Everyone knows that one of the keys to running a successful small business is to keep your operations going efficiently as well as effectively. When the day-to-day workings of your company are efficient, you are not only able to take on more business, but you also avoid falling behind – a dangerous prospect when you don’t have the resources of a large corporation to help bail you out.
It can be difficult to figure out exactly where to begin streamlining and improving the efficiency of your business.
Here are a few things to consider doing in order to make your company more efficient, and thus more successful.
Streamline Non-Core Activity
When you run a small business, you essentially have two different types of tasks that must be addressed. Your core activity will consist of those things that are particular to your specific business. These are things like the designing and manufacturing of a product and sales related tasks. Such activity is what you generally want and need to devote the bulk of your time to.
Non-core activity, on the other hand, involves tasks that are of a housekeeping nature for your small business. Handling human resources or payroll, for instance, are things that are universal to all companies, but aren’t necessarily activities that fall under the scope of your skill set.
In order to give yourself and your employees more time to focus on core activities, which would result in a drastic increase in productivity, you should consider implementing a software system like an HRIS. Such programs make things like payroll and HR simple and efficient, so that you can focus on the tasks that only you can accomplish.
Improve Communication
If your small business is lacking in the communication department, then things will start to go south very quickly. You need to have effective modes of communication both internally and externally in order to keep things running smoothly and efficiently.
Start by taking a good look at how communication is going internally for your company. Try to pinpoint where any breakdowns are occurring and implement new strategies to make sure they don’t happen again. It is critical that all your employees are on the same page. Be sure that all are aware of what software should be used for inter-company communications to avoid getting lost in the shuffle.
External communications are also incredibly important to get correct right from the start. Everything from inquiries to orders need to be handled efficiently. Furthermore, your business should have an effective way of dealing with customer service issues, as failing to do so can prove detrimental to the success of your company.
Not only can poor customer service result in clients taking their business elsewhere, but the negative feedback that a former customer posts in online reviews will make it less likely that you will gain new clients in the future. Make sure to continually monitor and address all complaints in a timely manner.
