How to build a successful career in the BPM Industry

How to build a successful career in the BPM Industry

With the current trend towards more cutting-edge solutions that are adaptable in different business situations, gradually, we have seen a paradigm shift in business process management culture from BPO (Outsourcing of non-core but highly critical business processes on a task by task basis) to BPM, a dynamic and flexible combination of methodology and technology that allows for the effective management of people and business operations in an ever-changing business environment. Previous articles on this blog have looked in-depth at topics like the definition of BPM and how it is different from BPO, and guides on How to run a BPO/BPM effectively.’ In this post, we will be looking at the various ways you can make a successful career in the BPM Industry regardless of whatever professional qualifications you may have.

What is a BPM Industry and of what relevance are the services it provides, to business organizations?

The simplest answer to the question what is a BPM industry would be that it is a service Industries that analyzes clients business needs and provides dynamic business process management solutions as well as automated software to clients, to help them optimize their business processes continuously, to reflect the changes in an evolving business environment thus ensuring optimal customer satisfaction at any given point in time as well as client’s business profitability overall.

Without a doubt, delegating the management of business processes to expert BPM service providers is the way to go for businesses today as this allows B2B and B2C industries focus on the core of their operations while at the same time helping to improve the core functions of these businesses as well.

The benefits of a well structured BPM service to any business environment cannot be over emphasized as it provides improved productivity, operational excellence and enhances customer satisfaction.

1.  Increased productivity: By providing a structured environment to allow cyclic business processes run smoothly, BPM services reduces the cost and time to achieve results for most business processes. Cyclic processes like payment of salaries, on-boarding of new hires, tax deductions, sales monitoring, company expenses, employee services, business continuity processes, supply chain management  and other recurring processes can be handled quickly and efficiently.

2.  Operational excellence: Eliminating waste and channels for poor performance, reducing risks and optimizing business solutions  leads to better utilization of funds and yields better business revenue and profitability.

3.  Improved customer satisfaction: In any business, you are as good as your customer's reviews and with a BPM structure in place, the chances of providing optimal client satisfaction by removing bottlenecks in service are greatly increased.

What Services do BPM Industries Provide to Business Organizations?

We can categorize the various BPM services into three based on the purpose they serve in business process management:

Human- centric process management

Information- centric BPM:

Integration- centric BPM

We can also classify the BPM INDUSTRY based on geographical location:

1.  On-shore BPM: Here the BPM service company providing the service resides in the same country as the company they provide the services to.

2.  Offshore BPM: When a BPM Industry provides services to international clients.

The most widely used classification is based on how broad the services provided by a particular BPM industry are and whether its applications cuts across different kinds of business organizations or is limited to a specific type of organization. Based on this classification, we have two kinds of BPM services:

1.  Horizontal services Industries: A horizontal BPM service industry provides a particular service to various industries. For instance payroll management, human resource management , procurement services, high-end financial services, actuarial services, data analytical services, writing and content services and IT services are examples of horizontal BPM service that could apply to any Industry that requires such.

2.  Vertical service Industries:These kind of BPM services cater to specific business  industries and provide all the business services required by their customers . Good examples include Banking and finance services, healthcare services, retail services,insurance,shipping and logistics , manufacturing,

What are the Career opportunities in the BPM Industry ?

The BPM Industry offers rich and rewarding career opportunities with clearly defined career paths that are attainable with the right amount of smart work and experience. Careers in BPM services usually start at the level of associate and progress with time and experience to the level of senior associate - consultant/expert level - executive level. Many Industries are looking to hire experts in BPM and employ people who not only have IT skills but also are problem solvers and analytical thinkers.

Let’s now take a look at some of the higher level career positions  in the Business  process management Industry , the job specifications ,and the annual salary range.

1.  Business Analyst: With an annual salary package that goes up to almost $200,000 per year, this career in business process management is one of the highest paid in the Industry. The role of a business analyst is to interact with stakeholders to understand what changes the business needs and assess the impact of these changes on the business. The business analyst is responsible for performing business analysis as well as documentation of these analysis and assessment of impact of the changes on the business and serves as a vital link between the project management team and the clients.The top skills required to be a business analyst include good communication skills, excellent people management skills , an ability to see the bigger picture as well as thorough analytical skills.The business analyst role is a horizontal role and the skills are transferable to any organization whether insurance ,health or financial .You can join an organization as a junior business analyst and the salary scale for this will depend on the particular Industry and typically ranges from $30,000-$60,000 a year and from there progress to mid level expert with an annual salary range of $70,000-$140,000 and a senior level analyst who can earn anything from $100,000 -$180,000.

2.  Risk Assessment Manager: This is one of the vital roles in any BPM organization.The RAM is responsible for assessing the potential risk of internal and external factors on the business.The RAM’s job is not limited to financial institutions alone but includes other vertical industries like legal, supply chain, compliance and so on.Perhaps, the most elite Risk management role is that of an Actuary, the risk management analyst who provides data on risk factors and also provides business forecasts, in the world of Insurance and finance. Actuaries earn as much as $250,000 annually making this position one of the most lucrative in the BPM industry.A subset of this role is Catastrophe Modeling, primarily a scientific role, which involves the use of computer- assisted technologies to assess threats such as natural disasters , terrorist attacks and other potential threats and how they would impact on businesses.A catastrophe Modeling analyst receives anything from $80,000 to $103,000 annually.To become an actuary or RMP you would need to have a finance degree or a degree in actuarial science and possess sound mathematical and analytical skills as well.

3.  Business continuity planner: Business continuity planning manager is a disaster recovery as well as a process continuity specialist.The BCP takes care of strategy development , implementation and also providing back-up plans in case of any emergencies in a particular organization. This is not an entry-level position in any organization since it requires a lot of expertise, experience, and sound analytical acumen. It is also a horizontal BPM service with transferable skill sets. The average salary scale for this role is $112,000.

4.  Process Improvement Specialist A process improvement specialist, also known as a quality assurance specialist is a business consultant whose role is to continuously evaluate and optimize business strategies to ensure the continuous improvement of business processes. They also facilitate coordination between teams and are involved in preparing training materials and compiling business data.This is perhaps one of the most challenging roles in BPM that does not require a specific skill set but rather a learning mindset and an ability to adapt to different situations, new technologies and respond quickly to changes in a dynamic business environment.This is not an entry level role either and salary ranges from $65,000-$80,000.

5.  Business Manager: The business manager is a mid-level role and is the cohesive force in any business organization. The core function of occupants of this position is to ensure that the goals of the organization are met by relaying, driving and implementing the organization strategies among the employees to ensure the success of the company. A business manager is a first-line people manager and reports to the top level executives in the organization . The manager takes feedback from both the business employees and the senior management and relays such feedback to the appropriate recipients.The top skills required to be a business manager are People management skills, negotiation skills, emotional intelligence, problem-solving skills and the ability to work well with teams and other managers  cross-functionally to achieve common business goals.The average annual salary for this role also varies depending on Industry and the level of managerial experience and ranges from $55,000-$90,000.

6.  Business operations manager: This is a senior level role in an organization and occupants of this position are also known as operations team lead. Their role is to ensure harmonization of the various business operations.The job functions of a BOM may vary depending on the kind of organization, but in any business environment this is usually a multitasking role.The core function of an operations manager is to ensure a productive utilization of business resources both material and human.They perform the role of HR manager for attracting the right talent and set training standards and hiring procedures, coordination manager to ensure inter-departmental business communications, manage customer services, manage support services and also manage the company budget.This is obviously a highly skilled management  role and comes with  commensurate benefits package.The annual salary for a BOM ranges between  $70,000 to $112,500.

7.  Business Strategy Manager:The business strategy manager is not an entry or mid-level position .These are the top executives in any organization or consultants reporting directly to the executives and are experts in growth strategies.They are responsible for analyzing the company objectives to determine which ones are SMART ( specific, measurable, achievable ,realistic and time-bound) and working hand in hand with the company executives to develop strategies to achieve these objectives.This is also one of the most highest paid job in BPM services with  salaries ranging from $85,000 -$145,000 per annum.

8.  Business Intelligence Systems Analyst:This is a BPM service provider responsible for analyzing the organization’s data and providing  data intelligence that can enable organizations plan effective strategies and improve on existing strategies based on historical data evidence.They are the data experts. Salaries in this field range from $42,000- $90,000 depending on experience level.The skills required here are effective communication, analytical skills and interpersonal skills, technical skills .You. could start as an intern or entry-level position in this role and progress steadily by attaining more certifications and experience to a professional BISA role.

What are the Key qualifications you need to start a career in the  BPM Industry?

Anyone, as long as you hold a degree in an area of specialization, qualifies to work in the BPM industry.You can even start as an intern prior to finishing your education and learn some of the skills while gaining experience on the job. Some of the roles require more advanced skillset and higher degrees while some may require certain specific skills depending on the type of industry whether vertical or horizontal; however, there are certain requirements that are general and which are necessary to make a successful career of working in the BPM industry.

-Obtain a degree from a reputable higher institution

-Have an open mindset and a willingness to learn new things.

-A will to win and a can do attitude.

-Be ready to develop yourself in line with the requirements of your chosen career path.

-Be a team player, willing and able to give and receive constructive feedback.

-Have good communication skills.

-Practice active listening skills.

-Possess strong leadership qualities like the ability to work unsupervised, emotional intelligence, strong initiatives e.t.c.

- Possess good customer relationship skills.

The BPM industry also provides trainings and certifications that would help you grow along your career path.

How can different Professions Build a Career successfully in the BPM Industry ?

As stated earlier, you can build a successful career in BPM services regardless of your professional qualifications.There are so many business organizations out there and with so many business processes to manage ,the services of BPM experts are more in demand every day.Since there are really no schools that teach business processes management as a course, your career progression and your development along your chosen career path are dependent on your determination and the amount of effort you put into developing the particular skills required for a particular role.

Chartered Accountant: Having a degree in finance and accounting would help you build a successful career in a horizontal BPM industry where you provide finance and audit service to business that require them  or you can work in a vertical BPM Industry like banks and finance institutions . To become a finance analyst expert and work as an RMP or BCP, apart from having a first degree, you would also need to qualify as a chartered accountant, business analyst and have proven leadership qualities as well.Nowadays, a lot of BPMs are hiring charted accountants for high end finance and accounting roles.

Sales and marketing specialist :With a degree in sales, marketing or business administration or just about any first degree at all , you could start your career as an Insurance claims processing officer in the Insurance Industry( a vertical BPM) and then with more certifications and on the job experience, rise to become an expert.You could also choose to work in retail services as well as the telemarketing industry which is a huge BPM service that cuts across all kinds of organizations.

IT specialist: To build a career as an IT specialist, one of the most sought after roles in the BPM industry, you would need to have a strong analytical and mathematical background and a solid IT background as well.

Medical doctors can work in a health service BPM industry where they outsource their skills to patients and medical facilities on demand. Everyday, more online platforms for health services are springing up and patients anywhere in the world can reach out to medical doctors on the various health platforms and receive consultations online in real time. You can choose to work as a business strategy expert in a Medical BPM industry and provide strategic services to health care  facilities like customized disease management programs, procurement solutions, patient relationship management and other services to  help reduce bottlenecks in patient management. You may also work in the health insurance or HMO Industry and provide health solutions at managed costs to different business organizations for their employees.

While It is true that the demands of a BPM career can be quite challenging as you may be required to work late shifts depending on whether the client is in the same time zone as you are or not, the benefits are more than commensurate and the skills you learn and resilience you build will place you in the right position for any future role you aspire towards.

Find out more about Business Process Management industry on my blog BPO to Long Term Career