Improving your business should always be on the radar for managers and CEO’s. There are always opportunities for business growth and expansion, and identifying, planning, and implementing changes within the organisation is key for any business growth.
Whether you are a small business looking for ideas for your next steps, or a larger organisation putting together a key improvement plan, maybe some of these tips and ideas could come in handy when considering different ways to improve your business.
Software Integrations
No matter what kind of business you have, making sure that you are either using the right software for the job, or replacing manual processes with automated ones is a huge productivity boost, and overall, just makes things simpler. A financial planning business involves a lot of record taking and organising of data, this can be tedious and time-consuming work but it doesn’t need to be with financial planning software. Elan squared is a popular choice among financial planners and helps them to automate tasks and generally be more organized when financial planning for clients. This can apply to a wide variety of tasks, such as:
- Inventory/Stock checking
- Sales and reports
- Website and digital sales
- Advertising
- Content distribution
- Financial and Accountancy tasks
This is just a small selection, but every business is different, and making sure that you and your staff are using the right software to speed up their daily tasks will help to keep things running smoothly, help to prevent delays and bottlenecks, and generally make people happier as they aren’t having to rely on manual, outdated means to complete their assigned jobs.
Security Improvements
As your business grows, you might find you are taking on more staff, getting more visitors, or even have to take on an entirely new office to accommodate organisational expansion. While this is always a good thing from a business perspective, the larger the business, the more secure the contents and data will need to be. Australian Direct Debit Providers, Ezypay ensures collecting recurring customer payments for your products and services is more secure and faster than ever. Whether you are dealing with sensitive information, keeping databases of personal or client information, or require extra measures to keep prying eyes away from the research and development team, systems are available to be put in place to prevent unwanted intrusions.
One of the most considered approaches is to implement an Access Control system, such as the types installed by Remsdaq. Access Control Systems allow you to give permissions to specified individuals, for example, to allow them to move freely throughout a business building, or only to access specific areas. For example, a pass-card given to a warehouse operative would not need the requirement to access the finance department, but a Health and Safety Officer may require access to the entire building for checks and assessments. This also allows security teams to track where and when cards and card readers have been used, for example, in order to locate a missing pass or to determine how many people are in the building (or certain sectors of the building) at any given time, even remotely.
Health & Safety Systems
As a small business, health & safety generally tends to rely on the rule of common sense. However, HSR training (Health and Safety Representative Training) is essential for any business owner or manager to learn and understand their responsibilities when it comes to the health and safety of employees. Depending on the sector and work type, risk assessments and safety procedures will need to be implemented relatively early on within business growth, not just for the sake of insurance and ticking boxes, but also for the general well-being of staff, visitors, and any others that may be present in or around the working environment.
While most systems are mandated by law, there are a few small things you can do in order to ensure that health and safety systems and assessments go smoothly and without any hiccups.
- General tidying. While it can seem like a bit of a pain, keeping the working environment tidy in general makes it a much safer place. Whether it’s clearing clutter off desks, tucking away trailing cables, or moving furniture around so that it isn’t blocking entryways or exits, every little bit helps in keeping trip hazards to a minimum.
- Fire Systems. Fire alarm systems and maintenance is equally as important as general health and safety (although it falls under the same category). Ensuring you have a regular testing and servicing routine in place to make sure that all systems are functioning correctly is critical. Business growth if very difficult while the building is actively on fire!
- Material Storage. While this again is usually mandated by law, there are some substances and material that require special storage, or have specific requirements when it comes to how they can be kept. For example, the COSHH (Control of Substance Hazardous to Health) Regulations outline how and where such substances should be stored. Having adequate space allocated to this that can grow alongside the business will make production and efficiency much less of an issue in the long run, as multiple different storage sites won’t have to be considered.
While there are a lot more aspects to health and safety to consider when it comes to business growth, thinking along these lines should get you off to a good start. A properly implemented system could last in place for years to come, saving time, energy and costs for the business as it continues to take shape and evolve.
Process Mapping
Properly implemented process maps can make a huge impact on a business very early on. For a small business, most tasks will be processes that are known only to the person undertaking them. However, when it comes to passing this information on to a new staff member, for example, this can show to be a time-consuming project that can have a large impact on business output.
Putting a process map in place for these tasks, particularly for complicated or time sensitive tasks, can not only save a huge amount of effort in training and new staff enrolment, but also sheds light on areas of the job that can be improved, automated, or even replaced with more modern solutions in order to save time, money and energy both in the short, and in the long run.
Every business is different, but these systems form a strong foundation for many businesses to grow and thrive. Continual improvement is something that never stops, and as such, should always be at the forefront of every businesses growth strategy. We hope this has been useful in giving some pointers for your organisation!
