Three Steps you can take Now to Improve your Business
Introduction
This is by no means a definitive list of steps required for successful business
development. However the ideas presented here are a great place to start (or continue)
your business development efforts. A key thing to realise is that just reading about
these processes will bring no benefits to your business. To get value from these
concepts requires consistent action in applying them to your business.
1) Develop Your Organization Chart
Your organization chart defines the positions in your business and the employees
assigned to those positions. The organization chart clearly communicates
the management and reporting structure of your business.
It is extremely useful when developing your organization chart to take the time
to
design how you want your business to be when it is ‘finished’.
This approach tends to have the effect of setting a path for the development of
your business. Once defined you take the actions required to make it happen.
For example if you currently have only 5 employees, but your goal is to develop
your business to a point where you will be employing 20 employees. Develop your
organization chart with this in mind. Develop all of the specific Positions that
your business will need to support this future vision and growth.
Develop the Positions in your Organization Chart to be representative of specific
work roles in your business. You should not develop your Organisation
Chart based on the employees you currently have in the business. One of the benefits
of developing an Organisation Chart is that it enables your business to become less
dependent on specific employees and more dependent on the structure that you have
developed.
For example if you have an employee John. He is currently doing the work of Sales
Manager while also helping out with Accounts Receivable and Showroom Stock Maintenance.
You should Develop 3 separate Positions in your business (i.e. Sales Manager, Accounts
Receivable Clerk and Stock Maintenance Clerk) for the three different work roles
and assign John to all three Position.
This is a far better approach than simply adding just one position that represents
"The Work of John" as it allows you to employ people in the future as your
business grows. The new employees can take over the additional roles allowing John
to focus on his primary Position in the business.
An Effective Organization Chart:
- Communicates to your staff where you plan to take the
business.
- Makes it easy to show new employees where they fit into
the business.
- Gives you the opportunity to evaluate your current employees
and how they fit into the future of your business.
- Shows existing employees what options they have for
career advancement.
Depending on where you are in the development of your business you will probably
be filling many of the positions yourself. By choosing a position and actually defining
and documenting the systems the position is responsible for you can readily employ
someone to fill the position. This allows you to begin the development of other
positions in the business.
You will get to a point where all of the positions in the Organization Chart are
developed and you will have employees assigned to these positions. This is a great
place to reach and is a huge step in your business’s development and your own personal
development.
2) Utilize Advancements in Technology
Technology is continually advancing allowing us to run our businesses
better
faster and cheaper. Quite often technology can be daunting to say the
least. Technology is such a huge and diverse area but the following guidelines will
help you take advantage of the latest developments.
Look for ways of implementing new technologies that are relatively low risk in that
you can evaluate their effectiveness without tying yourself into a long term commitment
and expense. It is quite common for companies to offer their products to you for
a free trial period so that you can test and evaluate the effectiveness of the product.
Don’t be afraid of using Technology, its there as a tool to help you improve the
way you do things and should not be thought of as a barrier to getting things done.
Where possible utilize technologies that do not require you to install and manage
complicated software and hardware, and
make use of internet based software
where available. This allows you to concentrate on learning and using the technology
in your business rather than worrying about installing and maintaining them. The
latest version of software is always available to you without an upgrade to your
pc’s.
Take the time to learn how to use new Technology. Time spent learning
and understanding exactly what can be done with new as well as existing technology
will pay off many times over. Most modern software has extensive help documentation
and tutorial information. Use this information to get the most out of your technology
investment.
Focus on introducing technologies that will make it easier for your staff to do
their jobs and interact together. Don’t get caught up in the hype of the latest
and greatest technology. Technology should be viewed as a business tool like any
other and should be able to justify its cost with a quantifiable benefits and a
return on the investment to your business.
3) Track and Measure Key Values (Key Indicators)
Key Indicators allow you to track the health and growth of your business.
By deciding what values are critical, then tracking and measuring them over time,
you can determine exactly where you are in your progress towards your business development
goals.
Most business owners would argue that they have a good ‘feel’ for their businesses.
This is probably true but it is not enough. The Key Indicators in your business
need to be defined and a schedule established to track and measure your progress.
Key Indicators can be used to track both measurable and implied areas of your
business.
Typical examples include:
- Net Profit
- Growth Rates
- Customer Satisfaction
- Production Rates
- Market Leadership
To begin tracking Key Indicators in your business:
- Consider where you are and where you want to be.
- Determine the key areas that need tracking in order
to get you to your goals.
- Determine the range of values you will use to measure
the Key Indicator.
- Develop a description for the Minimum and Maximum values.
This will assist you when measuring the values.
- Measure the current value of the Key Indicator.
- Schedule a task for the regular measurement and evaluation
of your progress with the Key Indicator.
You should share the measurement and evaluation responsibilities of Key Indicators
with employees. You will find that once you start using Key Indicators to set the
goals and parameters of your business,
you and your employees will become aligned
and begin working together towards achieving them. Be bold but realistic in setting
the goals, measure and track your prgress, adjust and plan as you go, and there
is a good chance you will reach and exceed what you have set as the best case scenario.
All rights reserved. The text of this publication,
or any part thereof, may not reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission.