Your processes seemed to be working well and your business tasks felt streamlined, but recently your employees have faced more challenges or things don’t seem as efficient as they once were.
If your small business feels like this, it is likely time to look back at those processes and analyze how well they are working or how much they are slowing you down.
As a busy business owner, it’s difficult to pull yourself from the day-to-day to stop and review these processes. However, according to the Center for Economic and Business Growth, for every dollar your company spends on process improvement, you receive $3 in profit and $6 in revenue. It is worth the time.
Take a look at these indicators your business needs to improve its processes, and what you can do to make it happen.
1. Your Business Is Growing
As a business grows and adds more employees, clients, or both, their processes need to become more efficient for continued success. Back when you had just a few employees, utilizing a simple workflow and taking everything one step at a time was manageable. When you have a large group of employees, the workflows need to be streamlined to keep your business production running smoothly.
2. New Rules and Regulations To Comply With
At times, there will be a change in federal regulations or industry standards that make improvement to your business’ processes inevitable. Your current processes just won’t be sufficient any longer.
When there are new regulations in place, look at the way your company is currently doing things. New or additional steps could slow down your process, making a review necessary.
3. You Hear Repeated Questions
A strong indicator that your processes are breaking down somewhere is an influx of questions, usually from a variety of employees with a similar focus. You might receive questions about where to find documents, where to send them, looking for approval on a task, or who to approach and when.
These issues as a result of processes can result in frustration among your employees and delays in your production. As both employee retention and efficiency are key to your small business’ profitability, you need to address these as quickly as possible.
4. You Enter Data Manually
If you are still entering data manually, you know how much time it takes and how much risk for error it involves. At this point, this type of data entry is outdated and costs way too much to make it worth it. On top of it all, it takes away precious time from your clients’ needs, your day-to-day tasks, and time to focus on growing your business.
Finding a system, like cloud accounting software, can automate your processes and make them more efficient. There is also less risk for human error and loss of profit.
As your business continues to grow, you will need to adjust and readjust along the way. A skilled accountant with experience with your industry can help relieve some pressure and streamline how your business runs. Reach out to Executive Financial Partners for a free consultation.
