Building business process can be a secret weapon for any successful business. It can also be the reason growth is exciting and predictable, instead of scary and unmanageable.
Your business is doing great, sales are strong, and you’re ready to take the next step. Awesome, but ask yourself something before moving forward: if anyone on your team were to be replaced, could the business still prosper? Could a new employee step into a position and know exactly what to do?
That’s where building business process comes into play. It gives everyone in your organization, from seasoned employees to new hires, an exact way to do things, so you know everything is controlled as it should be. After all, even a slight variance in some process might mean the difference between being really profitable and sitting on razor-thin margins.
Building Business Process
There are more than a few guides online that will give you a step-by-step guide for building that process. However, many of them vary. So, we thought it would be helpful to relay some of the most important things to keep in mind, so you can create a plan that works for you.
When Reviewing, Communication Is Key
As it always does, communication will play a major role here. When reviewing your current processes, make sure your team knows why you’re doing it. If you suddenly want to sit down with a team member and have them explain to you exactly what they do to get the job done, they might start to think you’re questioning their ability.
Explaining the reasoning, that you wish to create a concrete plan for when the team grows, will help to ease their mind. It also means that when the time comes, it can actually make their life easier too! With a solid process in place, they won’t need to take as much time training or taking time away from their other tasks to help direct new hires.
Don’t Complicate Things
The processes you create should be easy to follow for two reasons: obviously, we covered that new hires should have as frictionless an experience as possible, but it can also benefit existing team members too. By allowing team members to complete entire tasks from start to finish, you empower them to be more confident, productive, and proud of their work. Instead of having to pass things by “the boss” every time, they can be much more self-sufficient.
Check Out Another Blog: Employee Benefits: How, When, and Why You Should Offer Them!
Take Yourself Out Of The Equation
Just like with any individual team member, if you were to step away from the day-to-day aspects of your business, would things fall apart?
The processes you create will allow you to earn something you’ve always wanted: more time! If you’re spending all your days reviewing, double-checking, and okaying everything that is produced in your business, you won’t have time for anything else. Your job shouldn’t be reviewing, it should be focusing on big-picture strategy, planning, implementing, and trying to steer the business to a more profitable position.
Want to learn more about building a business process? You won’t want to miss the latest episode of the Thinc Underground Podcast!
This week’s episode welcomes charted accountant, consultant, and fractional CFO, Karen Johnson. Join host Arif Khan as he speaks to Karen about the importance of healthy skepticism, why firing can sometimes cost as much as retention, and what benefits a fractional CFO might bring to your business. “You’ll hear me say it a lot: strategy requires information, understanding, and foresight.”
