Is your organization under pressure to reduce expenses while at the same time, improve quality and service? Have past process improvement initiatives lacked sustainability and coordinated direction? Can issues (defects) in products or services result in customer service, liability, or regulatory issues? Does your organization need to innovate to be competitive? Is there a benefit to have process risks and improvement objectively measured? If the answer is yes to the above, a Chief Process Officer may be the answer.

What is a Chief Process Officer? According to Wikipedia, “A CPO is an executive responsible for business process management at the highest level of an organization.” CPOs usually report directly to the chief executive officer (CEO) or board of directors. The CPO oversees business process activities and is responsible for defining process rules, policies, framework, procedures, and guidelines to ensure that the main objectives follow the company strategy as well as establishing control, governance, and measurement mechanisms.

Why Can’t the Other Chiefs Handle This Role? Realistically, other Chiefs do not have the time, background, and objectivity to continuously focus on improving complex enterprise, department and group processes. They have a department to run.

As there is a need for Chiefs to be supported by a CTO/CIO to provide technology support/direction, and a CHRO to provide human resource support, a CPO will work with Chiefs to help ensure improvement goals are set, achieved, measured, and sustained.

A CPO will help ensure that technology ROI, governance, and compliance goals are supported by organizational processes.

To Learn More About How to Conduct a CPO Assessment and how CRE8 Independent Consultants can Help. Read More