Are your business processes and systems causing your staff stress and costing you money?

I was chatting to a friend the other day who mentioned how stressful her work is at the moment.  She loves the company she works for, the other staff and the business owners, but the outdated processes and double handling of everything is wasting so much time she is almost at the end of her tether.   When talking to her I found I had to hold myself back from calling her CEO and telling him all the ways he needed to simplify his system so that he retains great staff, reduces the staff costs due to double handling, yet still get the end result he wants.   

Unfortunately I think many businesses keep doing things a certain way because “that’s the way we’ve always done it”.  Or perhaps you have a gatekeeper of systems in your office that everyone is afraid of who wields power by way of their long winded, outdated processes?  No one wants to upset them, for fear of condemnation, so they don’t complain.

Well, we’re here to tell you that if you don’t review your process and systems thoroughly every 12 months AT LEAST then it’s highly likely that mistakes are being made, staff are frustrated, and money and time is being wasted - and don’t forget the customers… who  are unlikely to be getting the level of service they deserve because everything takes soooo long, or mistakes are being made!

So where do you start?  Well, the first place to start digging for the worst systems in your business is related to your google reviews… what are your customers frustrated about, where are complaints coming in from.  Secondly, sit down with your team - individually or in a group and start prodding!  What drives them mad, where do they preserve double handling, what are customers and other staff saying in frustration?

Write a list of all the issues and start by addressing these systems and processes.  If you have staff members that are particularly switched on in creating systems, or feel they have the solution to the issues - get them to help or give them the responsibility to improve certain systems.  The business owner or department head does not need to be the one to review everything, but they definitely need to sign off on the implementation of any new systems once they’ve been tested.

Although you might have a list of the main contenders for upheaval - it is not an exhaustive list.  We’d recommend reviewing all processes throughout your business at least every 12 months.  Some may certainly get the tick of approval and not need upgrading, and of course others will need minor or major changes.  

If you’ve got some road blocks within your business (in the way of systems or people) feel welcome to give us a call, or organise an online catch up to see if we can help you!

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