What sort of business owner would say no to a more efficient business if they could have one? Some may think that their businesses are as efficient as they’re going to get, but in many instances, this is not the case.
6 Efficient business strategies
If you want a more efficient business, you’d do well to implement these 6 strategies immediately:
Improve staff engagement
Are your staff happy? Satisfied? Engaged? Without happy and engaged staff, you’re going to struggle. You’ll have a high staff turnover and spend more money and time hiring than you should in the long run. There are a ton of ways to improve staff engagement. Here are some suggestions:
- Come up with staff development plans.
- Relate to your staff and converse with them regularly.
- Have an open door policy.
- Come up with performance bonuses.
- Ensure there are office perks.
- Focus on a positive office environment.
Offer flexi-time
Offering flexi-time to staff makes sense in more ways than one. Let’s say that your employee needs to go to the dentist, or wants to watch their child in their school play. Rather than taking the whole day off, they could come in earlier and leave earlier, or make up the time somewhere else. In some cases, it’s even a good idea to have them work from home.
Consider how to prevent business downtime
Preventing business downtime is crucial, as it could cost you thousands. Many large businesses say that a very short amount of downtime can cost them millions. To prevent downtime, make sure you focus on keeping hackers and criminals away from your business. Protect your business in any way you can, such as securing the premises and ensuring only authorized staff members have access to sensitive information. You could take a look at this diesel generator fuel consumption chart to see if a diesel generator would be a good option for you. This way, if the power goes out, you’ll have alternatives.
Outsource and automate tasks
As a rule, you should outsource and automate every task you can afford to. You may need to invest in automation software like Cezanne HR software, and companies that can take care of certain tasks for you, but it’ll be worth it. You’ll be free to focus on the most important aspects of your business.
Discourage excessive email time
Spending time reading and replying to emails should not be something that takes place throughout the day. It can be a huge time waster, and make your employees less productive. If they’re doing it more than a few times a day, it’s too much.
Have a customer cull
If you have customers who pay late and you must spend ages chasing them, it’s just not worth it. They are costing you more in the long run, so get rid of them. If this saves time and hassle, then it’s worth it. The less time you spend handling problem customers, the more time you can spend finding customers who pay on time. Make sure you only do this with the worst offenders; don’t go overboard.
6 pillars of efficient business management
In a more practical way, efficient business management elaborates goals and indicators according to your vision, or with the great objective of the company. For this, it uses process optimization, inclusion of employees in decision-making, elaboration of products and services aimed exclusively at customer demands, among other criteria.
We have gathered here the main pillars of efficient business management, so that you can perform an analysis in your company and detect points of improvement. They are:
1. Financial Management
Financial management is a very important pillar for the efficiency of business management. Many companies break down early because of weaknesses in this process. It is necessary to remember, however, that good financial management ensures the sustainable growth of the company and prepares the ground for achieving the greater objectives of this organization.
For financial management to be carried out as efficiently as possible, it is necessary to plan and analyze finances constantly, optimize available financial resources, maintain the balance between credits and collections, keep track of cash and accounts receivable and payable.
2. Clear definition of processes
For efficient business management, you need to define the performance of your company. And this is done by defining the processes. It is necessary to have a design of the organizational flowchart with as many details as possible, covering all sectors, positions and activities.
Only in this way is it possible to identify deficiencies in the production chain, which generate rework, waste and decrease the productivity of a company. This definition should be clear not only to leaders, but to all employees.
3. Engaged employees
Engaged employees move a company forward. On the contrary, unmotivated employees and distant from the reality of your company can bring losses. Therefore, empowering the people who work with you is very important, as well as adding them to the organization’s decision-making.
Training should not be exclusive to the initial moment, in which everyone receives training about the company and its attributions. It should be a constant part of the business, in a natural and fluid way. Your employees really need to be part of your organization. Only in this way is efficient business management achieved.
4. Organization of taxes
Every company needs to pay taxes and fines (if applicable). Without this, there is a risk of no longer being able to act and a debt is acquired, which often ends up bankrupting companies. That’s why tax management is so important for efficient management. Bonds must be paid within the stipulated period so that no future problems can arise for your enterprise.
5. Management of strategic indicators
This is perhaps the most important pillar for efficient business management, since performance indicators are protagonists in business management. They provide organized and structured data and information to measure the most valuable processes to your enterprise. Knowing what the current situation of your company is and comparing it to the desirable situation allows you to maintain or rearrange your goals and keep the company always towards your goals.
Many entrepreneurs believe that this is a process to be carried out only in large companies. They, however, are mistaken. Companies of all sizes need to consider their KPIs – Key Performance Indicator – which need to be prepared from the beginning of strategic planning and measured monthly.
6. Strategic planning
Good strategic planning is also one of the pillars of efficient business management. It will even be the basis for the elaboration of goals and indicators and will guide the entire management of your company. In it, it is necessary to describe all its processes, the activities of its employees, its mission, vision, values and strategic indicators.
Of course, your planning will not remain the same (and neither will your indicators). Therefore, from time to time, according to structural changes in your company, you need to review it.
Conclusion
Efficient business management is one that makes a company grow sustainably, respecting its employees, customers and other stakeholders, reaching high levels of satisfaction among these individuals. In addition, this organization is also up to date with market rules, which include respect for the environment and social welfare, among others.
