I’m back
#66 I’m back with the podcast, back at Fleesensee, back with new experiences to rethink processes. Listen to my update on what has happened over the past months.
In this episode, I am sharing a personal, unfiltered update recorded on holiday at Fleesensee: what happened over the past months, what worked, where I struggled — and the current learnings I’m using to move organizations toward a truly process-driven way of working. No polish, just real experience you can place in context.
You’ll learn:
- What has happened since the last podcast episode
- Why I started working for Techniker Krankenkasse
- What my learnings of the past few month are with regards to buidling a process-driven organization and rethinking processes
Resources
- New Process Survey 2026: I’m inviting you to share your top BPM topics for 2026 by quickly filling out the survey. It takes only 5 minutes:
https://www.NewProcessLab.com/survey
- Free BPM Roadmap Mini Course: You can take my free course to set your next steps to building a truly process-driven organization:
https://www.NewProcessLab.com/roadmap
- Looking for a human-centric BPM tool? Feel free to reach out to me to discuss ideas: mirko@NewProcessLab.com
Get notified about new episodes:
Transcript
Please note that the transcript was generated automatically and only slightly adjusted. It does not claim to be a perfect transcription.
[00:00:00]
Welcome to the New Process Podcast. Learn all the tools, methods, and best practices combined with people, emotions, and a human-centric mindset to rethink your process and push it to the next level.
Here is your host, Mirko Kloppenburg.
Yeah – welcome to Episode 66 of the New Process Podcast.
And actually, I’m back – back with the podcast, back at Fleesensee, and back with new experiences to rethink processes.
This episode is going to be a bit different compared to the ones you know from the past.
It took a while to record the next episode. The last time I recorded here at Fleesensee was with Henrik, and some of you may remember that.
Right after that vacation, I started working for Techniker Krankenkasse. That’s actually a funny story which I can tell you in a few minutes. Today, I’d like to use this occasion to talk about what has happened since the last episode and to share some insights into my activities over the past few months.
[00:02:00]
As I said, I started working for Techniker Krankenkasse because I met one of my now peers at the BPM TU conference in February this year. I just asked her about how the job posting was going. I knew that a few months earlier they had been looking for a lead for a team that develops the BPM methodology and enables people in the organization for BPM.
Since I was curious – and because the position was in Hamburg, close to where I live – I asked her how it was going. She said, “Not that good… but what about you? Why don’t you apply for the position?” And I said, “No, I don’t want to.”
And a few months later – well – I joined the organization.
I’d like to tell you why I did this. There are two reasons.
The first one: after two years of consulting, I was really interested in taking on real accountability for processes again. Consulting is great – I love helping people – but as a consultant you’re never ultimately accountable for what’s going on with BPM inside the organization. That’s what I was looking for.
Now I’m the one who is accountable for the topic, I’m leading it – and that’s why I took the position.
I have a super-cool team pushing BPM forward in the organization. We’re part of a bigger department with nearly 80 people – really powerful.
[00:05:00]
And the second reason I love this job is the impact we can achieve as a small team pushing processes ahead in an organization with about 12 000 employees and more than 12 million insured people – I guess the biggest health-insurance provider in Germany. That’s more than 10 to 15 percent of all inhabitants of Germany. You can really make an impact with processes there, and that’s why I’m so excited about working for TK.
In addition to that, I’m still doing consulting – continuing to push New Process forward, rethinking processes, and trying to make a real difference.
We also had some great vacation time as a family – in Austria and Italy – which was wonderful. Now we’re back here at Fleesensee for another week of vacation to recharge for the rest of the year.
That’s also why it was a bit quiet on the podcast, on LinkedIn, and in the newsletter. I was heavily involved in consulting projects, helping organizations reach the next level in their processes.
[00:07:00]
I learned a lot, and I’d like to share these learnings with you.
Basically, the whole year I’ve been focusing on building process-oriented organizations – coaching people from different companies and helping them get ready to push their processes to the next level.
Building a process-oriented organization was already one of the top topics you mentioned in the New-Process Survey 2025, and I’ll ask you again this year:
What are your topics for 2026?
There’s a new survey online now. You can go to newprocesslab.com/survey to participate and share your top BPM topics for 2026. It helps me set the right focus for the coming year and also lets me share what others in the community are working on.
It’s basically one core question and takes no more than five minutes.
[00:09:00] Learning #1 – Process of Process Management (PoPM)
As I said, at TK and in consulting, one of my biggest learnings is that it’s essential to have a Process of Process Management defined for your organization.
You can’t tell others to manage their processes in a structured way – to map them, set targets, improve, and automate – if you don’t have your own process of process management in place.
If you provide BPM to your organization, you need to be a role model and execute this process for BPM itself.
Start with a BPM strategy that links to the company’s business strategy – and maybe even talk about purpose. It can feel strange to discuss emotions and purpose at the beginning, but it’s important to connect BPM to the organization’s purpose on an emotional level.
Then develop a strategy for BPM, define measurable, SMART targets, and know what you want to achieve. That’s how you create real impact.
[00:12:00] Learning #2 – Define process management roles
Implementation is not just about publishing a process in a system. It’s about enabling roles.
I often see organizations that define a “process owner” or “process manager” title without any clear description of what the role actually means. Then it’s hard to tell someone, “You are now a process owner,” if the expectations aren’t clear.
You really need to differentiate between design and execution:
- The Process Owner is accountable for the design of the process – defining the strategy, structure, and improvement targets.
- The Line Manager is accountable for execution – leading the people who perform the process.
Sometimes both roles are held by the same person, but the accountabilities are still distinct.
[00:14:00] Learning #3 – Provide platforms for exchange and visibility
You need regular platforms where these roles come together.
On an operational level, process owners and supporting roles like process architects or process managers should meet regularly to discuss performance, training, changing requirements, and improvement ideas from employees.
On a strategic level, you need a platform for management reviews – where process owners present progress, align across processes, and create visibility for BPM as a whole.
The same logic applies to your Process of Process Management – you need operational and strategic routines there, too.
[00:16:00] Learning #4 – Architecture and modeling with purpose
Based on your BPM strategy, think about how you document processes.
If your goal is automation, you’ll need a detailed modeling approach like BPMN 2.0.
If your goal is shared understanding – for onboarding, improvement ideas, or management discussions – that level of detail might be too much.
You may even need two levels of detail, depending on process maturity and purpose.
[00:18:00] Learning #5 – Human-centric BPM in practice
From a human-centric perspective:
- Involve people. Create transparency about what you’re doing and invite them to workshops. It takes more time at the beginning, but it leads to sustainable implementation.
- Trust people. Don’t micromanage. If you train them properly and give them the information they need, they will execute the process as intended.
- Talk about feelings. Ask: “How does this process make you feel?”
Where does it drain energy, and where does it give energy?
These discussions uncover insights you won’t find in data or KPIs.
[00:21:00] Wrap-up and survey invitation
Even though I haven’t published much content lately, a lot has been happening with consulting and rethinking processes.
Building a process-oriented organization will be key to success in the future.
I’m curious about your topics for 2026 – so please join the New-Process Survey 2026 at newprocesslab.com/survey.
It takes about five minutes, and I’ll share the results with the community at the end of the year in another podcast episode.
[00:22:00] Outlook and closing
Next year I’ll continue experimenting with rethinking processes and exploring new ideas together with the community on newprocesslab.com.
You know I’ve been researching a human-centric BPM tool. So far, that search hasn’t been as successful as I hoped – so the tool question is still on my mind.
If you’re also looking for a truly human-centric BPM tool, just send me an email at mirko@newprocesslab.com – I’d love to share some ideas, and maybe we’ll find a way to push that topic forward next year.
If you’d like to learn more about how to build a process-oriented organization, check out my free Mini Course – BPM Roadmap at newprocesslab.com/roadmap.
It’s a short, structured guide to prepare for your next steps toward a process-driven organization.
That’s it for today.
Thank you so much for listening, have a great day, and see you in the next episode. Bye-bye!
