What is a macro process?

In process-based management, a macro process is a collection of mid-level processes. They are often the core activities of organizational functions within the business and could be a collection of micro-processes that may also receive inputs from other macro processes.

At a managerial level, macro processes can be defined as a set of interconnected processes and activities that are essential to achieve the strategic objectives of a company. They are composed of processes that occur in different sectors, involving different functions or positions. These processes can occur in a chained or parallel way, but they have a certain degree of similarity.

Macro processes provide a holistic vision and must always be directed and aligned to the company's mission, after all, they represent the functions and everything that the organization does for its reason for being, that is, to achieve its objectives.

A process perspective is vital to understanding value streams. A process is a chain of inputs and events that produce an output. There are several levels of processes, from micro to macro.

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How is a macro process identified?

To identify macro processes, it is necessary to fully understand the company's environment. Try to answer questions like: What demands does my company meet? What do we do and what are the steps we follow? Is it necessary to involve more than one sector? Is the work standardized and is the quality delivered always the same? What are the impacts that each activity makes on the final result?

When the answers to these questions are clear, the interconnections and the degree of complexity existing in the company's processes are understood. Detailed analysis of the importance and impact of processes provides visibility into existing macro processes.

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How are macro processes classified?

As we mentioned before, macro processes are related to the reason for being of a company and, therefore, vary according to its strategic objectives. However, within the value chain methodology, which allows the company to organize its processes seeking to generate value for the customer, the macro processes are usually divided into three types:

• Primary process or business macro: it is the set of processes that are related to the purpose of the company's existence as if it were the heart of the business and everything that is carried out to fulfill its mission;
• Management macro process: here, they are related to the set of processes that aim to monitor, measure, follow up, control, and manage the present and future of the company. It is related to management in strategic, operational, or financial aspects.
• Support macro process: it is a set of processes that are not directly related to the main business of the company, which means that they do not directly add value to the customer. However, they are important because they provide all the support so that the primary processes can be carried out more easily and efficiently.

Only a very detailed view of the company can define what the macro processes are. For example, for a company whose main business is the construction of greenhouses, the processes related to the IT area will be macro support processes, while for a company that provides technological solutions, the same processes of the technology sector would be the main macro process. 

On the other hand, the macro processes group together the processes that share a common objective, so it is essential to define the objectives correctly, ensuring their coherence with the institutional mission and objectives.

The definition of the objectives for each macro process must be clear and precise so that they can be understood by all the employees of the company. For this, it is suggested to use verbs in the infinitive, in such a way that the action and the associated responsibilities are promoted.

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Advantages of macro processes.

Unlike the narrow view of isolated processes, macro processes provide a holistic view of company management. Managers are more assertive when they need to make a decision once they have concrete and structured information about the mechanisms used within the company.

A macro process view provides:

• Critical analysis and expanded vision;
• The identification of problems, failures, or bottlenecks is done more quickly;
• Faster problem resolution, providing agility;
• Reprocessing reduction;
• The economy of financial resources, which is a fundamental element for a company to maintain and grow organically and healthily;
• Greater integration within the company, if it is understood how the interaction and interconnection of processes and sectors take place;
• It's useful to understand how work is actually done and the relationship between supplier and customer;
• It provides performance tracking for all stages of process sets.

In addition to these advantages, another advantage you get from looking at macro processes is realizing that tasks are performed in different ways, with the need to standardize processes to organize, formalize and develop a model that must be followed; this, at the same time, ensures the efficiency and quality of both the work and the product or service that will be delivered to satisfy an identified need.

Conclusion.

We can say that process-based management and macro process vision, and consequently their standardization, is a very common practice for companies seeking to stand out in the market, ensuring that all their resources are used in favor of a common goal, adding value to your customers.

The biggest challenge in its implementation, however, is to change the prevailing culture that is quite ingrained in companies. Managers must be open and encourage the beneficial changes that the standardization of processes brings to improve interactions with key partners such as suppliers, customers, and employees.