As a SME business owner, you’re tasked with maintaining and expanding your company. Your dedicated employees, core services offered, and distinct business methods may not seem like a lot to handle, but if you take a step back, does your company really function as effectively as it could? If you take a vacation or business trip, do you come back to frantic emails and unsatisfactory work results? Does it make you think you can never take a break again?
Don’t fret. Systematizing your business is the key to enabling your business to function when you take a break. This also allows you to spend less time working in your business so you have time to work on your business.
When you systematize your business, you develop a clear, organized understanding of how and what to get done. The clearest way to represent this is to document it. Your documented instructions will explain to each employee exactly what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. Here are the steps to follow.
Organize Your Priorities
Create a list of your weekly and daily tasks. For example, how often do you follow-up with recent customers? How many times a year do you call customers for a seasonal tune-up? Then, estimate how long it takes you to do each task. If following up with clients takes up almost half of your day, consider if you can delegate this task to another person on the team. Prioritizing which tasks could and should be in your schedule helps clear up time on your calendar, so you have more time to do the tasks that really matter such as planning to grow your business.
Establish the Hierarchy
Every business has a hierarchy, who reports to whom, and who delegates to whom. It’s important to make this clear. Imagine that everyone is a new employee (regardless how long they’ve been with the company). When new employees onboard, they learn each person’s name, title, and placement within the company so they know who they report to. Make sure that this hierarchy is clear for every employee.
Create the Instructions
Now that you know which tasks your team does and how each team member functions, you can create instructions. Make sure to number each step, use clear language, and explain a task as you would to a new employee. Don’t expect the reader to know jargon only your team understands—be clear! Additionally, identify the people involved in the task. For instance, identify who the employee should report to once they start and complete the task, as well as who they should ask when they need assistance.
Gather Feedback
The only way to tell if something works is to test it. Ask your employees, whether seasoned or unseasoned, whether these instructions are accurate and clear. Their feedback will help you tweak it so that it isn’t just clear, but effective.
With these steps in mind, it’s time to systematize your business! A systematized workflow is like a well-oiled machine. And once that machine operates on its own, you’re able to take a break or take on new tasks to grow your business.
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