Define your businesses systems and procedures

The introduction and recording of your businesses systems, in other words how you want a job done, is another fundamental step in its growth. A lack of process, procedures and systems is often the cause of many common problems that all businesses face.

If you do not have a clearly defined system for all or any part of your business how can you ensure the consistent delivery of your products or services?

One of the most common complaints we hear from business owners is the comment: "no-one can do the job better than me." So often however, when we look more closely and "lift the lid" on the business, we quickly identify the lack of process and systems to explain how a particular job or process should be completed. Is it any wonder that no-one else can do the job the way the owner wants it done?

Using systems and process to explain how a particular job should be done is vital in ensuring a consistent experience for your customers. Once you start to record and define a process or system it becomes much easier to delegate that process and ensure consistent results.

This is also a vital step not only in defining how a particular task should be completed but also has a much wider implication for the business managers/owners. By recording how a task is completed it can free the manager/owner from that task to concentrate on more strategic issues. Ultimately systemisation provides the space to allow the owner to provide the true leadership that all businesses need.

Key performance indicators or KPI

The introduction of systems however is intrinsically linked to performance management and proper planning. Just because you have defined a system this does not allow you abdicate responsibility. The correct key performance indicators, KPI's, are as equally important to a system as defining the task itself. Any manager/owner needs appropriate information to ensure that the task is being completed correctly.

Improvement therefore becomes the result of monitoring the system. If things go wrong i.e. the KPI's indicate a downturn in performance, the system needs to be reviewed and appropriate action agreed.

Business systems planning

We will help you to identify critical processes and define and record the "system", building in the right performance management criteria.

Our experience is that once this is done employees will often produce a better result than the owner because they have fewer responsibilities than the business owner and can concentrate their efforts on getting the task right.
Businesses without systems tend to stretch the energies and expertise of the owner putting him or her under enormous pressures until things start to go wrong. This just reinforces the owner's belief that "no-one can do the job better than me".

Business systems design is intrinsically linked with effective performance management and strategic planning all of these things must align, in other words work together, to successfully achieve your business objectives.

Proper business systems will help to free a manager/owner from the "shop floor" and start to help him/her work on the business rather than in the business. It is this vital process that we find ultimately frees an owner so that in effect it runs itself.

What next

Our advice would be to take the next step and contact us and let's explore the possibilities.