Streamline business solutions: 3 ways to streamline in the new digital era

This guidfe outlines three smart and simple ways to streamline business solutions with tools to boost your success.

In these tumultuous times, being a businesswoman is a challenging venture. The landscape is uncertain and the goalposts are ever-changing—as are consumer habits. In recent months, it’s likely that your business has been operating on a largely remote basis (if it wasn’t already). And, if the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the power and possibilities of the digital age.

What does it mean to streamline business solutions?

Business deals with countless information on a daily basis, as well as the need for expansion of employees, client portfolio and any other type of action that leads to the company’s development. All of this increases the number of processes and, consequently, the need for management control and reporting. Just like process mining with Apromore, it’s a process which concentrates on these smaller process components performed by employees such as transferring customer records from a spreadsheet to a web form. A process that can analyse user interaction data, businesses can track task productivity and make data-informed process improvement decisions while ensuring compliance is increased.

Thus, in order for everything to be kept under control in the corporation, processes must be simplified. This can occur through its mapping, in addition to the analysis of each business situation, optimization of internal communication, data integration, document scanning, employee training, use of technologies, etc.

Why is it important to streamline business solutions?

Given the complexity of information and processes that the corporate world needs to face in its routine, simplifying processes is an alternative for the control and management of what happens in the company to occur more effectively. In this way, several benefits can be achieved. Below, follow some of them.

Cost reduction

As said, corporations deal daily with countless processes, including bureaucratic ones. By simplifying this step, it is possible to have more efficient monitoring of documents. In accounting offices, for example, this allows answers to be provided more quickly, which avoids wasting resources.

Productivity gain

Given the countless daily demands, to not streamline business solutions increases the time needed to control all activities. Thus, when there is optimization, it is possible to gain productivity and use time and competence in other demands that require agile responses.

Increased profits

Streamlining processes optimizes control over operations, resulting in more productivity, less wasted resources, reduced errors and increased efficiency in business procedures. As a result, corporations can have their profits increased.

Optimization of management

When there is a great demand for daily operations in companies, knowing how to prioritize which are the most urgent and strategic is essential for the management to be optimized and gaps to be filled correctly.

Scalability

Expanding a business without increasing costs in the same proportion, the so-called scalable company , is the dream of any company. After all, this represents profit growth and means that managers have control of business processes. It is precisely in this sense that to streamline business solutions is beneficial.

3 ways to streamline business solutions

By harnessing digitally-driven initiatives and remote working tools to your advantage to streamline business solutions, you will be able to streamline your business in a number of key areas—increasing your output while keeping your employees engaged and inspired. Here we consider three definitive ways you can streamline business solutions in the current landscape and accelerate your success in these cutthroat times—starting with communication.

Work with the right communicative tools 

In our hyper-connected digital age, the technology exists to ensure seamless communication across a multitude of platforms, both in-house and on a remote basis. Holding regular cross-departmental meetings, collaborative ideas sessions, social get-togethers, and training workshops, taking advantage of the right digital project management tools is essential if you want to streamline business solutions to make your business more cohesive.

For your inspiration, here are some easy to master communicative project management tools that will help streamline business solutions for collaborative processes:

• Trello: A navigatable, highly-visual, and versatile project management tool for real-time communication, Trello also serves as a helpful product milestone management and brainstorming tool.
• Slack: Essentially an instant messaging system with collaborative features and video or voice call functionality, Slack will keep your team connected at all times without causing distraction.
• Google Suite: Encompassing Google Docs (a word processor that allows you to add real-time annotations, suggestions, and comments), Google Hangouts (a popular video conferencing tools), and Google Calendar (an interactive meeting & date scheduling tool), Google Suite will help your team remain connected, creative, and productive.
• MindMup: A simple to use visual brainstorming and mind-mapping platform for creating collaborative ideas focused on specific tasks or initiatives.

Invest in skill development & lifelong learning

There is a direct link between lifelong learning and employee engagement. If your employees are highly-engaged, self-motivated, and are equipped with the skills to adapt to the ever-changing landscape around them, your business will become more autonomous—and as a result, more streamline business solutions.

So, by investing in a culture that values personal skills development and lifelong learning, you will streamline business solutions on a sustainable basis. If everyone is being encouraged to gain new qualifications while expanding their skill set, your business will become far more self-sufficient. In turn, it will also become more productive. To create a culture of lifelong learning, you should:

• Give your employees access to online learning portals or platforms.
• Allow everyone at least two hours a week during work time to focus on their personal development and learning.
• Empower your team members with the choice to enrol in one formal course or certification each year.

Improve your employee & time management strategies

Typically, managers and business owners across sectors throw away an average of three hours every day on unnecessary interruptions, distractions or time-centric administrative tasks.

One of the most effective and sustainable ways to streamline your business—the final piece of the producutivy-boosting puzzle, so to speak—is to focus on your time and employee management initiatives. To truly optimize your business for success, drilling down into working hours, time tracking, and rota management logistics is essential.

There’s no doubt about it—employee scheduling software saves time and money. Embrace the power of cutting-edge digital scheduling software and you will enhance your operational efficiency significantly, driving down costs while keeping everything ticking over with minimal intervention.

Modern scheduling solutions offer navigable, automated functionality that assists with time and employee management optimization from anywhere in the world, 24/7, across a multitude of devices—invaluable technology for any ambitious woman business owner.

Conclusion

“You will be defined not just by what you achieve, but by how you survive.”―Sheryl Sandberg. We may be living in uncertain times but by taking these measures to streamline your business and creating a culture of open communication, you will boost your productivity levels while remaining adaptable to change.

Best of luck and for more practical pearls of wisdom, read 3 tips for effectively expanding your small business.