You are most likely already running an efficient business; you will be using business processes day to day that are running well and your staff and clients are happy and achieving what you expect month by month.
There are, however, always ways to improve the cycle of your work within your office environment, to be hitting bigger goals and breaking your business records. You may have efficient systems to get the work done, an example being you will probably use the same programs daily to generate reports, resolve customer complaints, contact a new or existing client in the field, or manufacture products and market the new products but there will be times that these processes become inefficient too.
Unhappy customers, anxious colleagues, deadlines that are not meeting the desired date and time, lead to increased costs, loss of time and becoming a very dysfunctional unit which just isn’t preferable when running a business.
So, having this said, it is vital that you continue to strive to improve processes when they are not achieving well and how you can do this at any chapter of your business. First, we will break down exactly why it is so important to have an efficient business and what the benefits of this are, even if you currently think your business is only lacking in certain areas; it needs to be a well-oiled machine if it is to succeed and continue to blossom. The satisfaction of this will incentify your workers for more sustainable working and also for business owners, they will start to realize the benefits too. Don’t be caught out by problems such as:
- Customers may complain about a lack of service or poor customer management and this may be a very damaging thing to happen over time. The more people who complain, the more that your business could be bad mouthed outside of the office walls. Customer satisfaction is key and you must keep this at the forefront of your mind. It could even mean losing existing customers which could be catastrophic.
- Colleagues become stressed or anxious. If this happens, this will mean automatically that they will underperform and miss things, or perhaps they will just not be reaching the level of work that you expect in their role. They must not be allowed to reach this kind of uncertainty and panic, it is not good for them or you.
- Work may be missed or replicated. This is down to the management of tasks and the scheduling behind how you work. If databases aren’t updated or the staff do not communicate then you will probably see that the work has not been done or has been done twice. It can lead to loss of time and unnecessary stress.
- It could cost you. All of the above so far can cost time. Time is money and if you make any critical errors, it could cost you in a number of ways. If you are wasting time and money on frivolous things that should be taken care of, over time this could mean losing money over the period of a year or two. If you see any losses already, then you have probably already started slipping behind; you must not bleed money in any area, this will stop you from progressing in other areas.
- You’re wasting your precious resources. Any resources that you already have must be used well and developed accordingly. Staff must know how to use them well and be encouraged to do things your way and not theirs. It’s a common mistake among employers, especially if you don’t have time to oversee them. Make the most of your resources and ensure there’s no money being lost.
- Bottlenecks from lack of communication and deadlines missed or delayed. Clients and customers alike do not look down favourably upon things such as this. It is certainly not a good thing to do often. Keep on top of your work and make sure your workers have access to any assistance, should they need it.
Improvements Can Be Done. How? When? What will help?
Usually, you will commit to a weekly or monthly staff meeting where you analyze the performance of your staff, your systems and your management. Once you have started to realize where things need to change, and where the improvements need to be made, you should document each step using charts or diagrams to make it easy for everyone to understand and to give you a clear direction of what needs to be done. Visual is best as most people can learn and understand it that way. Flowcharts especially are great for processes that involve large teams. It’s important not to miss any small area that needs fixing because the small areas are often the most intricate and can be vital to making the business run like clockwork. Explore each issue in detail, look at any sub-steps that you’re not aware of and underlying issues with staff. Speak personally to the people who are in these specific teams to make sure they’re aware of the issues and to hear their take on it. They are working from the inside and will probably have better knowledge than you.
Listen to your staff. Look at failure mode and effects analysis, SWAT analysis and mind mapping problems to see when they started and if there are any patterns. If a problem started at a specific time when you had just implemented a new system or when you had just begun a new campaign, perhaps the issues lie within that.
Continue to analyze: using flowcharts you can diagnose issues and most of the time, problems lie within the inefficiency of working systems. Staff may feel there is not enough time in the day to get things done and this is damaging also. Where can you save money? How can you fix it? How quickly can you fix it? It’s doable. Without a doubt, but it lies within good teamwork and shaking up how you do things.
Fixing The Problems
Securing the resources you need is key. Fixing issues will not be any quick fix but it will be a resolution for improvement of the business. Let’s look at some common issues and see how they may be rectified, often in simpler ways than you may think. Firstly, however, it is beneficial and vital that you communicate with each group of people within your business and know how this may benefit the business overall, preparing a case and a solid presentation to your workers will be helpful to make them appreciate the problems collectively and not leave any workers feeling isolated or as if they are the problem.
- Systems are failing and time is wasted – if this is a major problem and time management is posing a threat, it could be your systems are ineffective and you need a more solid solution. You can look into field service scheduling to ensure that your business is running like clockwork and that it’s running with all the resources it needs. Any outdated forms of working or computer systems and networks will only hinder your progress. Having the top-range of communication systems and tools to help you manage your work will help your employees in the long run.
- Failure of communication – if your employees are not communicating and things are becoming lost in translation, start a type of intranet that will allow them to communicate with each other and begin to encourage communication via email and other methods so that work is not being taken on by other staff or it has been duplicated.
- Starting out new projects – if the projects or campaigns are the issues then the problem may lie within your marketing team or any other team that undertakes this. It may be a lack of creativity or incentive. If workers are not satisfied with their job, you will need to know why then you will need to see if you need to replace staff or if you need to give your employees a better reason to be creative. Send them on field trips, give them time to be creative; they are the core of your business.
Once these issues are realized, you can begin to start monitoring the developments over a three or six month period. Things won’t shift immediately but after you implement new processes, and closely monitor any changes in the coming weeks, you will ensure the processes are working to their full potential and that you are moving forward and not slipping even further backwards. Monitor things online, ask for updates regularly from staff and make it a priority to check in on your staff to see that things are improving. If you continue to update and adopt new improvements and strategies each month, with new goals and incentives, you will undoubtedly start to see big changes that will benefit everyone and you will not have to be concerned about being overtaken by your competitors or becoming irrelevant.
Stay on top of the game and be the best at the game.
Contributors
