Simplify Your Business in 6 Steps
Everyone knows that there’s no such thing as a normal nine-to-five shift. Regardless of how your day is mapped, chances are that something is going to happen that will throw off your game and force you to spend the rest of the week playing catch-up. Often, this is a sign that your business has become a lot more complicated than it needs to be. But fear not! There are simple changes you can make that will simplify your days, helping you be more efficient so you can focus more on profitability and less on time-consuming tasks.
1. Cut Down on Meetings
How much of your day is taken up by lengthy internal meetings? Has it gotten to the point where you now have meetings about other meetings? Some meetings are unavoidable, such as regular department gatherings, but when meetings occur like clockwork, they have the potential to seriously interrupt your workflow. When scheduling a meeting, consider whether anything you’re doing can be handled via email instead. If you need to have a meeting about a particular matter, ensure the agenda is concise and that only the required personnel are in attendance Encourage your employees to leave meetings after they are no longer needed as well.
2. Assess Your Product Line
Look at the array of products and services you sell and trace your revenue streams for each item. Are some of your products flying off the shelves while others are left gathering dust? By identifying what services or products your business should be focusing on, you’ll simplify your business structure and workflow by placing more attention on merchandise that’s moving and discontinuing items that aren’t. Plus, you’ll save on production costs in the meantime.
3. Separate Personal From Professional
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With all the available social media channels out there, it’s easy to get distracted when you’re at work. While socializing on the job can make your day more pleasant, you want to make sure you’re still being efficient and concentrating on your priorities. Set aside 10–15 minutes a day to catch up on personal correspondence. Only check your messages at lunchtime or on a break so that you’re not getting distracted by constant texts and updates. By setting these boundaries, you’ll find that you’re managing your time more effectively, which will mean you see fewer late nights at the office.
4. Clarify Job Responsibilities
Failing to define roles properly can be a big source of complexity and inefficiency, which can ultimately lead to poor product quality and confusion. If you’re concerned about any weak links in the workflow, go over your staff’s functions and tasks in detail. If overlaps or gaps exist in your employees’ roles and responsibilities, there’s likely confusion amongst them about exactly what they’re supposed to be doing. This uncertainty can result in delays, disruptions and costly mistakes. Once problem areas are identified, restructure your workers’ roles accordingly to avoid duplication and to fill in any gaps in key processes.
5. Streamline Your Costs
Take a few minutes a month to check bill and creditor statements for any extra costs and find ways to eliminate or consolidate them. The immediate effect is that you’ll save money, but the offshoots extend to other operations in the company. Fewer charges from fewer sources mean less work tracing and recording those costs. It also means greater flexibility for those responsible for budgets. Dealing with those seemingly small costs and charges will save you time and money as well as simplify the financial and budgetary process.
6. Automate, Automate, Automate
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When you incorporate efficient software in your business, you can shave valuable time off of what you do in the course of a day. Some software features automated templates so you don’t have to spend precious minutes creating your own. Others can help you better organize your time or make calculations faster and more accurately. For those in the procurement industry, Procurify offers all these features and more. Procurify automates your purchasing workflow so that you can spend less time on menial administrative tasks and more time refining and improving your business.
By reducing the time you spend on unnecessary tasks, streamlining your daily workflow and ensuring everyone knows their roles and responsibilities, you’ll soon see a more simplified version of your business. Try out these six steps to make the most out of your nine to five.
Feature Image: Photographee.eu / Shutterstock
