Solution Optimization for the User
When most people hear Solution Optimization, they typically think of optimizing their systems from a technical standpoint. I completely understand that you need your system to perform at its peak technically or you will fail to get your desired results from the solution. This is no secret, and organizations spend an incredible amount of money and time on this kind of optimization.
But what about the operational side of the software? What about the users? Is the system ever optimized for their use? Usually, no. Technically, the system runs great for the users. It’s fast, never crashes, and rarely throws an error. But I am talking about the configuration of the software. Most organizations never evaluate if their enterprise software is configured to maximize their operational efficiency.
This could be something as simple as a small manual process that can be automated through the software. For example, you may have employees that are printing documents from one system just to scan them into the document imaging system. This is obviously a waste of time and resources and can most likely be automated. However, if nobody in the organization has done an analysis of this process, the employees will continue to print and scan. Or if the person doing the analysis does not understand the capabilities of the document imaging system, the antiquated process will remain.
That is a small example, but the same principle applies to bigger, more cumbersome processes as well. A system is rarely configured to help the operational user be as efficient as possible. Poorly configured systems cost organizations a ton of money in time and productivity loss with their operations team. It also leads to manual work arounds that are error prone and time consuming.
This is a huge problem throughout almost all organizations, but it is easily fixed. To really dial in a system for operational efficiency, you need two things: an understanding of the operational processes of the organization and comprehensive product knowledge. Organizations often check one of those boxes but rarely both. Some have a product owner, usually in IT. They understand the product, but they do not have the bandwidth to dive into the operational processes. Some organizations have a superuser on the operational side, but they are not technical enough to understand the full capabilities of the product or how to implement them.
In my experience meeting with different organizations, most institutions that are happy with a product and use it effectively have an employee with operational experience that understands the product inside and out, a superuser. The superuser really owns the product and is able to work with their peers to ensure the product meets their needs. These employees are very difficult to find and hire. If you do find a person that has the right attributes, onboarding and training can take a very long time and be very expensive.
This is where a company like Solution Optimizers can be a huge asset. Our Optimizers are fully trained on specific software solutions and have many years of experience with the operations of financial institutions. We focus on helping our customers capitalize on the full potential of their enterprise software through user Optimization, business process alignment, and integrations. We can Optimize your system quickly and effectively and continue as a long-term partner to ensure your employees use the system as efficiently as possible throughout the life span of your system.
Whatever your situation, if you do not feel like you are getting the full potential from your enterprise software, I encourage you to work on establishing a superuser or reach out to Solution Optimizers to help Optimize your solution for your team.
