Business processes: working on your business, not in it

Often business owners are too busy working in the business to work on it. However, as the business grows it is critical to assess your processes to ensure you don’t get overwhelmed. This is the key to being an owner as opposed to an operator.

Processes and systems need to be in place to allow for any eventuality. Once you’ve got correct business processes and systems in place, you can focus on improvement – how to take your business to the next level rather than worrying about how the business runs today

There are a few key areas you need to consider when analysing your business processes. In coming posts we will evaluate these further, but to get you started – here’s a quick overview.

Preventative actions as opposed to systems to fix errors

Too often we’re focused on reactive measures rather than stopping the issue from happening in the first place. Look closely at your current business processes and work out if there is an extra step you can put into a process flow to eliminate the error or minimise the impact, then modify it – small tweaks are easy to test and easy to implement.

Formulise your business communications between departments

Communicating your business culture requires consistency and is a business process you can’t overlook.   Make sure you only have one form of communication between departments. Even if you’re a sole-trader there are lines of communication that can end up like Chinese whispers. Make sure your business processes are written down, then there can be no room for miscommunication.

Clear decisions or conditions

Make solid decisions within your business and stick to them. If you’re constantly changing your mind, you’ll have to constantly change your process and this leads to confusion in your business – it  take years for the business to be able to operate with you working in it.

Consistency in your performance

Is there one month that stands out from all the others? Does productivity drop around Christmas time? Analyse the “why” with real data and then look at ways you can cater for less-productive times so that you can better forecast your business performance year-round.

Process flow

Write your processes out. There should be one line of communication between each step and there should be no room for ‘dead-ends’ - where a process flow stops. The whole aim of a business process flow is to have your business processes flowing!

Staff strengths and weaknesses

There’s nothing worse than having your head engineer in a marketing role. Establish what each staff members’ strengths are and vary their role to make the job suit them. Your business productivity will improve, guaranteed.

Clear role definition

On that note, make sure everyone knows what is and isn’t their job. There should be no grey areas, which leaves room for staff thinking someone else is responsible and the job not getting done. Or two people doing the same job. However, don’t create a culture that stops people stepping in to help when needed – this is balancing act between lines of responsibility and your culture.

Activities that don’t add business value

There are some things within your business that are fun, we get that. However, if they’re not adding business value either in the short or long-term - they have no place in your business. It’s time to get critical

Areas that eliminate or reduce wastage

Check to see what’s happening to that last bit of board, can it be used in another job? Are you printing double-sided? Just how many resources are being used up through not having a system to reduce wastage in your business?

Hire a professional

Many business owners find it difficult to be critical of their own business. It’s easy to see where things are going wrong in some areas, but often it takes a professional to cast an eye over your business to see it’s true potential.

Your CFO Partner is your secret weapon to business financial success. We identify, provide and implement strategies to grow your business to full potential- making money, saving time and cutting costs in the process.

We review processes, procedures, systems and finances. Then we look into capturing data and analytics and come up with a strategy to move forward, provide ongoing management reporting to track and work towards your goal over a period of time. We have a wealth of experience in financial and strategic management roles, across a broad range of industries. With more than 20 years’ worth of client testimonials to back us up!