Last week I did a poll in Linkedin with the question, what does come to mind when your hear the words "Business Process"?
As per the image below, you will see that 69% responders think of "Business Process" as either corporate bureaucracy or task management, therefore, not a strategic piece to help to scale a business.
What if I say that your processes are actually, your way of doing business...
And that identifying the core processes in your business and the best practices, then documenting them to facilitate the standardisation will prove invaluable, not only to impact positively to your bottom line, but to the overall value of your business?
Due to lack of knowledge, many business owners neglect this area as they fail to understand how powerful process can be, when you apply it correctly, it will aid simplicity, scalability, efficiency and profitability.
You will not get your company to the next level by keeping 'your way of doing business' (your processes) in your head and making it up as you go.
By deciding what the process is and training everyone to follow, you will reduce errors, improve efficiency, increase your bottom line and finally, separate yourself from your business so you can take a longer holidays or even sell it.
Two steps to systemise your business
To systemise your company, there are two major steps you need to take.
- Document your core processes
- Ensure that they are followed by all (including you)
1. Documenting your core processes.
First, you need to identify your CORE processes. Not all processes are important and you need to identify which are those core to your way of doing things. Utilising the 20/80 rulebecome really handy.
Second you need to analyse each step of the process and document it. Here it's important to identify best practices, to ensure all your team is executing to the highest standard.
Third, compile the information into one package for everyone in your company. This should be your company manual that you share with each of your employees.
2. Ensure that they are followed by all
Training your team on YOUR WAY of doing business will ensure your customers, suppliers and all stakeholders will have the same experience as if they were dealing directly with you.
Following the process, it will make it easier for managers to manage, identify and solve issues, therefore grow your business.
It will enable you to let go and gain more control, without micromanaging or becoming the bottleneck.
Your business now becomes more scalable, which means that you can add more customers, transactions, revenue and employees while reducing complexity.
- Have you documented the way you want everything done in your company?
- Do your team know what processes they need to follow and WHY?
- Is all your team executing the required procedures uniformly, to provide your customers with the same customer experience as if you were doing it?
If you want to understand how to do it, don't hesitate to contact us or book your free discovery session.
Andrew Walker andrew@bbcs.ie or book here
Susana Marambio susana@bbcs.ie or book here
Some of the information on this article I took it from Gino Wickman's book Traction as his simple explanation of the topic is fantastic.
