What does ‘best practice’ mean?

We all try to find the best ways of doing work on a daily basis. During this, the term ‘best practice’ often comes up. But what does it really mean? This article will introduce you to best practices and how to work with them.

The human species is able to introduce incredibly complex innovations through our collective learning capability. These were made possible by continuously searching for better ways to store and orchestrate knowledge. As a result of years of retained knowledge from previous generations, our collective learning capability enables us to thrive not only in this crisis but in the next generations to come.

What does ‘best practice’ really mean?

A best practice is a way of doing things in the way that we perceive as most efficient in the achievement of a goal. This can be established by investigating and learning from how successful businesses or organizations operate. By capturing the right context of a best practice, it helps avoid excessive experimentation that may prolong the learning curve and, hence, increase the cost of doing business. However, we must use it with caution. Why? Because adopting best practices without thorough consideration of the context may just do more harm than good to the business. But if adopted carefully, it is actually a good way of quickly fixing a problem.

Why is it relevant?

Best practice can be found by either learning from the standards published by various government/international institutions or by benchmarking. Benchmarking, according to the American Society for Quality, is the process of measuring products, services, and processes against those of organizations known to be leaders in one or more aspects of their operations. Benchmarking provides necessary insights to help you understand how your organization compares with similar organizations. It is relevant even if they are in a different business or have a different group of customers. Moreover, benchmarking allows you to introduce quick process improvement initiatives.

The benefits of best practices

In business, we often find ourselves pressed for time and resources, but we can quickly identify best practices that can help us become resilient. Best practice searching and sharing are becoming more important than ever before. As we are forced to find ways to substitute, augment, modify, and eventually redefine strategies to keep our customers.

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Establishing best practices

Below is a quick guide on how to benchmark and find best practices:

First things first! Identify your specific industry and decide what process you need to improve on.
Identify industry leaders as well as niche players, and research how they currently operate
Review your metrics vs. theirs – Are your metrics still relevant? Any trends observed?
Follow and learn from your competitors’ customers – any shifts in behavior observed?
Research on published government or international organizations’ regulations
Learn how other industries are executing similar processes. You can compare for example the state of your supply chain, marketing, sales channels, operations, or aftersales activities.

“By benchmarking others, you can learn so much about how to further improve yourself” – Josh Bersin

Who should work with best practices?

Every business manager, leader, and owner will find this technique handy. Especially if they need quick fixes. By learning from the standards and benchmarks, it can help them maximize the chances of achieving their targets while keeping operational costs to a minimum.

The steps to get started

In order to avoid your best practice research staying on the desks of your management team, it is critical to not let up. Start to document and operationalize a localized best practice. It will help sustain the effort from ideation to execution. Also, by leveraging business process management platforms such as Gluu, you can achieve peace-of-mind as you will know that the best practice adopted is clear across the organization and is executed consistently down the line. Moreover, you should empower the people who execute these best practices, because by doing so you may even see them further refining them for the benefit of your company.

Are you looking for a tool for working with best practices? Take a look at Gluu Understand.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How can a company effectively implement the best practices mentioned in the article in order to improve its operations?

Companies can effectively implement the best practices by first conducting a thorough assessment of their current operations to identify areas for improvement. They can then create a strategic plan that outlines specific goals and objectives for implementing the best practices. It is important for companies to allocate resources such as time, money, and personnel to support the implementation process. Regular monitoring and evaluation of progress is essential to ensure that the best practices are being successfully implemented and delivering the expected results.

Are there any specific industries or types of businesses that can benefit most from adopting these best practices?

Certain industries or businesses that can benefit most from adopting these best practices include those with complex supply chains, high levels of customer interaction, or a heavy reliance on technology. Companies in these sectors can optimize their operations and enhance customer satisfaction by implementing the best practices mentioned in the article.

What are the potential challenges or obstacles that companies might face when trying to incorporate these best practices into their existing processes?

Potential challenges that companies might face when trying to incorporate these best practices include resistance to change from employees, lack of buy-in from senior management, and insufficient resources to support the implementation process. Companies may also encounter difficulties in integrating the new practices with existing processes and systems, as well as in sustaining the momentum for continuous improvement over time. Effective communication, training, and stakeholder engagement are crucial to overcoming these challenges and ensuring the successful adoption of the best practices.

Louise Svenstrup

Louise Svenstrup is a seasoned professional specializing in business process management and customer success. As the Head of Customer Success at Gluu, Louise plays a pivotal role in guiding organizations through the adoption and optimization of Gluu’s BPM solutions. Her work focuses on ensuring seamless implementations, often involving tailored training sessions and workshops designed to align internal workflows with business objectives. Louise's expertise extends to helping companies build robust process architectures, improve efficiency, and foster collaboration across teams. Prior to joining Gluu, Louise worked as Head of Quality at Danish food packaging manufacturer, Berry Superfos, where she played a key-role in improving processes and implementing Gluu.