BEST PRACTICES IN PROCESS IMPROVEMENT 2024

Survey Report

September 2024 K014815

 The goal of process management is to improve
performance. Whether the emphasis is customer retention,
cycle time, employee satisfaction, efficiency, business
growth, productivity, or any other goal, organizations
implement process management to improve something.
Without an overarching management strategy,
improvements often breed unintended consequences that
harm other parts of the organization.

APQC conducted a survey to understand process

improvement programs in key areas such as identification
ABOUT THIS REPORT of which processes to improve, prioritizing and selecting
which process improvement projects are worth employees’
time, and the sustainability of process improvement
projects.

This report provides a summary of the survey findings and

insights for organizations to benchmark in these key areas.

303
Valid Participants
©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 2
 1 Process Improvement Efforts & Background

2 Buy-In and Support

3 Identifying Process Improvement Opportunities

4 Prioritizing Process Improvement Opportunities

CONTENTS
5 Sustaining Process Improvement Opportunities

6 Measuring Process Improvement

7 Impacts of Process Improvement

8 Demographics
©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 3
1 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
EFFORTS & BACKGROUND
 BPM TEAM

Team FTES Team Budget

Most BPM teams have between one and ten FTEs. Most BPM teams have zero annual budget, and nearly one-
third of organizations have an annual budget of more than
$15,000.

51+ 5%
$15,001 USD or more 30%
41-50 0% $10,001 USD - $15,000
3%
USD
31-40 2%
$5,001 USD - $10, 000
3%
USD
21-30 6%
$2,501 USD - $5,000
6%
11-20 8% USD

$2,500 USD or less 11%

1-10 63%

None 16% No annual budget 47%

N=300 N=296
©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 5
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT TEAM
Process improvement teams typically have between one and ten FTEs, and most of the teams have been around for at least
three years or more. Annual budgets for process improvement range from no annual budget to more than $15,000 per year.

Team FTEs Team Longevity Team Budget

51+ 9% 14% 16% $15,001 USD or more 40%

41-50 3%
$10,001 USD - $15,000
USD
4%
31-40 2%
27%
28% $5,001 USD - $10,000 USD 4%
21-30 8%

11-20 10% $2,501 USD - $5,000 USD 5%

15%
1-10 62%
Less than one year $2,500 USD or less 8%
One to three years
None 6% More than three but less than five years
Five years or more No annual budget 39%
No formal process improvement team/group

N=222 N=303 N=216

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 6
 ORGANIZATION OF EFFORT
Organization of Process Improvement Efforts

Federated model 29%

Process improvement teams
tend to have a centralized or
federated structure.
Centralized 27%
Federated teams combine
aspects of both centralized and
decentralized process
improvement teams and include Decentralized 18%
both a central group of process
improvement resources as well
as resources that sit within Ad hoc use of employees who are not
individual departments. trained in process improvement for 13%
projects
Ad hoc use of employees who are
specifically trained in process 12%
improvement efforts for projects

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 7 N=303

 ESTABLISHING PROCESS MODELS

One-fifth of organizations still have not begun to pilot or implement end-to-end processes, while nearly half of organizations have either
implemented or begun to operate with end-to-end processes.

Extent Process Models or End-to-End Processes Have Been Established to Anchor

Process Improvement Efforts

25%

18%
14%
12% 12% 11%
9%

We are not Considering Evaluating Piloting Implementing Operating Optimizing

considering these
models/processes
Maturity
©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 8 N=302
 METHODOLOGY
Most Common Process Improvement Methodologies Process Improvement Steps Typically Followed by the
Used Organization

Lean is used most often by organizations, while simulations are not Most organizations have a define, assess, identify, and execute state
used as often. for process improvement, while fewer organizations take the time to
evaluate and prioritize opportunities.
Lean 62%
Define the scope and objectives 78%
Deming Cycle 47%
Assess the current state and
performance 76%
Six Sigma 40%
Identify and evaluate potential
Benchmarking 36% solutions 73%

Kaizen events 33% Plan and execute solutions 71%

Define KPIs and metrics for
Total Quality Management 23% 64%
current state and future state
None 17% Prioritize and rank the solutions 60%
Simulation 12% Evaluate and sustain the results 50%
Model-Based Integrated Process
Improvement Methodology 10%
None 8%
DRIVE 2%
N=301
N=299
©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 9
 STATE OF PROCESS IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS

Nearly one-fifth of organizations have a well-established and ingrained process improvement approach. Half of the organizations have some
kind of formal process improvement initiatives; while 30 percent have ad hoc process improvement efforts.

State of Organization’s Process Improvement Efforts

30%
27%

19%
16%

7%

Process improvement is ad We have a team to identify Processes are documented Process improvement Continuous improvement is
hoc or Kaizen-event based and document processes, and procedures are written, efforts occur at scheduled ingrained and employees are
but we do not have a and a process improvement times throughout the year empowered to identify
process improvement team team exists to update/review opportunities within the flow
processes of work
Maturity
©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 10 N=299
2 BUY-IN AND SUPPORT
 LEADERSHIP
Leadership teams generally understand the importance of process efforts, and over half of them welcome the opportunities. Leadership teams
support process improvement efforts through demonstrating buy-in and allowing employees the time necessary for the work.

Leadership Team Views on Process Improvement Ways Leadership Team Supports Process
Efforts Improvement Efforts

They typically avoid process

work and do not understand 64%
the importance of process
34% 58%
49%
efforts.
39% 38%
They are generally hesitant 11%
to contribute to process
12%
work but understand the
importance of process Showing Supporting Committing Providing Allocating No visible
efforts. understanding process employee time training budget support
of the improvement to complete opportunities funds/lines to
They usually welcome the importance of opportunities process to staff for process
process improvement process and initiatives improvement process improvement
opportunities and 55% improvement through work improvement efforts
work statements knowledge
understand the importance
and buy-in
of process efforts.
N=303 N=302

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 12

 EMPLOYEES
Nearly one-fifth of employees do not understand process work and there is an almost even split between those that welcome process
improvement work and those that are hesitant to contribute. These numbers show a strong need for demonstrating the value that both
process and process improvement can bring to the organization and individual employees.

How Employees View Process Efforts

19% They typically avoid process work and do not

understand the importance of process efforts.

40%
They are generally hesitant to contribute to
process work but understand the importance of
process efforts.

41% They usually welcome the process improvement

opportunities and understand the importance
of process efforts.

N=303
©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 13
 CONNECTION TO STRATEGY

According to survey participants, there is a strong correlation between linking process improvement opportunities to strategic objectives and
increased participation and buy-in from employees.

How does the connection of process improvement opportunities to organizational strategic

objectives affect the participation and buy-in for process work on the part of employees?

DECREASE participation and buy-in by

a LOT
DECREASE participation and buy-in by 38%
a LITTLE
Has no effect on participation and
buy-in one way or the other 40%
INCREASE participation and buy-in by
20%
a LITTLE
INCREASE participation and buy-in by
a LOT 2%

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 14 N=138

 IDENTIFYING PROCESS

3 IMPROVEMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
 IDENTIFICATION
How often are process improvement opportunities,
formally or informally, identified? Organizations identify
opportunities at different times
throughout the year, with most
organizations identifying them
once a month or once per
quarter.

Once a year or less 28% An organization’s overall

34% perception of process
improvement will contribute to
the frequency that process
Once a month to once
improvement efforts will be
a quarter
identified. Those that value
process improvement more may
One or more times per recognize opportunities more
month often than those that prioritize
process improvement less
38% overall.

N=302
©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 16
 IDENTIFICATION
Who Identifies Process Improvement Opportunities in
the Organization

Process owners 66%

Focus groups are the least likely
to suggest process
improvement opportunities for Managers 62%
the organization.
Process improvement team members 54%
Process owners, managers, and
process improvement team
members primarily identify the Executive/Executive committees 45%
potential process improvement
opportunities.
Process workers/stewards 45%

Voice of customer surveys 31%

Focus groups 22%

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 17 N=291

 MONITORING

Most organizations manage and monitor process improvement projects at the business or department level and one-fifth of organizations
manage them enterprise-wide.

Level that Organization Manages & Monitors Improvement Projects

48%

22%
15% 15%

Business or department level Enterprise-wide Project portfolios No formal way to manage

improvement projects

Maturity
©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 18 N=303
 PRIORITIZING PROCESS

4 IMPROVEMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
 STRATEGIC PRIORITIZATION

One-third of organizations heavily rely on strategy to help prioritize process improvement efforts,
while just over half of organizations only rely on strategy some or a little bit of the time.

To what extent does your organization strategically prioritize process improvement efforts?

We do not prioritize process

improvement efforts at all 31%
A little

Some 26% 18%

A great deal
15%
Every process improvement project is 11%
prioritized before beginning work

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 20 N=302

 PRIORITIZATION FACTORS
Most Common Factors & Tools Used to Prioritize Competing
Process Improvement Opportunities

When looking at what criteria to Connection to organizational strategic objectives 53%

use to prioritize improvement
opportunities, organizations Impact to the customer (internal or external) 43%
most often look at their
Potential return on investment (ROI) of the
connection to strategic improvement 37%
objectives and the impact the
improvement will have on the Quantifiable value the improvement will provide 30%
customer, followed by the
potential ROI. Impact-effort matrix 26%

Few organizations rely on a Feasibility of the solution 25%

prioritization matrix or scoring
models.
Prioritization matrix 19%

Intangible value the improvement will provide 10%

Scoring model 9%
Do not formally prioritize process improvement
opportunities 5%

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 21 N=270

 ALIGNMENT TO STRATEGY
When organizations see a process improvement effort that aligns with the strategic direction of the organization, they are more likely to
prioritize that effort. Opportunities that more closely tie to strategy of the organization overall become a much higher priority for the employees
and the organization.

To what extent does your organization strategically prioritize process improvement efforts?

Make the improvement opportunity a

MUCH LOWER priority

Make the improvement opportunity a

SOMEWHAT LOWER priority 44%

45%
Has no effect on the priority one way
or the other

Make the improvement opportunity a 7%

SOMEWHAT HIGHER priority 3%
1%
Make the improvement opportunity a
MUCH HIGHER priority

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 22 N=139

 SUSTAINING PROCESS

5 IMPROVEMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
 MANAGEMENT & EXECUTION OF EFFORT
Once improvement efforts have been selected, most organizations rely on a formal process improvement team within the business to manage
the process improvement effort.
Once an improvement effort has been identified, there is a more even split between who carries out the efforts versus who manages the efforts.
The process improvement teams tend to manage the effort, while the efforts are typically carried out by the formal process improvement team,
an informal process improvement group, or the employees who perform the process.

Who Manages Process Improvement Effort(s) Who Carries Out Improvement Effort(s)
After Selection After Selection

A formal process improvement

team within the business
20%
34%
39%
An informal process improvement
50% group within the business

30%
The employee(s) who perform the
27%
process itself

N=270 N=274

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 24

 ENSURING SUSTAINABILITY
Top Ways Organization Ensures Sustainability of Process
Improvement Efforts

Process documentation standards and rules (such as

54%
Organizations rely on various process maps, desktop procedures, etc.)
tactics to ensure process
improvement efforts are Stakeholder engagement 43%
sustainable; however, they
most frequently rely on process Dashboards with status 36%
documentation standards and
rules, stakeholder engagement,
and dashboards. Few
Regular check-ins with improvement project teams 35%
organizations rely on
gamification to sustain the Project sponsor(s) 31%
process improvement efforts.
Provide improvement teams with toolkits/tools
necessary for success 20%

Do not have a process in place to ensure that our

process improvement efforts are sustainable 16%

Gamify the process improvement efforts 2%

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 25 N=299

6 MEASURING PROCESS
IMPROVEMENT
 TRACKING TEAM
Top Measures Used to Track Effectiveness of Process
Improvement Team

Once process improvement

teams have been established, Financial impact 56%
organizations will monitor
their success through various
tactics. Project milestones 41%

More than half of Internal customer satisfaction 38%

organizations rely on the
financial impact to track
Impact on employee experience 37%
effectiveness, followed by
project milestones. Few Not applicable; we do not currently have any
organizations utilize internal measures of the effectiveness of our team
21%
net promoter scores and the
number of trainings that Number of projects 20%
occur.
Internal Net Promoter Score 9%

Number of trainings 8%

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 27 N=298

 TRACKING EFFORTS

When evaluating the effectiveness of process improvement efforts, organizations evaluate the benefit of the improvement itself, whether or
not the solution has been achieved, as well as the satisfaction of customers. Few organizations use no measures to evaluate the effectiveness.

Top Measures Used to Track Effectiveness of Process Improvement Efforts

65%
62%
56%

31%

16%

Benefit of improvement Solution achieved/did Customer satisfaction Cost of improvement Not applicable; we do
not achieve the defined not have any measures
objectives and benefits of the effectiveness of
Maturity our improvement efforts

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 28 N=299

 OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS
Organizations are most confident in their process improvement program’s ability to identify process improvement opportunities and least
confident in their ability to sustain the improvement.

Overall, how effective do you feel your process improvement program (formal or
informal) is when it comes to…

Identifying Process
Improvements
10% 16% 15% 46% 13%

Prioritizing Process
Improvements
13% 20% 17% 38% 13%

Sustaining Process
Improvements
13% 21% 25% 30% 11%

Very ineffective Somewhat ineffective Neither effective nor ineffective Somewhat effective Very effective
©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 29 N=297
7 IMPACTS OF PROCESS
IMPROVEMENT
 PROCESS EFFICIENCY

More than half of organizations surveyed feel their process improvement efforts help improve process efficiency throughout the organization.
Only ten percent of organizations feel their efforts are ineffective.

Overall, how effective do you feel your process improvement efforts (formal or
informal) are in improving process efficiency throughout the organization?

10% 14% 17% 49% 10%

Very ineffective Somewhat ineffective Neither effective nor ineffective Somewhat effective Very effective

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 31 N=298

 FINANCIAL IMPACTS
What kinds of financial impacts has the organization realized
through process improvement efforts (formal or informal)?
Organizations frequently see
positive financial impacts from
process improvement efforts.
Improving efficiency is the top
impact realized, followed by cost
77% savings and increased
productivity.
62% 61%
Most process improvement
efforts are targeted at helping
employees improve efficiency,
but not all improvements cost
less money. Organizations
strategically weigh the cost of
the improvement with the
intended outcome.
Improved efficiency Cost savings Increased productivity

N=276
©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 32
 COST SAVINGS

Most organizations see a six to ten percent cost savings from process improvement efforts. Very few organizations see zero cost savings, and
nearly one-third of organizations see at least a ten percent cost savings.

What are the average cost savings that your organization realizes through process
improvement efforts?

43%

18%
24%

13%
2%

None 5% or less 6-10% 11-15% 16% or greater

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 33 N=94

 PRODUCTIVITY

Most organizations see a six to ten percent increase in productivity from process improvement efforts. No organizations see zero improvement
to productivity, and over one-third of organizations see at least a ten percent improvement to productivity.

What is the average increase in productivity that your organization realizes through
process improvement efforts?

45%
21%

17% 17%

None 5% or less 6-10% 11-15% 16% or greater

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 34 N=112

 EFFICIENCY

Most organizations see a six to ten percent increase in efficiency from process improvement efforts. No organizations see zero improvement in
efficiency, and over one-third of organizations see at least a ten percent increase in efficiency.

What is the average improved efficiency that your organization realizes through process
improvement efforts?

40%

21%

22%
17%

None 5% or less 6-10% 11-15% 16% or greater

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 35 N=131

8 DEMOGRAPHICS
 DEMOGRAPHICS
Annual Revenue
Number of Employees
Less than $100 million USD 34%
Fewer than 100 21%
$100 million to less than $500 million USD 12%
100-999 18%
$500 million to less than $1 billion USD 10%
1,000-9,999 27%
$1 billion to less than $5 billion USD 14%
10,000-49,999 19%
$5 billion to less than $10 billion USD 8%
50,000-99,999 7%
$10 billion to less than $20 billion USD 5%
100,000 or more 8%
$20 billion or greater USD 16%

Top 5 Participating Industries

Top 5 Participating Functions
Services 16%
Process Management 37%
Industrial Products 10%
Transformation 12%
Software/Tech 9%
Quality 9%
Government/Military 7%
Project Management 6%
Financial Services/Banking 7%
Corporate Strategy 6%

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 37 N=303

 CONTACT US

Madison Lundquist Kelli South

Principal Research Lead, Research Manager
Process and Performance Management
[email protected] [email protected]

www.apqc.org 800-766-9676
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 This content includes median values sourced from APQC’s Open Standards Benchmarking
database. If you’re interested in having access to the 25th and 75th percentiles or additional
benchmark license

metrics, including various peer group cuts, they are either available through a benchmark license
Benchmarks on Demand tool

or the Benchmarks on Demand tool depending on your organization’s type of membership.

APQC's Resource Library content leverages data from multiple sources. The Open Standards
Benchmark repository is updated on a nightly cadence, whereas other data sources have
differing schedules. To provide as much transparency as possible, APQC will always attempt to
provide context for the data included in our content and leverage the most up-to-date data
available at the time of publication.

©2024 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 40