Are We Digitizing Bad Processes Instead of Redesigning Them?

Are We Digitizing Bad Processes Instead of Redesigning Them?

Digital transformation is often painted as the silver bullet that will solve operational inefficiencies, improve customer experience, and unleash productivity. Organisations invest millions in new systems, automation tools, and AI-driven capabilities, believing that “going digital” will make everything faster and better. Yet many transformations disappoint—not because the technology failed, but because the organisation simply digitized flawed, outdated, or redundant processes.

In other words: we automated chaos.

Across industries, one uncomfortable truth continues to surface: If you don’t fix the process first, technology will only amplify the dysfunction.

This article explores why process simplification and streamlining should be the first step—not the afterthought—of any transformation journey. Through practical examples, we will unpack how organisations can avoid the trap of digitizing bad processes and instead redesign workflows for sustainable, scalable impact.

1. The Illusion of Transformation: When Automation Masks the Real Problem

Many organisations rush to select technology platforms—ERP upgrades, HR systems like SAP SuccessFactors, CRM tools, workflow automation platforms—before asking a fundamental question:

“Is our current process worth keeping?”

A flawed onboarding process, for example, does not magically become seamless because it is moved into a new HRIS. A complicated approval chain does not suddenly add value simply because an automated workflow now routes it across screens.

A well-known study by McKinsey notes that nearly 70% of digital transformations fail because they focus on technology rather than business process redesign. Technology is the accelerator—but the direction must be right before hitting the gas pedal.

2. Why Process Simplification Must Come First

a. Technology Works Best with Clean, Consistent Processes

Most digital platforms—from payroll engines to procurement systems—are built on structured logic. If the process feeding that system is inconsistent, subjective, or overly complex, the system will reflect that inconsistency. In payroll projects, for instance, poorly maintained wage types, random local workarounds, and exceptions buried in spreadsheets simply recreate old pain points within the new system.

b. Simplification Saves Time, Money, and Future Rework

Implementing a new system on top of inefficient processes increases:

• Implementation cost

• Test cycles

• Change management burden

• Long-term maintenance effort

• User frustration

An analysis by a leading consulting organization highlights that process optimisation before digitisation can reduce technology implementation costs by up to 30% .

c. Clean Processes Drive Better Data

Digital transformation relies heavily on accurate data. But data quality problems are usually rooted in broken processes—manual steps, duplicate approvals, incorrect ownership, or missing validations. Streamlining processes reduces the “noise” at the source, allowing the system to run cleaner and deliver trusted information.

3. What Happens When We Digitize Bad Processes? (Real Examples)

Example 1: Payroll – Automating an Outdated Allowance Structure

A retail organisation had over 300 allowance types. Many were historical artifacts—created for one-off situations, duplicated by mistake, or no longer relevant. Instead of rationalising these during their SAP payroll transformation, they migrated everything “as-is.”

The result?

• Excessive configuration

• Increased parallel testing complexity

• Higher chance of payroll errors

• Confusion among HR and finance teams

• Difficulties during audits

Ultimately, the organisation had to run a separate optimisation project after go-live—doubling effort and cost.

Example 2: HR Service Delivery – Digitizing a 5-Step Approval Chain

A global company implemented a workflow tool to digitize HR requests. But instead of redesigning the process, they simply recreated the 5-step approval chain—originally designed decades prior for paper forms.

The automated workflow:

• Increased turnaround time

• Created bottlenecks when specific approvers were away

• Frustrated employees

• Led to “shadow processes” via email and chat

The company finally redesigned the process after system complaints escalated, reducing approvals from 5 to 2. Only then did the technology deliver the promised efficiency.

Example 3: Procurement – Digitalizing a Broken Purchase Request Flow

A manufacturing firm implemented a sophisticated procurement system but failed to re-evaluate its internal request process. Employees still needed to manually seek informal approvals, attach scanned signatures, and email confirmations—before submitting requests digitally.

The system ended up documenting inefficiency rather than eliminating it.

4. How to Avoid the Trap: Redesign Before You Digitize

a. Map the Current State (and Be Brutally Honest)

Document the process end-to-end. Identify:

• Redundancies

• Non-value-add approvals

• Manual steps

• Workarounds

• Pain points
  

Be willing to acknowledge that the process might be broken—not just “a bit outdated.”

b. Engage the People Who Actually Do the Work

Executives approve processes, but employees live them. Their insights reveal where friction exists and what actually needs to change.

c. Challenge Historical Rules

Many processes include steps justified by:

• “This is how we’ve always done it”

• “Finance requested this years ago”

• “Legacy system limitations made us do it”

Digital transformation is the perfect moment to challenge these assumptions.

d. Design the Future State With Simplicity as a Principle

A good rule:
If a step does not add compliance, value, or insight—remove it.

e. Standardise Before You Automate

Automation thrives on consistency. Standardisation reduces complexity, exceptions, and future change requests.

f. Validate the Future State With Business and Technology Together

Process redesign must involve:

• Business owners

• Compliance teams

• IT/technology product owners

• End-users

This ensures the design is realistic, scalable, and aligned to system best practices.

5. Technology Must Follow the Process—Not Lead It

Platforms like SAP SuccessFactors, Workday, Oracle, Coupa, and ServiceNow come with strong best-practice process frameworks. Organisations that align with these standards achieve smoother implementations and long-term stability.

Trying to force the system to reflect legacy complexities defeats the purpose of transformation. As SAP repeatedly emphasises in its Activate methodology, fit-to-standard is about adopting proven best practices rather than rebuilding legacy processes in new systems.

The organisations that excel in transformation embrace the mindset:

“Let’s fix the process first, then automate the best version of it.”

6. The Real Meaning of Digital Transformation

Digital transformation should simplify, standardise, and strengthen processes—not immortalise inefficiencies in digital form.

True transformation looks like this:

• Fewer steps

• Faster turnaround

• Clearer ownership

• Better compliance

• Cleaner data

• Higher user satisfaction

• Lower operational cost

That level of progress doesn’t happen by accident—it happens by design.

Final Thought

If your organisation removed its technology tomorrow, would the underlying process still make sense—or would it collapse under its own complexity?