective of business improvement. Often at times, businesses become too focused on the bottom line, forgetting entirely about internal processes or staff.

For example, a business may be thriving in respect to marketing, but has a high-staff turn over, suggesting the company culture is lacking. To truly improve businesses long-term and permanently, you need a holistic approach which tackles all angles of business improvement.

Which is where we come in.

Business improvement is our speciality. We live and breathe it.

We believe that traditional approaches to business improvement, that are concerned only with the bottom line, lack the humanistic perspective needed to create long-term change.

It goes without saying, all companies would like to increase their revenue. But achieving that needs to be a longer term business improvement strategy than a sales promotion.

We take a holistic approach to business improvement, looking at your unique strengths and challenges to come up with a long-term business improvement plan that will increase your productivity and profitability. More than that, we’ll change your way of thinking so business productivity remains at the forefront of your mind, for good.

Benefits Realisation: Measuring Impact

The final step in any business improvement process is benefits realisation—the critical phase where organisations assess whether the improvements made have delivered the intended results. This involves the systematic tracking and evaluation of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and other relevant metrics to determine whether the changes implemented in workflows, systems, and processes have translated into measurable, tangible benefits. Benefits realisation ensures that business improvements are not just theoretical but lead to actual, quantifiable outcomes that drive long-term value.

The Role of Benefits Realisation

Benefits realisation is about more than just confirming that a project or initiative has been completed; it’s about understanding the real impact of those changes on the business. While many businesses focus on improving processes or launching new strategies, the true value of any improvement initiative lies in its ability to produce measurable results. Whether the goal is increased efficiency, reduced costs, enhanced customer satisfaction, or improved employee engagement, the ultimate objective is to confirm that the changes are creating value that aligns with the organisation’s strategic goals.

Effective benefits realisation requires a systematic, data-driven approach to measure and analyse the impact of improvements. It helps ensure that businesses can track their progress towards their objectives and make informed decisions about future investments in process improvements. This is a crucial step in ensuring that business improvement efforts are sustainable and that the return on investment (ROI) is clearly understood.

Why Benefits Realisation Matters

1. Validates the Effectiveness of Changes: After spending time and resources on business improvement initiatives, it’s essential to validate whether those efforts have had the desired effect. By measuring the outcomes of improvements, businesses can confirm whether their investments have resulted in the intended benefits. If the changes haven’t produced the expected outcomes, this phase provides critical insights into what went wrong, enabling businesses to adjust their strategies accordingly.

2. Justifies Investment: Business improvement often involves significant time, money, and resources. Whether implementing new technology, overhauling workflows, or training employees, these changes require a measurable return on investment. Benefits realisation helps businesses confirm that their investments have delivered real value and can be justified to stakeholders. By tracking KPIs such as cost savings, revenue growth, or time savings, businesses can demonstrate that the improvement initiatives have paid off.

3. Provides Insights for Continuous Improvement: Benefits realisation is not only about measuring success; it’s also about learning from the results. By analysing the data, organisations can uncover areas for further improvement. If certain benefits have not been fully realised, businesses can make adjustments or refine their strategies. This iterative process supports continuous improvement and helps businesses stay agile, adapting to new challenges and opportunities.

4. Aligns Business Strategy with Operational Performance: For business improvement efforts to be truly effective, they must align with the organisation’s broader strategy. Benefits realisation helps ensure that the changes made to workflows, systems, or processes are driving the business closer to its strategic goals. By evaluating the impact on key objectives—whether those are profitability, customer experience, employee satisfaction, or market share—organisations can confirm that their operations are fully aligned with their strategic vision.

5. Ensures Accountability and Focus: Tracking KPIs and other performance metrics ensures that all stakeholders remain focused on the goals of the improvement initiatives. It provides a basis for accountability, helping to ensure that teams are committed to achieving the desired outcomes. Moreover, it helps leaders make data-driven decisions about resource allocation, project priorities, and future improvements.

   
   

The Process of Benefits Realisation

1. Setting Clear, Measurable Goals: Before embarking on any business improvement initiative, it’s crucial to establish clear, measurable goals. These goals should align with the broader business strategy and provide a tangible target for the improvement efforts. Whether the goal is to reduce operational costs by a certain percentage, improve customer satisfaction scores, or reduce cycle time, setting specific KPIs enables businesses to track progress and measure success.

2. Defining KPIs and Metrics: KPIs are the key indicators that will be used to measure the success of the business improvement initiatives. These could include metrics such as cost reduction, increased productivity, quality improvement, customer satisfaction, or employee engagement. The right KPIs depend on the nature of the business and the specific goals of the improvement project. In a manufacturing context, for example, KPIs might focus on reduction in material waste, reduced production time, or improvements in product quality.

3. Tracking Progress: With goals and KPIs in place, it’s time to track the progress of the improvement efforts. This involves collecting data at regular intervals and comparing it against baseline measurements to assess whether improvements are occurring. Data analytics tools can help businesses gather real-time data and track progress more effectively, allowing for quicker adjustments and more accurate assessments.

4. Evaluating Results: After sufficient data has been collected, the next step is to evaluate the results. This involves comparing actual performance against the predefined goals and KPIs. If the improvements are on track, it’s important to recognise and celebrate these achievements, which can help reinforce a culture of continuous improvement. However, if the results fall short, businesses must analyse the reasons why and make necessary adjustments to the strategy.

5. Feedback and Adjustment: Benefits realisation is an ongoing process that requires constant evaluation and feedback. If certain objectives have not been fully achieved, businesses should review the processes and identify areas for further improvement. The feedback gathered from employees, customers, or stakeholders can provide valuable insights for refining workflows, systems, or strategies to ensure that future improvement initiatives yield even greater benefits.
   

Benefits realisation is a vital step in any business improvement journey, ensuring that the changes made lead to tangible results that align with organisational goals. By setting clear objectives, defining KPIs, tracking progress, and evaluating outcomes, businesses can confirm that their efforts have resulted in measurable value.

This process not only validates the success of improvement initiatives but also provides valuable insights that can drive continuous improvement and better strategic decision-making in the future. Ultimately, benefits realisation helps organisations confirm that their business improvement initiatives are not only worth the investment but are also driving long-term success.