There are a lot of reasons to make a business run efficiently but in the end the result is the same—increased profit and growth. Surprisingly, many entrepreneurs aren’t taking easy steps to run a streamlined business.
Be Open to Change
Change management isn’t just a project management strategy; it’s also a business strategy. Every business owner must embrace new ideas and implement them. It also requires effort to engage employees so they’ll buy into the change.
Although change is inevitable, employees and supervisors are often resistant to the new. Develop a change management strategy and a plan for dealing with change resistance that includes instruction and mentoring, explaining benefits of the change, employee engagement and an open-door policy for questions.
Cross-Training for Employees
The potential of one employee getting involved in a task and being unable to help a customer is high. Cross-training employees permit other staff members to step in and provide the expected service, even if it’s not part of their day-to-day duties.
Design a department-to-department training program until everyone, including owners and supervisors know how to complete every job.
Task Organization
Organization is the key to ensuring a business runs smoothly and as envisioned. Utilize technology such as workflow software to help assign and keep track of day-to-day tasks, completion rates, problematic areas and coordinate document management.
In addition, task organization and goals set by management are things that are welcomed by employees. Many prefer set paths and instruction.
Communication Plan
Developing a communication plan is an absolute must. In order for the plan to work it must be accessible to everyone using multiple forms of delivery including office networks and remote capabilities such as mobile phone connectivity.
When purchasing management software look for those equipped with a communication plan module you can set up and train staff to use.
Understand the Importance of the Accounting Department
The accounting department is the keystone of any business. It records every transaction of the business including inventory and asset purchases. Take time to hire qualified staff and review activity daily. Analyze monthly P&L statements to ensure expenses aren’t eating up revenues.
Set strong accounting controls to sway employee theft and fraud. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners revealed small business owners lose billions to employee theft each year. Pay attention to the numbers side of your business and implement set security levels based on job title and task.
Implement Workplace Security Controls
Image via Flickr jeffk
Technology is part of every business today. That means taking security for servers, buildings, inventory and employees seriously. You also need to protect the privacy of customer information.
Most software programs allow you to set security levels in a variety of ways but you must also pay attention to how safe employees are at work, set inventory controls and ensure buildings and contents are safe during downtimes. Invest in security at all levels to safeguard your entire business.
Running your business like a tight ship guarantees streamlined efficiency. Avoiding attention to these six areas may cause unnecessary duress and employee dissension—or worse, a business closure.
Article by Miles Young.
