It’s no easy fit to run a business. Depending on the size of your business and how long it has been operational, you might have to be the CEO, accountant, HR & essentially fill any gap that needs to be filled. Thus business productivity is important. As you run your business, it’s important to bear in mind that it will not be perfect from Day 1 neither will it be perfect on Day 545, but it should be better. Creating a culture of constant improvement is the key to building a sustainable business. We have outlined the most important steps to consider to increase business productivity.
Business Review (Audit)
Conducting a business review is the process of accessing the current state of your business processes, identifying the inefficiencies, and then devising solutions to solve these inefficiencies. It’s easy to fall into the trap of pumping in more money either by hiring more staff, buying new software, changing equipment, or getting a new office, but you don’t need to fix what is not broken. Most importantly, speak to your employees to understand areas they face challenges. This process is long and arduous, but it informs what actions you take next, identifying ways to improving your business productivity.
Here are some great questions to start with:
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- What problems are my business currently facing that are preventing us from achieving our goals?
- What tasks take the most time?
- Are employees handling too much? Is it an issue training can fix?
- Are processes highly manual?
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Delegate
Finding ways to delegate can help improve your business productivity. When you start a business, a lot goes into it which makes you fiercely protective sometimes to your detriment. You can decide to bootstrap initially and wear a lot of hats. But as you grow (which you will!), it becomes imperative that you hire the right people to drive execution. Hire people with the right attitude to learn and then begin delegating tasks to them to reduce your workload. Set clear expectations so there’s alignment. Delegating can also mean outsourcing certain tasks rather than hiring thereby freeing up time.
Digitize Your Business
How much of your process involves doing repetitive tasks that can either be automated or digitized. Digitizing your business is the process of using technology to increase your operational efficiency & user experience. It can mean using Slack to manage team communication rather than having to maintain an office-wide email thread. Digitizing can mean being able to use Dropbox to scan, store, and share company documents so employees don’t always have to request physical copies. It can also mean having a digital presence: sending emails, being active on social media giving you wider reach rather than just interacting on the phone or face to face being the only means of communication. Whatever aspect of your business you intend to digitize, it needs to be monitored and provide results in line with your goals.
By improving your business productivity, you are able to focus on the most important areas of your business. Try these out and let us know how it goes. We are Vencru are always here to help your business thrive. For more helpful tips and tricks on how to manage your bookkeeping, and track your invoices and expenses, visit Vencru Business Corner to read more articles like this one!
