Has your business had its efficiency check up lately?
By Mark Redmond
Efficiency is defined as the ability to produce the desired effect with a minimum of effort, expense or waste. Is your business efficiency sick? Have you taken its temperature lately?
The challenges and dynamics of running a business can be overwhelming, especially given the added stress of a downturned economy. As business owners, we must take every opportunity to learn from expert and seasoned fellow business owners who have weathered similar storms successfully.
The rudder of a boat seems inconsequential based on its relative size to the vessel; however, it can be the single most important part that delivers the crew safely to its destination. A slight misalignment with the small rudder can send a boat in the wrong direction, cause it to run aground, or worse yet, send it crashing into an obstacle.
Using the analogy of the small, but powerful, rudder on a boat, realize that sometimes a seemingly minor suggestion or lesson can take your business to the next level. The key is to be open to new or creative ideas and to constantly reevaluate what’s working in your business and what’s not. However, I must give you fair warning ---- in our progressive technological world there is a constant stream of information bombarding us from every direction. Sometimes too much information can be as damaging as too little. There is a balance that every business owner must identify for themselves.
Monitoring the efficiency of your business and making constant adjustments is imperative.
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Identify unproductive procedures. It could save you thousands.
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Prevent liabilities before they happen. It could save you from financial and other legal issues and headaches.
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Evaluate where you are and clarify if what you’re doing is really working to grow your business.
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Identify when to hire an outside company to shop and buy from your company. The results will enlighten you as to how your staff interacts with your customers.
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Assess and benchmark your business. If done more than once a year, some companies have seen a 25% -100% growth in production and profits.
If you are an agile, creative and humble business owner, even Undercover Boss, the popular TV show, can offer several great tips for running an efficient business.
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Partner or hire others so that you’re using all the resources available to discover what really goes on behind the scenes of your company.
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Use technology for advancing what you do.
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Go beyond the surface issues to learn how procedures are really carried out or what challenge they create.
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Know your workforce better. Analyze the skills of each employee to determine if they’re suited for their current job (i.e., have the employee’s skills outgrown the position?)
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Give back to the employees. By offering incentives or scholarship programs, productivity is increased for the employee and the company as a whole.
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Offer specialized training. Make sure your business is in 2010. You can offer or buy specialized training for specific departments, especially those which affect the bottom line the most. An informed and educated employee will be more productive.
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Know who you serve. Shift from a know who you sell to mindset to an understanding of who you serve. Find out why customers buy from you, offer surveys and follow-up calls after the sale. How easy was it to buy or understand what our company does? Even call the prospects who did not buy to find out why they decided not to do business with your company.
Managing the efficiency of your business should be among your top priorities. Many times business owners get caught up in comparing their company or offerings to their competitors. And although this is something you should do, it’s important to first take a good look at your company from the inside. As the owner, are you clear about what your vision and mission are and do your employees mirror that belief and attitude?
Keeping the business efficiency healthy and on course is easy if you concentrate on three basic things. Have a plan in place that reviews and assesses your business model on a regular basis. Ask questions like, “Is what we’re doing really working and are the departments functioning at high levels and as a team?” Gone are the days when you could design a plan and then sit back and work it for the next five or ten years. The business rules are changing constantly and that means business owners have to constantly evaluate and make adjustments to their plan (rudder).
Next, prepare your employees and departments for success. Create and implement training programs that increase competencies of the individual employee as well and the department. Have employees switch roles for a day to better understand and appreciate the best way to work together. Have incentives in place to reward the individuals and departments who are the most efficient.
Lastly, maximize your company exposure. Position your company as experts in your industry. Having well-trained, happy and motivated employees is instrumental in increasing your exposure because they’ll be proud of where they work and what they do and will be the first to promote the company.
Whether you are a two employee company or oversee a huge corporate environment, a healthy efficiency plan can produce huge dividends. Start by planning and preparing; continuing to reevaluate and readjust to create a constant positive positioning will result in an increase in your company’s growth.
Remember that it only takes a slight and constant movement of a small rudder to keep a very large boat on course to its destination. Your business efficiency plan is your rudder.
About the Author
Mark Redmond is the Director of Marketing for Cop Shopp Consulting, (CSC)
a local consulting firm that specializes in helping companies gain a better competitive edge by using technology to increase performance and customer service. Learn more about CSC at: www.copshoppconsultants.com You can reach Mark at: - pros@copshoppconsultants.com 877-491-SHOP (7467).
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