Talking Cents

Time to implement some effective small business processes

Recently, here at mas accountants we have been working with some of our great small business clients on improving their business processes.

For small businesses experiencing growth there is a natural progression from running a business all in your own head and relying solely on your own contacts to employing staff and relinquishing control to trusted employees to grow your business with you. Whilst letting go and trusting employees with your brand can be daunting, there is only so much one person can do. When taking your business to this next level the following pointers can often be of great assistance.

1. Empower staff to make their own decisions, whilst making sure they understand that they still report to you. Give them a documented framework to operate within, then get out of their way and watch them thrive. A lot like gardening really.

2. Before taking on staff in your small business, especially sales oriented roles, ensure you have procedures in place that allow you to track their performance at any point in time. Staff should always have targets to aim for and be rewarded when they meet them.

3. Keep job flow systems open so everybody knows what projects everybody else is working on. A well honed team will work together rather then see the need to compete with each other.

4. If staff members make requests of you for assistance, such as with new hardware or systems, take them seriously. It often means they've found a better way of working and by facilitating this productivity should increase.

By taking the following steps, you will soon have a thriving business capable of standing on its own two feet, with or without your input. The benefits of this are that you get more time to work on and grow your business, or alternately to take on a mentor and overseeing role to your own business.