Business functions are fundamental activities that allow your company produce products or services for its customers. These essential operations allow your business to generate income and ensure that the company’s processes work efficiently.
When a team within your company performs an assignment to a high standard, you will know exactly who to praise. In the same way, when a mistake is made in a function that is clearly defined, you can easily identify the person responsible. When a function’s definition is unclear, it may create confusion and cause overlap between departments.
It is essential to know the distinction between business processes and business functions to avoid confusion. A process involves tightly related tasks that have a specific purpose while a business process encompasses broader tasks that are usually interconnected. A HR business function, for example could be involved in the hiring process, disciplinary procedures, and training programs.
The proper organizational structure to support your business operations will depend on a myriad of factors. These include your objectives and the challenges that have arisen, as well as the projects in high demand. But to maximize the value of your organization, it’s crucial to follow three steps: align yourself with the value-creation narrative, adopt the BU-back approach to your the design of your function, and then identify an archetype for your corporate functions.
The importance of aligning with a value-creation story and implementing a BU-back approach to developing functions, and determining an archetype for corporate functions may sound complicated but will save your company time and frustration in the end. This will not only prevent accidental overlaps and unnecessary duplication as well as give your employees a clearer understanding of how internet their work contributes to the success of your company.
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