For business leaders looking to improve quality and lower costs through synergies among their people, processes and investments, understanding existing HR processes is crucial, according to an article in the October Ceridian Voice.

“The first step toward increased productivity is an internal HR process review,” Greg Trok, vice president of Ceridian's customer process improvement team says. “But be aware that not all such reviews are equally successful. Make the most of this opportunity by taking a proven, best-practices approach.” The article cover 10 steps to more efficient HR processes:

• Start with a frequent or time-consuming process.

• Get executive buy-in; prove the dollar value of the exercise.

• Plan and organize your strategy by defining stakeholders, scope and timeframe. Ask teammates to prepare in advance for meetings.

• Visually clarify the current process. Keep it simple — sticky notes and a whiteboard can work wonders!

• Reserve judgment and forget assumptions while performing your evaluation.

• Document who performs each step, and how much time each step takes.

• Count the number of transactions and hand-offs. Capture each decision point (YES/NO).

• Identify re-work loops, then ask "Why?" 5 times.

• Uncover opportunities for improvement. Research possible solutions, then investigate their time and cost savings.

• Consider how change affects stakeholders.