The definition of streamlining your business is improving its efficiency.
Improving efficiency typically involves adopting new methods, implementing and using the latest technology, and removing excess steps.
Every extra step that you have in your process, is time and resources being spent. Often they are unnecessary and can clutter the workflow.
What are workflows? A workflow is a series of activities that are repeatable. They need to happen to complete tasks.
What is a process? A process is a set of activities that are repeatable. They need to be completed continually to meet business goals.
They are similar but not interchangeable. Each goal for a business will have both workflows and processes.
Photo by Clayton Robbins on Unsplash
How to streamline your business
Outsourcing
Businesses big and small can benefit from outsourcing. When your business is in growth, you often don’t have the number of people on your team you need.
Equally, if you are a one-person business, you might not have all the skills you need.
Outsourcing is cost-effective as you outsource to people who have the skills, don’t require training, and it doesn’t interrupt your workflow.
Reduce Paper
The paper flow can be excessive for even the smallest of companies. Paperwork piles up quickly and is a time-intensive issue.
Follow your paper trails. Did it need to be printed? Has it served a purpose since it was printed? Has the paper been used once only?
Are they being printed because they have to be, or because they always have been?
Reduce paper use, and switch to a cloud-based document management system.
These systems are faster and more efficient for searching and sending documents.
Automation
This can be tricky. You need to spend some time highlighting what can be automated.
Once you have highlighted your available automation areas, the processes need to be re-engineered.
You may need to create your own business app stack that implements exactly as you need. Or, you can find a software solution that meets your needs.
Automation of processes goes beyond things like tweets and email sign-ups. You can automate your manual finances processes, enhance compliance and improve internal transparency.
An essential part of automation is tracking business time. Fully automatic time trackers can be implemented quickly and will track your team with ease.
What are the benefits of streamlining your business?
Streamlining presents you with more control than you have ever had over your business. It shines a light on all areas of what you do and how you can do it better.
Here are some of the benefits of streamlining your business.
Productivity
Being able to do something to higher efficiency and better leads to more productivity.
Employees are able to have a better idea of the tasks and expectations, as well as the goals. They can increase the quality of what they produce because the smaller admin tasks are taken care of.
Time management
Switching between extensive work and admin takes a lot of time. Each task switch causes more time loss.
It is estimated that people lose 23 minutes each time they switch tasks. Add this to the time spent on admin, and you have a time issue.
Streamlining your admin removed all of the excesses. Allowing your staff to focus on their actual work.
Cost-effective
Working faster and more efficiently saves time and money. Decreasing paper and improving processes require less staffing.
Both data entry and data processing can be automated, allowing you to allocate funds elsewhere.
Communication
When you have automation and streamlining in place, you will create space for better communication.
Streamlining management systems ensure that communication between departments is easier.
This improved communication means task assigning and tracking is better too.
Better communication will create a more cohesive team.
Risk management
Streamlining your processes leads to transparency. Mistakes get noticed more quickly, timelines are easier to maintain, and goals are easier to set too.
Streamlining will often involve implementing a suite of technology that provides a single point for multiple solutions.
- Microsoft 365
- LibreOffice
- G Suite
- iWork
- OpenOffice
These software suites offer storage, collaborations, and a connection that allows you to streamline your business and business admin effectively.
Streamlining your business admin frees your team members to do their real job, and allows you to improve other business processes too.
