Increasing a business’s efficiency isn’t always about analyzing budgets and finding ways to cut costs. Often, it means taking a close look at the company’s processes and discovering how to save time. After all, inefficient procedures, tools, and workflows can create bottlenecks that lead to lost profits.
When it comes to running a smooth and streamlined operation, time is always of the essence. That’s why expediting as many procedures as possible is key to maximizing your company’s efficiency. Below we’ll discuss four ways to speed up everyday business processes.
1. Evaluate Existing Workflows
Before you improve any workflow, you must find out where the trouble spots exist. Those gaps and breakdowns represent opportunities to expedite how the entire process works. You may also discover that various departments need the same resources but don’t have centralized access. The correct remedy could be a different tool that improves organization, collaboration, and information flow.
One example is contract negotiations. Most, if not all, businesses enter into agreements with any number of stakeholders. These could be staff members, vendors, or clients. However, multiple departments or employees may be involved in contract management processes. Without a , teams will face challenges with managing all the steps.
Instead of having your sales team recreate standard contracts, a software solution can have customizable templates ready to go. Sales will also see which documents need signatures and can save time by using digital options. For legal departments, contract management software centralizes record-keeping and facilitates collaborative document creation and revision. Finance teams can also easily see how various contracts impact the bottom line.
2. Establish Communication Channels
Sometimes it’s not the process itself that causes delays and inefficiencies. Instead, it’s the communication — or lack thereof — surrounding certain tasks. Unclear expectations can lead to halted procedures or employees who look like they’re dropping the ball.
About report they don’t receive clear directions. Even more troubling is the fact that 69% of managers say they’re uncomfortable communicating with their employees. This discomfort may lead to indirect or unclear communication, no direction at all, or data silos. When teams or individual contributors don’t have the information and support they need to succeed, they’ll come to a standstill.
That may manifest as unserved clients, deliverables that don’t align with company goals, or an overall lack of results. Establishing communication procedures and investing in collaboration tools helps avoid these undesirable outcomes. Effective communication channels should involve all impacted stakeholders and create sufficient information flows. For example, remote teams will execute projects more efficiently if they know who’s responsible for each project stage or deliverable.
3. Ask Employees for Ideas and Feedback
Soliciting your employees’ ideas on how to expedite processes can help leaders overcome any blind spots. Since managers aren’t in the trenches every day, their perspectives may become limited. What you think may be a great process doesn’t always turn out well. There might be a few bumps you need to smooth out.
However, it’s important to let your staff know why you’re asking for feedback on their workflows. Some employees might get the wrong idea about why you want to know how they perform their daily tasks. Rumors about layoffs or restructuring can cause anxiety and demotivation. Without full transparency, you might not get complete or honest feedback; with it, you can identify improvement opportunities.
For instance, your current project management process might include weekly Monday meetings. Every team member explains what they’re working on, how their work is progressing, and where they need help. The problem is this meeting consumes untold hours of people’s time annually, and the shared information doesn’t always apply to everyone. Based on this feedback, you determine project management software is a more efficient way to monitor and assist team progress.
4. Consider Outsourcing
Processes can become inefficient when a company doesn’t have the resources or expertise to implement them. You could face this scenario if you want to rapidly scale your business or part of its operations. Say your company is going to launch a new technology that will impact existing customers’ service. You want to communicate with your clients about what will happen and why, while reducing potential churn. It’s also important to maintain your reputation.
However, your internal marketing and PR teams are too small to execute a communication plan of this scope alone. Team members also lack direct experience with a project this large. Outsourcing to a marketing or PR agency with direct knowledge and hands-on experience will expedite the plan’s rollout. Your internal staff won’t buckle under the strain or feel as overwhelmed.
An when your company lacks internal resources is higher brand loyalty. Your business gains the expertise it needs to manage customer perceptions and support. Agencies or business process outsourcing companies that can navigate the complexities will prevent mistakes that may cost you. The key is to thoroughly vet potential vendors to ensure they will bring the skills you want to the table.
Speeding Up the Process
Business processes should support a company’s goals, employees’ efforts, and clients’ needs. But these work methods may become inefficient or create roadblocks that some stakeholders miss. The consequences of processes that take too long extend beyond missed deadlines and objectives.
Employee morale and productivity can suffer, as can customer satisfaction and company reputation. Periodically revisiting processes and redesigning them to support internal or external changes ensures they stay as streamlined as possible. When everyone comes together to accelerate workflows, your business can meet its performance goals with maximum efficiency.