Introducing systems to your business will enhance productivity and consistency, enabling you to provide a better experience for your customers and greater satisfaction for staff. Systems free you to do the work of developing your business, and ultimately, if you want, systems free you from the business itself. Some keys things to know about systems are:
- systems reduce inconsistencies
- systems enable employees to understand exactly what their responsibilities are
- systems provide a formula for success, by creating an efficient workplace where all operational guidelines and procedures are clearly documented
- systems produce results
- systems enhance productivity by providing order, predictability and reliability
- systems reduce the "stress factor" when employees leave the business, enabling a smooth transition when new staff come onboard in their place
- systems allow you to spend more time working ON rather than IN your business.
Effective systems can save you and your team both time and money. A system means that things are done consistently, regardless of the team member. Anything that cannot be systemised needs to be run by people. Always look at putting a system in place rather than employing more people.
The first step in systemising your business is to record the steps required to accomplish all the important tasks of the business. The next step is automation.
For example, this is what happens when a customer order comes in:
- Customer calls and places and order.
- The Owner jots down the order on a piece of paper.
- The Owner writes down what materials would be required to do the job (he may forget that he needs a certain material).
- He then proceeds to check the shelves to see if he needs to reorder any of the material.
With an automated system, the following takes place from just a few keystrokes:
- The Owner would have called up the Customer’s Name on the computer (the computer would have all the important information on the customer such as whether they have any outstanding invoices and what they ordered last time)
- He would enter the order and the computer would tell him whether the materials needed to make the product are in stock
- The computer would print out a list of materials to order, schedule the time on the machine required to make the product, state when the product will be ready to ship to the customer, and produce an invoice and shipping label.
Whether you are a manager or the owner of a business, you can really affect the bottom line through systemising processes. Then by automating the processes, you know that your business will be efficient in offering its products or services.
Systemising your business can also be a competitive advantage for your business. Customers will benefit from your business running more efficiently and producing consistent high quality products or services regardless if the owner is around. Customers that shop at your competition and who are tired of inconsistent quality will soon buy from you. All you need to do then is to communicate to your customers and prospects about your new business improvement that will help to serve them better.
