Mistakes are easily made. Streamlining your
You probably use a number of business processes every day without realising. Chances are you've come across some that are inefficient too. Increased costs, unhappy customers and missed deadlines are just a handful of aspects related to a poor business process. But for now, streamlining your business isn't as complex as it sounds:
Process Audits
Firstly, you need to identify the need for change. The best way to do this is to conduct a process audit. This will identify where improvements can be made, as well as potential risks. Not only will this help you prioritize the areas for improvement based on risk and current aspects, it also provides the opportunity to speak to existing employees to find out what they believe works well. Having a full understanding of the process is key, and what better way to find out than asking your colleagues if you are unaware of it yourself. They will be able to identify which step(s) cause the most and longest delays and if there is anything involved that creates lost quality.
Work alongside external agencies
Improving the efficiency of a process doesn't stop there. Streamlining your businesses processes may come at a small cost. One of the best ways to achieved advanced processes involves hiring an external company or agency to do the work for you – or work with a business that offers training, personalised to your profession and industry, based on what aspects require improving.
Invest time in refinement
To ensure your business maintains
Streamlining your business' processes is all about refinement. Usually, it will involve a lot of trial and error. Once you have refined a process, test it. Testing your new process is the working-world is the best way to identify what changes have been beneficial to the process and those that could be better yet improved. It's a constant cycle that shouldn't be ignored. Human error is impossible to eliminate, which is why improving your current businesses process enhances coherence.
Whilst deciding your next steps, you need to consider your customers, not just your business. A happy customer is a loyal one, so skipping out a key step to make the process ten minutes quicker on your side might not be the best option.